Farewell to NSW

We loved out visit to NSW and the northern section was just as pretty as the southern coast. We stayed at lovely beachside bays called Lauriton, Hat Head, and Evans Head where large rivers flowed into the sea leaving lagoons, estuaries, sand banks and idyllic beaches. The “Heads” were large hills jutting out to sea at the river mouth, forming protection the beaches and scenic backdrops. We had lovely camps sites virtually on the river or beaches, and the weather was perfect. This was our opportunity to test the fishing of the region, so each evening we would set out with our rods and bait and spend some pleasant hours in the sunset watching the pelicans and waterbirds and feeding the fish! We did catch a lot of Bream, and Whiting but most were under the legal limit (35 cms) so were throw backs. We did eat a couple of our catch, but really we did it for the enjoyment......
We also went to the Dorrigo Tops World Heritage park (another part of the volcano system) and related to the Barrington Tops area. Lovely mountains with forests, rainforest walks and impressive waterfalls. One of them, the Crystal waterfall, has the path going behind the actual waterfall.
So goodbye NSW, we loved every minute of the time spent here (from mid Dec until Mid March) and will definitely be back! Our adventure continues as we head into the Sunshine State (Queensland).
Photos;
View if the New England Nat Park from lookout near Dorrigo Tops.
Crystal Waterfall in the forest at Dorrigo Tops..you can walk behind the falls
One of our camps on the river bank..we could almost fish from our annex
View from Pt Macquarie looking over the bay with Hat Head in the far background

Mt Warning and the Border Ranges

One of the things we had wanted to do on this trip was visit and climb Mt Warning. I guess we had seen it once on National Geographic and it looked like an awesome place. Mt Warning is the central Magma chamber of a HUGE volcano that erupted 2o million years ago. It was almost twice the height of the present Mt Warning but after years of eroding it now sits at 1157 meters from sea level (which is the surrounding country). Its lava flows covered 5000 sq kms and as far as 100 kms out to sea. Its caldera is the second largest and best preserved basin in the world, and it forms a huge sheer escarpment of mountains surrounding the central plug of World Heritage Rainforests which have hundreds of species of animals, birds and plants. Mt Warning was named by Captain Cook because he could see it way out from the coast and it warned him of a treacherous coastline. The Aboriginals named it Wollumbin..meaning “Cloud Catcher” because its height means it is often covered in cloud and rain, and it is of spiritual significance for them.
Well, why would we want to go there and climb this awesome feature....I don’t know, must be some sort of masochist part of our character. The topmost central cone of this mountain rises 200 sheer meters and the top can only be reached by climbing with a chain ....1157 meters up in the air! The bottom slopes to the vertical top are a steep climb of 4.4 kms, going through different kinds of Rainforest until the top is fairly rocky and scrubby. The grading is “Strenuous for experienced climbers only”...I am NOT one of those. Anyway, we decided to give it a go, even tho I had stubbed my toe a day earlier and it had swollen up and gone black....
The Camp Park was lovely, set in lovely big rainforest trees, with a little creek running thru it..we were almost the only campers because it is out of season. There were lovely birds, Brush Turkeys and different butterflies.
Well, the day dawned clear (the first fine day without clouds for ages) and we left after a breakfast of egg and bacon for energy...All I can say is it not for the feint hearted! The 4.5 kms going up is a constant climb, getting steeper and rockier as it neared the top. Most of the hike is in forest which is very pleasant, but even so it was sweaty work. After 2 and half hours hiking, we got to the vertical part and then had to scramble up steep rocks with the help of a chain rope which waves around as you cling to it. Fortunately the chain was on the right hand side and I could hold on to it with that hand because my left shoulder was not strong enough to haul me up..I used a walking stick to balance myself! That seemed to go on forever, but at last we got to the top where a lookout platform had views 360 deg and right into Queensland and the coast ..Byron Bay 42 kms as the crow flies. The weather was clear and although there were cloud s on some of the other peaks we could see for miles. The hike down the chains was not pleasant, going down backwards and for me a lot of it on my bottom, and after the 9.8 kms there was not a part of me that did not hurt. I am glad that we did it but won’t repeat that again in a hurry!
The next day we drove the surrounding mountain range called the Border Range which is the edge of the caldera..a huge escarpment surrounding Mt Warning in a Shield shape. The slopes were covered with thick forests of temperate and sub tropical Rainforest, huge trees with vines, palms, ferns, moss and very very beautiful. The views from the lookouts over the valleys and Mt Warning were breathtaking. One of our highlights was seeing a 3 meter Carpet Python lying sunning itself by the side of the road..
Photos:
View from the top of Mt Warning
Warning about Mt Warning!
The climb
Paul looking at the Carpet Python in the forest
View of Mt Warning from the edge of the caldera rim..Border Ranges. That view of the mountain is 15 kms away and it juts out into the sky in a pointed peak..nearly always covered in cloud.

Beasties, Creepies, and Leeches!

The Question I get asked most often by the overseas folk is “But what about the SNAKES???” Now I know that Australia is known to have 20 of the 25 most poisonous snakes in the world, and spiders that are lethal, and other dangerous fauna that can make humans crook. Books like Bill Bryson’s “Down Under” go to great pains telling about the many Dangerous Australians lying in wait for the hapless traveller, and even the humble Stingray managed to spear our famous Wildlife Warrior Steve Irwin. In the Ocean there are more lethal creatures like the Box jellyfish which kills by stinging a person to death in agony, the Stone Fish, the Blue Ringed octopus and of course the Saltwater Crocks. If you worried about all of these hazards I am sure that no one would leave home, but in fact the country is teeming with grey nomads and backpackers all having a ball.
So far our tally of sighting fauna is abysmal. Maybe it’s because we come from Africa and are used to the bush being alive with big animals, but we find the bush very quiet and seemingly empty. Many of the Australian animals are quiet, small, gentle marsupials which are nocturnal. And the nasties really don’t want to get you either. Our tally so far is:
Many, many kangaroos, including the small, furry Brush Tailed Wallaby which is dark and lives in mountainous areas.
Many Emus
2 dead snakes on the road in SA
2 Echidnas
Few Dingos
A newly dead Wombat on the road
Lots of spiders webs, but nothing looking like it was out to get us
2 large lizards/ goanna things, which were about 2 meters long.
There are many wonderful birds and we are always seeing new types of parrots and kingfishers, water bird, doves, and the Whipbird with its strident call. We see many majestic Sea Eagles, Ospreys and heard the Cat Bird which Meows like a cat.
There are also many wonderful trees and plants, especially now that we are going into the subtropics. My favourite wildflowers so far are the Flame Lilies which are growing wild in this area. Also St Joseph Lilies seem to grow wild along the sides of the road, as well as Status and what looks like yellow Cosmos.
The worst experience we have had was when we were hiking in a rainforest in the High Plateau. It was a misty, drizzly day and the rainforest was breathtaking with huge buttress trees, ferns, and birds nest ferns growing on tree limbs. We hiked 3 kms down a steep slope which was muddy, and covered with a mat of dead leaves. We finally got to the waterfall we were going to see, and stood on the wooden lookout gazing at the 200 meter spout falling into the ravine in awe. After a minute or two I looked down at my walking shoe and saw that it was covered in....LEECHES! I squealed and immediately pulled my shoes and socks off to see a few attached to me and many more wriggling towards my foot...Paul looked at his shoes and saw that he, too ,was covered in the horrible little slimy , big mouthed creepies. I realised that there were many more coming for me, literally, and I tried to shake out my socks while dancing en pointe and balancing with as little of me touching the ground as possible. Every time my hand touched one it sort of stuck, and I’d squeal to Paul to take it off (which he heroically did) even tho he had problems of his own. I could not believe my eyes, these little worm like thingies came humping towards us from every crevice on the platform, as if drawn by the smell of blood. Paul even found one more than half way up his leg, enough to make a grown man weak just thinking about the possibilities. Finally we got our shoes and socks back on and started back up the steep and slippery path...and made it back in half the time we took to get down! Each time I stopped for a breath ( on a flat rock) I would suddenly see lots of tiny heads rear up through the damp leaves and then start their wriggle towards me....Horrors. Even tho they are not harmful the mere thought of them sucking my blood was enough to keep me almost jogging up the hill. They are masters of gaining entry, as we saw them make themselves thread thin and wriggle through the stitching of our shoes, and through the weave of the socks..only to grow to bloated slug like sizes once they attach themselves. They inject an anti coagulant so you bleed profusely, but other than that there are no side effects. We now know we must spray personal repellent on our feet and legs before a hiking in wet, foresty places next time as that deters them.. That, and some quite voracious sand flies at the latest campsite are the most lethal things we have had to contend with.
But the trip is not over yet.........

The Central Coast, Barrington Tops and fishing at last

We wanted to continue our journey along the coast road and the circumnavigation of the country. The area we were aiming for looked lovely on the map...two huge lakes with a small entrance into the sea, bays, lighthouses and beaches! The area was called The Entrance, and we drove eagerly looking for an isolated beach for some fishing and beach walking. What a disappointment...the whole area was just an extension of the Sydney sprawl and was built up, expensive, overcrowded and BUSY! The coast was lovely, but after one night we decided to move on to something more peaceful and unpopulated. We moved to a small hamlet on the northern banks of Port Stephens called Hawks Nest. Port Stephens is a huge bay ( twice as big as Sydney Harbour) with two rivers flowing into the bay which then flows out to sea between two large headlands and numerous small islands...very beautiful. The beaches inside the bay are peaceful and turquoise and there are many playful dolphins in the shallows. The open sea side beaches are long stretches of golden sand and huge waves. We stayed on the quiet side of the bay in a small caravan park right on the beach and surrounded by huge trees and national park and it was so peaceful we stayed there a week (also it rained a lot so then we had to stay indoors). The opposite side of the bay are the trendy and busy touristy places like Nelson and the pretty Shoalwater Bay. There are ferries across the bay hourly so we took one to see the other side and then took a bus to the various little bays across the peninsula. The whole area is green and lush and the beaches are crescent bays with picturesque headlands at each end. We were entranced, but have since realized that this is also the case on the whole central and northern coast of NSW, i.e. big rivers flowing into the sea making estuaries, lakes and bays, with lovely beaches. Since the whole area is volcanic and the Great Dividing Range extends to the sea, the surrounding bays are framed by these wonderful green lush mountains. We did a bit of fishing on the river, and walked in the Nat Park where we saw a few wild Dingoes wandering around and many different bird species. There were even some Brush Turkeys in the camp site.
We intended to meander up the coast, but decided to make another detour inland to see an area called Barrington Tops. This is a World Heritage Area which rises to 1600 meters pretty much from sea level. The “tops” are a series of rocky outcrops on the tops of mountains formed by the huge volcanoes which dominated the area millions of years ago and which have now eroded leaving only the lava cores. The valleys and slopes are covered in subtropical and temperate rain forest and have many endangered species of plants and animals. We stayed in the nearest town which was Gloucester, which had the fast flowing Gloucester River flowing through the caravan park. It had been raining on and off for days but on a day that “they” promised would be clear we started driving to the Nat Park 60ks away. The dirt road was terrible, made worse by recent rains..potholed and slippery. Still we slowly (12 kms an hour) pushed on by the promise of views and hikes. The road climbed and climbed, and when we got to the first lookout we hiked to the edge to look at the view and saw.....milky white cloud!! Only tantalising glimpses of the steep gorge through the mist now and again showed us what we were missing. We drove a bit further, but it started to rain heavily, so we drove all the way back slipping and sliding in the mud without even having had the experience! Still the forest had been wonderful, and we did see a glimpse of what we will see next time. It continued raining ( records broken and floods all over the country at this time), and we nervously watched the big river rising nearer the bridge knowing that only a week before it had covered the bridge and the town was cut off. A walk along the river bank had a memorial erected to the “big flood of 1960 which had the town one and half meters under water”..the town was one km away and on a hillside!! We decided to move on back up the coast.....
Next stop was another lovely collection of Hamlets near Port Macquarie where we stayed in Laurieton. Again, it was at the mouth of a large river and the estuaries and lakes made the area perfect for fishing. There was a steep mountain at the edge of the town called North Brother which rose steeply from the bay to 600 meters and had wonderful views of the area..they did hang gliding from the edge! Paul and I did a lot of fishing in this area as it was so peaceful sitting on the lakes edge watching the sun go down, the pelicans cruising around us, and the bird life. I am getting quite good at casting, baiting, and even rigging the rod..still have nothing edible to prove it though. Caught a lot of Bream but the legal size for them is 30 cms. Paul caught a large long fish with a long beak and nasty teeth..we think it was a type of Barracuda called a Long Tom. We did a trip into Port Macquarie and saw the scenic little bay towns along the way like Bonnie Hills. Lots of rain..but when the sun did come out it was humid. A sure sign that we were heading closer to Queensland and the tropics!
PHOTOS: View of the beach at Shoalwater bay showing the headlands
Paul holding up a Beach Worm we found on the beach being attacked by a crab (normally they are hard to find) ...they grow larger than this one and the fish love them for bait. This beach we found in a Nat Park was about 4 kms of perfect flat white sand....and we were the ONLY people on the whole beach!!
Colleen looking over the lookout in Barrington Tops trying to see the view of the gorge through the mist.
Paul holding up the pine cone of the Bunya Pine tree which is native to the East Coast. The Pine grows to about 45 meters and the cones can weigh up to 10 kg. The kernels which are found in the ripe cone are as big as plums. One has to be careful sitting under these trees as they are quite prolific!

Beautiful Blue Mountains

On the doorstep of Sydney, about 70 kms west, is the World Heritage Listed Blue Mountains...much of it an impenetrable forest wilderness region. This unique and beautiful region is over a million hectares, much of it so remote and inaccessible that it has never been walked in by humans. The landscape is inconceivably ancient. When the Grand Canyon was still a shallow creek, these cliffs and chasms looked much as they do today. It is a high plateau which has been carved into deep canyons, sheer cliff faces, and huge gorges with waterfalls cascading down their sides, caves and underground rivers. I could not believe that this remote wilderness was on the doorstep of a city of 4 million people!
As we stood on the edge we were struck, like everyone else, by the bluest sort of mist shrouding the mountains, giving them an azure look. Of course it IS a sort of mist because the millions of Blue Gums exude a sort of oil which refracts the light and gives the area its blue haze...gorgeous. As we sat gazing at the view from one of the many lookouts atop a sheer cliff face of over 350 meters, over a valley stretching for miles into the distance, we felt awed and stunned. A few tourists would wander over, and be silent; then after moments of just looking we would hear them say softly,” Wow!”
We have had many “wow” days since the beginning of the trip, but this region was full of “WOW” days! Each day we would head off to see a different part, thinking we could not possibly see anything better, and each day we would come home impressed. We stayed in a little town called Lithgow on the edge of the mountains because it was smaller and cheaper, and had fewer crowds. Only thing was that it was next to the main Rail line from east to west (i.e. Sydney to Perth) and so trains rattled through at all hours..but after a few days we hardly noticed them. We saw a movie on a Giant Screen ( 3 stories high) called “The Edge” all about the Blue Mountains and it was spectacular and well worth it...scenes of the gorges being taken from a helicopter flying dizzyingly over and around the bends. Another day we went to Katoomba which is where the most spectacular Valley has lookouts and cliff walks right around the ridge, including the famous view of the “3 Sisters”. Here also is the “Disneyworld” part of the mountains ..Scenic World. There was a steep cable car ride into the valley floor where they had made a lovely interpretive walkway meandering through the forest of ferns and towering trees. There was also a “skywalk”...a sort of cable car strung between the two cliff faces which goes over the valley floor and right over a waterfall tumbling way down below...all looked at through the open side windows or a Glass Bottomed Floor! Not for those with vertigo! There was also the steepest railway 52 degrees in the world...an old mining rail which they used to haul coal out of the valley 150 yrs ago and which is now used to scare the pants off tourists as it plunges down the gorge though a part through a tunnel to the bottom. Expensive and touristy, but well worth it.
Other days we drove to scenic lookouts, down valleys, and did amazing walks along the edge of the chasms, marvelling at the view at each different place. The region is dotted with small historic towns dating back to pioneer days with convict built buildings, old English gardens, and grand Victorian hotels. We also went to the peak at which the original pioneer, Cox, found his way through the range and opened the route to the West and new farm lands for the colony. We marvelled at how they brought carriages up these slopes, dragging concrete blocks behind them to slow them down on the slopes on the way down, and seeing the marks the convicts made with their picks while hacking through the rocks to make gateways.
Another day we drove into the Wollemi Wilderness part of the mountains which is the most remote and inaccessible (in fact we could not get very far into it ourselves). It was in this part that an adventurer made the most remarkable discovery in 1994..he found a stand of “Dinosaur Trees” which until that moment was thought to have been extinct for more than 6 million years. Discovering them was as likely as finding a dinosaur wandering through the forest in Botanic terms. They are now known as the Wollemi Pines, huge trees of 40 meters tall, and only about 40 in the known universe. Its exact situation is a closely kept secret but who knows what other rare and unknown creatures and plants exist, as it is largely unexplored.
On another day we went for a ride on the ZigZag railway...an engineering wonder of its time. Trying to get coal and goods down the precipice, an engineer designed this railway to go down the gorge in slopes and then reverse the engine and take it down the next slope to the bottom..incredible when you ride on it and see the bridges and tunnels which were build using the most primitive tools.
There was so much to see and do that we were there for 10 days..our record. One of those days was to fix the car which had a few problems, and there were a couple of rainy, misty days too which were well used to do admin, painting and repairs.We left the Blue Mountains reluctantly, and drove through some scary mountain passes in heavy rain and mist..in some places with tyres briefly spun on the steep road, many 180 degree bends. We also took a “short cut” (it wasn’t!) through the mountains and Hawkesbury River valley with 180 degree switchback twisty corners and two ferries (max veh length 7.5 metres permitted) across swollen rivers...all in the rain and mist. Someone had suggested the route as beautiful, which it was, without mentioning that no one should ever take a caravan there. The sad thing was that we couldn’t SEE the beauty either with the mist! On to the next region which is the Central Coast of NSW!!

The Inside Story

As we go along we meet all kinds in the caravan parks..mostly grey nomads. From bald pear shaped couples in their little fold ups, to lithe, tanned and sinewy couples in their huge 5th wheelers that are as high as ours is long with lounges, bathrooms and even washing machines. Many of them are going round for years, and in fact have sold up their homes and are using the vans as their “retirement homes”,so that each day is an adventure and they can follow the weather, festivals and displays along the way. They seem blissfully happy, and seem to have everything they need, including a positive and healthy outlook on life.
I wondered what they did with all their “STUFF”? You know what I mean..we have a house full of stuff at home, yet we seem to have everything we need for daily life here in this van and all the comforts. Do we really NEED it all, and is the accumulation of all that stuff an asset or a liability to enjoying our autumn years?
But while thinking of it I realised that I LIKED having all our pictures, comfy furniture, and memories around us. Also, we like having our community around us..our parish, neighbours and friends, and a sense of belonging which you can’t get when you don’t stay in any place for long. But most importantly is being close to family...we like having children, grandchildren and close family pop in for lunch, special occasions and for a spot of babysitting. Seeing them once a year as we swung into their part of the world would not be enough for me. So although it sounds romantic and fun, we will stick to caravanning as our recreation and not a permanent lifestyle.
Since a few people have asked about the actual nitty gritty of our trip, I will try and answer a few Q.
We have a 2002 Commodore and tow a 15 foot Pop up caravan (the type where the topmost roof section pops up and has zip vents for cross draughts) It has all the comforts of home except our own shower and loo. There is a gas stove and oven, sink, microwave, two beds, TV with DVD player which tucks away on a extendable arm , Sat dish, radio and of course our laptop with wireless internet (the BEST invention!) We also have a reverse cycle air con which is great for those hot days. We had a special annex (side tent) made which is not the usual canvas, but a plasticised shade cloth type fabric which allows the fresh air to flow in but keeps the goggas out. We only put the annex up when we know we are going to be in one site for a few days, cos although it is all very streamlined, it does take extra time. We also now only put the sat dish up when we know we will be in one place for a few days cos it does take time and is not worth it for an overnight stop. Generally we don’t even unhitch when we do an overnight stop, but if we are going to do any touring then we level the van and free up the car! Although Paul has rigged the van up with 12 V and also 240 V, we have not camped in the bush on this trip. We have a deep cycle battery which we could use to have power in those cases, and generally it copes with most things except heavy users like microwaves. There are many wonderful free campsites and basic campsites in National Parks where we would normally have stayed, but this time we have used our little portable freezer which needs power to stay frozen so we have been reluctant to stay where there is no power. I must say it is nice to have hot showers and loos, but of course that does mean we are paying for accommodation every night.
Caravan Parks vary from quite plush with pools, spas, tennis courts etc, to very basic with just a shower and loo. All have been clean and adequate...of course you pay for the extras. Also, school holidays and public holidays play a big part in the cost...some vary from 25.00 (= empty parks ) a night to 45.00 (and packed like sardines) a night depending on season. We never book ahead cos sometimes we look at a map and think that an area looks great to stay in, but when we get there it’s a barren place with Caravan Park on the main road..so we would rather take chances and just be gypsies. Fuel -planned 5,000kms but done 11,000 kms, at $1.32 - $1.48 even in Sydney.
We eat well and we don’t eat out of tins or takeaways. I have the microwave, a wok, a griller as well as the usual toaster/kettle etc. We eat outdoors when we can and light candles and candlewood sticks for the mozzies. A lightweight table and two deck chairs with side tables completes the comfort.
There is enough storage space if we only take what we need..that is the million dollar Q..what do we really need? Under one bunk Paul has all his tools..angle grinder/drill/tool box etc. With those he has already fixed many things in the van that needed doing. It also has our hiking gear and various spare parts. Under the other bunk is my painting kit in one container, all the paperwork and books in another, and clothes from the next season in a corner. The last bunk has fishing rods, axe, and wet weather gear..with a corner for the beers and wine! The pantry has three shelves for foodstuffs, a cupboard for pots and pans and overhead cupboards for crockery etc. The clothes wardrobe is a bit mean with only 4 narrow shelves, and another small cupboard for shoes. (Not nearly enough for my liking!)The Sat box and other equipment go on top the wardrobe.
Although we are living in a small place we don’t seem to get in each other’s way...although we do have to pass in the passage sideways – a delight indeed. Somehow we each have our roles and we each have our routines and so there is harmony..most of the time. Only when the roles or leadership issues are transgressed do things get heated. The biggest cause of heated discussion has been helped immensely with the new GPS with screen and speech instructions..but believe it or not , even “she” is not infallible and there have been cases of us going round in circles getting heated. A lot of the time we are out sightseeing, and even when we are van bound cos of rain there is always lots to do to keep our interest. We have lovely CD’s, DVD’s, the Sat dish, books, planning our short term itinery, painting.....and of course the internet! Also repairing and maintaining car and van.Best buy..the GPS and wireless internet. Worst buy..a small portable washing machine which works well by turning the handle. But it still needs to be wrung out and it takes up a fair bit of room. With washing machines and driers in all caravan parks for a couple of dollars it was not worth it. So the local St Vincent’s got a donation. So far, so good. We learn all the time!