Day 12 Tuesday June 17th 2014 Urunga The seaside town of Sawtell is situated between two creeks just south of Coffs Harbour. In the 1940’s the locals built a wide main street and planted Moreton Bay Fig trees along the … Continue reading It’s a long way to the top, Day 12 – Just Jamming at Urunga
Day 11 Monday June 16th 2014 Urunga It is invigorating walking through the mangroves on the boardwalk at sunup. The ospreys are wheeling overhead and scaring the wits out of the seagulls. You don’t have to look up to find … Continue reading It’s a long way to the top, Day 11 – Up the range
Day 10 Sunday June 15th 2014 Coopernook to Urunga It is a glorious morning and everything looks bright and washed clean. We visit Wauchope because it is there. An old forestry town it has beds of flowering gardenias lining the streets. How good is that? The smell of bacon and eggs wafts across the park from the busy cafe, mmm nice town. We arrive at the Urunga Heads Holiday Park in time for lunch. The neat and spacious park is right on the river. Our van overlooks the spot where the Kalang River joins the Bellinger River to flow out … Continue reading It’s a long way to the top, Day 10 – Urunga
Day 9 Saturday June 14th 2014 Coopernook It starts to rain gently in the wee hours of the morning yet it is warm enough to have breakfast outside. We meet our neighbour Fred from Port Macquarie. Fred and his wife have sold their house and have several months to wait for the new one to be built. They intend to go north in their camper trailer but have a few loose ends to tie up before they hit the road. Here they are 70kms south of home waiting. One of the loose ends is Fred’s dying mother in law. It … Continue reading It’s a long way to the top, Day 9 – Soaking up the solitude
Day 8 Friday June 13th 2014 Stockton to Coopernook With Sydney behind us we can take our time now. It is a cool overcast morning. The vegetation is changing melaleuca and grass trees amongst the eucalypts. We pull into the little hamlet of Karuah for fuel. Woody decides to wash the windscreen and hasn’t considered the Jeep’s rain sensing wipers. It makes for great entertainment. A quick stop at Taree for supplies, ah the mighty Manning River. I love these big rivers. Roadside sign: Pimpley Squash. Only a few kilometres on we turn off to the Coopernook Pub, it offers … Continue reading It’s a long way to the top, Day 8 – Coopernook Forest
Day 7 Thursday June 12th 2014 Stockton It was a warm night but now overcast. We caught the ferry across the Hunter River to Newcastle. What a bargain $2.50 for an all day ferry and bus pass and it takes … Continue reading It’s a long way to the top, Day 7 – Walking Newcastle
Day 6 Wednesday June 11th 2014 Moss Vale to Stockton Last night was mild and the morning is foggy but clearing as we leave. It is 11 degrees at 9:00am. We drive through Bowral and Mittagong then join the Hume … Continue reading It’s a long way to the top, Day 6 – Happily wrecked on the Hunter
Day 5 Tuesday June 10th 2014 Holbrook to Moss Vale We had a cold night last night the only sounds were that of the constant trucks and a lone mopoke calling. It is a bright clear morning and 6 degrees at 9:30. The sky is streaked with jet streams. It is a long haul up the many hills to Yass and we average only 80kms/hour. We walk around Yass and admire the grand old buildings and huge old hotels. There are more hills before we reach Goulburn but in sight of the Big Ram there is a Bunnings store so … Continue reading It’s a long way to the top, Day 5 – Changing plans as usual
Day 4 Monday June 9th 2014 Healesville to Holbrook It was a very ‘nose cold’ night but we slept in until 7:15am. It is around zero degrees. Woody leaps under the shower and there is only a trickle of water. After racing about to check the taps he decides on a quick ‘bush shower’ under what water there is. Then it is my turn and guess what? We hadn’t filled the tanks at home expecting to keep our weight down until Healesville and now there is nothing left and there is a burst water main out on the Don Road. … Continue reading It’s a long way to the top, Day 4 – We’re away
Day 3 Sunday June 8th 2014 Healesville (Badger Creek) We wake to a beautiful chilly morning and rush off to find the local market, but there is none. The coffee shop proprietor sends us on a wild goose chase to Chateau Yering winery but we buy some goodies from their shop anyway. We visit Train Trak wines then wander captivated through the antique shop at Yarra Glen. It is an absolute paradise of nostalgia. A cold beer at the Yarra Glen pub revives us for the return to camp. We have another game of Klop beside the lake and this … Continue reading It’s a long way to the top, Day 3 – wining a lot
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