The main cell blocks inside the outer wall at the Trial Bay Gaol

These final days of the trip are becoming more difficult, there’s a definite sense of us marking time rather than progressing towards a goal. As we plan the final days and nights of our trip backwards from a week on Monday when we fly out, there’s a real feeling that we’re looking for something to do before then and coming up short on motivation and ideas.
We’d hoped that today would shake us out of that a bit as we headed to Trial Bay to stay at a camp site adjacent to the ruins of the Trial Bay Gaol.
It was only a short trip from Nambucca Heads to Trial Bay of around 70km so even the inevitable roadworks on the Pacific Highway couldn’t delay us for long so we arrived at 11am with plenty of time to look around the gaol ruins and the museum.

A view of one of the cell blocks, all the ironwork that could be cut away and scrapped has gone, including the upper story walkways.

The gaol was interesting and in fairly good condition. It was created in the late 19th century as part of a public works programme to build a breakwater for Trial Bay using more hardened criminals. When progress on the breakwater was slower than anticipated and the gaol seemed to be an embarrassment to the prison reform process, the gaol was closed.
It was reopened for a short period during the First World War when it was used to house German nationals as potential spies. It was closed again in 1917 after an alleged sighting of a disguised German warship off the coast led to claims that they might be planning to rescue the prisoners. After the war all the prisoners, including naturalised Australians were repatriated to Germany.

Trial Bay, another day, another beach 🙂

From what I can gather, due to an oblique reference in the museum, Trial Bay itself gets it’s name from a ship called “Trial” that floundered in the bay in the mid 19th century.
Tomorrow we’re going to head to Port Macquarie, probably for a 2 night stay. Our main interest in this town is the Koala population that may give us our first sighting of Koalas in the “wild”. There’s also a few museums and a Koala hospital there that will keep us occupied and hopefully help shake off this feeling of marking time a bit.

The marina and beaches at Coffs Harbour

Today was when of the rare days on this trip where our plans in the morning are thwarted. In this case by a mixture of mapping errors and road closures.
It all started well enough as we headed for our first destination of the day, Coffs Harbour. It’s one of those places that everyone seems to know, a bit like Byron Bay I guess, so we wanted to take a look while we were passing.
We headed down our old favourite, the Pacific Highway which, once again, delivered it’s now familiar string of roadworks. The only consolation is that at least here the roadworks tend to just result in lower speed limits rather than big traffic queues.
Coffs Harbour is a lot bigger than we’d expected, although most of it is set while back from the coast. It seems packed with shopping areas, industrial estates, tourist attractions and so on but when you eventually make it to the coast all of that seems to disappear. The marina, the beaches and

Another view of Coffs Harbour from Muttonbird Island

Muttonbird Island that stands at the entrance to the harbour all seem to make up a small but busy harbour area. From the island you’d never guess at the huge town that is hidden behind the beaches.
After walking up to the top of Muttonbird Island and then selecting our choice of yacht in the marina for when we win the lottery we decide we’d head off towards “The pub with no beer” where we would stay the night.
The first part of the journey was back on the Pacific Highway again until we could turn off to a small town called Bellingen. This is about 20km inland from the highway and would allow us to take the minor gravel roads to Bowraville and then onto The Pub With No Beer.
We had second breakfast in Bellingten (coffee and custard pies) and headed down the minor road to Bowraville. It was shortly after this that our plans went awry as we came to a fork in the road there was a yellow warning sign telling us that there was no access to Bowraville on the left fork that we would have taken. A quick look at the HEMA maps showed that the right fork, though slightly longer would also take us to Bowraville and we assumed that’s why only the left fork had the warning sign.
After about 14km of this part gravel, part tarmac road the road seemed to diverge from the road marked on the map. Where the map showed the road turning south the road actually seemed to follow the course of a river, heading west into the middle of nowhere. We followed the road for another 5km or so in the hope that this was just a minor difference between the map and reality before having to make a decision. Time was starting to be an issue as we didn’t want to end up finding a camp site in the dark or navigating roads that don’t exist on the map.

Camp set up at Nambucca Heads – a bit of a tropical feel under the palm trees

We initially turned back and drove to the point where the road diverged from the map and could find no sign of the road as it was mapped. In the end all we could do really was head all the way back to Bellingen and find somewhere we could get to in the time available.
We selected Nambucca Heads as it was easy to get to on the Pacific Highway and far enough south to make us feel we’d made some progress ! It probably means that we won’t get another chance to head inland again though now.
Tomorrow we’ll probably head to Trial Bay Gaol, sticking to the coast this time !

Emerald Beach

It seemed a shame to leave Plumbago Beach this morning but we really needed to find a site with more amenities so we could catch up on some laundry and get a shower. The weather also seemed to be closing in a bit with some localised cloud cover coming in from the ocean.
We decide to head about 80km down the coast to a Big4 camp site at Emerald Beach, a site that gets good reviews on WikiCamps and has full facilities, even free WiFi !
The trip down the coast was OK as we headed down the Pacific Highway but there were quite a few stretches with road works that meant we had a few delays. Road works aside though it’s quite a nice road to drive along nice scenery along this stretch and not too busy.
Emerald Beach itself seems a nice enough place and the camp site is pretty good for it’s type. Pam got the laundry done and we both had showers and then we gave the local pizza place a try – very good it was too with proper wood fired pizza ovens.
After pizza we sat alongside the communal camp fire that the site management light each night and had a beer before retiring for the night.
Tomorrow we might head inland a bit after a quick visit to Coffs Harbour on the way.
We’ve started to plan our final nights and think about how we’re going to get the Land Rover ready for shipping again. Looks like we’ll be in Sydney in another week… Scary how quickly the last part of our trip is passing.

Sunrise over Plumbago Beach next to our camp spot

It’s been a long day today but a good one nonetheless. We decided it was about time we made the effort to get up in the morning for the sunrise as we are on the east coast now. Officially sunrise is at 6.37 am although the false dawn starts at least 30 mins before that as does the dawn chorus.
It was really cold last night and getting up and out of the tent at that time was hard work but it was a good sunrise and we got lots of pics from the beach, the headland and our camp spot. I confess once the sun was up we retired back to the tent until the sun got some warmth into it !

A male Superb Fairy Wren visited us this morning with a flock of females and juveniles.

During breakfast we were visited by one of our favourite Australian birds, a small flock of Fairy Wrens. The male was one of the most colourful we’ve seen so far.
We decided that with the weather being so good we’d take a walk into Brooms Head. This is around 5km away with the first km on the top of the headlands and cliffs and then 4km along the beach.

Yet another Humpback Whale picture !

Brooms Head is a really nice little town, dominated a bit by the camping site which seems to have pitches alongside the beach stretching from on end of the town to the other. It was gone 12 by the time we got there so we stopped at the “snack shack” next to the beach for a coffee and a bite to eat to fortify us for the return journey 🙂
While sat outside the cafe, soaking up the sun a small pod of dolphins started “surfing” in the waves. Something I’ve heard of them doing but not seen before. After we’d eaten Pam spotted a whale not far off the coast – certainly a lot closer in than the others we’ve seen anyway. It was another humpback and spent ages slapping the water with it’s tail. I make no apologies for yet another whale picture ! When we get a decent mobile signal I might even upload a video clip of it.

The view back towards our camp site from Brooms Head

By the time we got back to our camp spot we were both ready for a cold beer. I think we’ll feel it in our legs tomorrow, walking that distance on sand is hard work… We used up our remaining firewood for a camp fire and sat up well after sunset watching it burn down to ash.
Not certain yet where we will head to tomorrow, it’s almost tempting to stay here for a few more days it’s so nice but we could both do with a shower and we need to do some washing so I suspect we’ll head to a caravan park for a night.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iQmVWR9IHY&sns=em

View of the Red Cliff from the headland next to our camp spot.

We used the MaxTrax for the first time in “anger” yesterday to do a recovery from very soft sand. It wasn’t for us though ! A camper van on the site next to us parked on a particular soft section and the front axle sank, lots of wheel spin etc… I offered the use of the MaxTrax and they do work really well as it turns out, got the van out of the mire in a couple of minutes.
Anyway, this morning we set off south to Brooms Head, as recommended by the “surfer dude” yesterday. We had to stop off at the supermarket and bottle shop first as both food and alcohol supplies were running dangerously low. The supermarket and bottle shop had a coffee place next door so we also had second breakfast there with coffee and Danish pastries.

One of the kangaroos that live on the camp site.

We chose the direct route to Brooms Head, following the Pacific Highway for most of the way before cutting off towards the coast.
The first site we tried was at Sandon Bluffs and, frankly, it resembled a small shanty town. It was full to bursting with boats on trailers scattered all over the place. The sites themselves were tiny with everyone seemingly pitching on top of each other. We turned around and headed north again in the hope that the next site up, near the Red Cliff to the north of Brooms Head was better.

A Joey in it’s mother’s pouch.

This site was such a contrast to the first one, thankfully. Lots of space, clear views of the beach and sea from the pitches and a small headland about 100 metres away that is high enough to see the humpback whales again. Lots of ‘Roos were moving around the site, many of them with Joeys in their pouches. By the end of the evening we’d seen a good selection of wildlife around us including the endangered Coastal Emus.
We’ll probably stay here a couple of nights and walk into Brooms Head tomorrow. We used up some of our firewood stash tonight with a small camp fire and will probably use up the remainder tomorrow night. The sun had some real heat in it this afternoon but as soon as the sun starts to go down the temperature drops really quickly. By the time we went to bed it had dropped to around 13C which feels pretty cold after walking around in shorts and a T Shirt all day !

Angels Beach

Our plan to spend a second night at Ballina so we could get a full day at the coast with the forecast good weather paid off.
After a steady start to the day, which included bacon and egg sandwiches for breakfast, we set off for a stroll along the two beaches that adjoin the camp site.

A Pied Cormorant on the rocky outcrop between the beaches

We spent some time at the lookout at Angels Beach and met a local “surfer dude” who, among other things, pointed out the dolphins that were swimming in the surf. He gave us a couple of good spots to visit on our way south, interestingly though his favourite spot in Australia is Karajini National Park so we spent some time comparing notes on the gorges there.

The pod of dolphins at Sharpes Beach

Glad to say that as well as the dolphins there were a few whales visible too, once again they were a long way out but seemed quite active. We spent a while watching them before heading down to the beach itself. Obviously, being a better day, the beach was a lot busier today and there were a fair number of surfers making the most of the waves.
An outcrop of rocks separates the two beaches so we couldn’t resist the temptation to explore the rock pools before moving onto Sharpes Beach.

One of the Humpback Whales

From the lookout next to Sharpes Beach we could see that, just beyond the surfers waiting to catch a wave, a large pod of dolphins was slowly moving back and forth along the beach. Between the whales in the distance and the dolphins closer inshore we spent the best part of the afternoon watching them. Obviously I got a few pics too although the whales were so far offshore that I was using maximum digital zoom so they’re a bit grainy.
Tomorrow we’ll move south a bit and hopefully the weather will be similar to today. The only downside of the clear skies is that, being winter here, once the sun starts to go down it gets pretty cold !

Byron Bay, impressive even on an overcast, wet Saturday morning !

A very relaxed day today, even by our current standards ! After packing up we stopped off at Celia and Eugene’s van to say our goodbyes and were treated to coffee and given some chocolate brownies, fresh out of the oven, to take with us for second breakfast. Very nice they were too, thank you Celia 🙂
We decided to head down the minor coast road from Coolangatta, avoiding the freeway as much as possible although we did end up on the freeway when the coast road petered out at one point.
Our first proper stop was at Byron Bay which, despite the weather, was packed. I guess it was Saturday morning though so no real surprise there. The weather was performing pretty much as forecast, wet and windy but there were a fair number of die hard surfers trying their luck in the waves. In sunnier weather I can imagine it’s a very scenic spot, even with the wind and rain it still looked amazing.

If you look really closely, there is a whale in this pic ! It was a LONG way out though…

From Byron Bay we once again stuck to the coast road heading to Ballina, having chosen to stay at a camp site just to the north of Ballina at Flat Rocks Tent Site. Whilst on our way there we spotted a lookout point at a place called Lennox Head and as we had loads of time thought we’d take a look. We sat in the car park for a while looking at the ocean from the comfort of the Land Rover and then tossed a coin to decide if we should make the trek up the hill to the lookout or carry on to the camp site. The coin decided we should go for a walk so we put on some extra layers and set off up the hill.
As it turned out, the coin was right. From the high vantage point above the ocean we could see a long way to the horizon and we pretty soon started to spot the migrating humpback whales breaching the surface. They were a long way out but there was no mistaking them, such a buzz to finally see them ! When the rain got a bit heavier we had to abandon the lookout and head to the camp site.

Angels Beach, next to the camp site.

The camp site borders two beaches, Sharps Beach and Angels Beach and we chose a spot next to Angels Beach. The whales were visible from the small lookout next to our camp site too so if the forecast is correct and tomorrow is a sunny day we hope to spend some time watching for them. We’re booked in for 2 nights so haven’t thought about where we will go from here, if the weather is good we’ll probably stick to the coast.

The skywalk near Mount Tamborine

Woke up to a very British morning, this morning. Overcast, a bit of rain in the air. It’s not set to get much better for a few days yet so we’ll just have to suck it up I guess.
We planned to head east today to Coolangatta to meet up with Celia and Eugene, OBC competitors and part inspiration for this trip in the first place. Looking at the map and the route we liked the look of through the mountains, we spotted a “Rainforest Skywalk” marked on the map and figured that would be our kind of place.

Pam on the skywalk

It’s probably not the best time of year to do a walk through the canopy of the rainforest but none the less it was interesting. Wildlife was a bit scarce but the trees were interesting enough and the information boards and plaques were good. The first part of the walk takes you through the upper canopy and then you walk along tracks that take you through the rainforest again at different levels.
After the walk we figured it was time for second breakfast and, fortunately, there’s a small cafe at the end of the walk that does decent coffee and cakes 🙂

At this point we set a course for Coolangatta and to save some of the stress we put the camp site address into Apple Maps and let the iPad do the navigating. We chose the route with the smallest motorway stretch on it of about 20km. Other than a small traffic tailback on the M1 due to roadworks (making us feel really at home !) we got there without a hitch.

Our Defender next to Celia and Eugene’s truck.

We had a really nice evening out, catching up with Celia and Eugene and lots of reminiscing about the OBC. We ended up watching the 2008 DVD for probably the first time. It all seems so long ago now but watching the DVD brings back all sorts of memories.
We’ve not decided where to go tomorrow yet, we’ll decide in the morning or just head south and see where we end up. It’s forecast to be raining again so not planning a trip to the beach.

Almost like being at home !

Another sunny start to the day today saw us heading south again, this time heading for a camp site just outside the Lamington National Park.
The journey was only 140km but the first part involved heading through the outskirts of Brisbane. I have never understood people who insist in living in cities where you can’t get from one place to another without constant traffic, traffic lights and constantly changing speed limits combined with traffic signs that mean nothing to anyone trying to get through the city.
This mornings journey met entirely with my expectations of yet another stressful drive through badly signed and badly marked out roads. Brisbane also doesn’t seem to have any form of clearance program so to add to the bad signage much of what signage is actually there is hidden behind vegetation. Don’t get me started on this stupid signs that inform you that it’s a 50 limit unless otherwise posted, what a ludicrous idea that is. Exactly how long after you see a 60 or 80 limit sign does it revert to 50 again ? Seriously Queensland needs to take a long hard look at itself !

The river next to our camp site

I feel better for getting that off my chest and am looking forward no end to tomorrow’s little jaunt through the southern suburbs to the Gold Coast..
When we eventually shook off the suburbs and headed back out into the back roads again the drive became pleasant again. The camp site is in a nice little spot that Is strangely reminiscent of the dales or the Lake District. Having said that I don’t think I’ve spent much time wandering around either in shorts and a t shirt !

The local Lorikeets were very interested in what we were having for tea !

Tomorrow we’re heading east to Coolangatta where we’ll meet up with Celia and Eugene. From there we’ll continue our progress south, not sure how much of that will be on the coast and how much we’ll venture inland, that will depend on the weather I suspect.
For the first time in ages (it seems) we’ve not got decent mobile reception so not enough 3G to upload pics so if I manage to upload this text tonight I’ll have to add the pics tomorrow.

The ultimate Aussie icon – the Koala at Australia Zoo

We had a few rain showers overnight and the morning was overcast but at least it was dry. Just as well we’ve kept the fly sheet on the tent since Broken Hill – it takes longer to set the tent up and take it down but at least we stay dry in the tent !
Our first destination this morning was Australia Zoo, although we both have mixed feelings about zoos and keeping animals in captivity generally that’s offset, in part at least, by the genuine conservation effort that we know the Australia Zoo is heavily involved in. It’s been one of the places on our list of places to visit for years.
We enjoyed our visit although we were a little disappointed in some aspects. Obviously the crocodiles were well represented and that is, after all, their core focus but the rest of the Australian reptiles and the raptors were only given a cursory representation which was a bit of a shame. On the plus side we finally saw Koalas and some live Wombats !
We left the zoo at about 2pm and headed south again towards our destination for tonight, Dayboro. As per our preference we followed the more minor routes that took us into the Glass House Mountains and beyond to skirt the edge of the D’Aguilar National Park. We stopped along the way for second breakfast (coffee and banana cake) at a cafe in one of the small towns we passed through.

A salt water croc, in some ways I’m glad we never came face to face with one of these in the wild !

Once again the roads were mostly enjoyable to drive with tight twisty sections as we wound our way up and down the mountains. Some of the views were fantastic, particularly as, as the afternoon wore on, the clouds cleared and we had blue skies and bright sunshine which always makes any trip more enjoyable 🙂 Unfortunately the powers that be in this area seem to dislike providing viewpoints or anywhere you can pull off the road to admire the view. Still we got to see some fantastic views of the mountains and valleys that will remain with us.
Tomorrow we’ll probably head to Coolangatta on the coast to the south of Brisbane. It’s only 130km from here as the crow flies but navigating our way around Brisbane will slow us up a bit and no doubt stress me out coping with the traffic, tolls, traffic lights and all the other wonderful stuff that large cities create. We should catch up with Celia when we arrive there.