Australia
Woolgoolga Creek

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    • Day 16

      Invasion der Flughunde

      November 2, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

      Weiter ging es zum Sandy Beach und dann zum Woolgoola Beach, wo wir gemütlich an der Straße entlang fuhren und uns wunderten warum ein paar Autos am Straßenrand hielte. Naja wird ein Koala sein, dachten wir und hielten an. Doch dann kam glaub ich das unerwarteste Erlebnis unserer ganzen Reise. Eine riesiger Schwarm aus Flughunde hat sich am Rand des Waldes gesammelt, es waren hunderttausende von ihnen überall in den Bäumen verteilt. Sie schrien und flogen von Baum zu Baum. Es war wirklich absolut faszinierend und total verrückt. Wir wollten eigentlich nur an einem etwas abgelegenen Strand entlang laufen und entdeckten diese Invasion von Flughunden. Der Strand hat nach dieser Entdeckung natürlich total abgestunken. Also fuhren wir weiter zu den Red Rocks bei denen ein Meeresarm ins Landesinnere führte und wie eine Lagoone zum Baden einlud.
      Die Nacht verbrachten wir dann auf dem Suffolk Beachfront Holiday Park.
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    • Day 83

      Von Sydney nach Brisbane

      April 26, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

      Wir sind jetzt seit 2 Tagen mit dem Camper unterwegs, auf dem Weg von Sydney nach Brisbane. Die letzten Wochen hatten wir wenig Zeit mal etwas zu schreiben, da wir ja mit den anderen unterwegs waren und es auf der Great Ocean Road auch nicht überall Internet gab. Heute haben wir nach 3,5 Wochen in Australien unsere ersten Kängurus gesehen !!! Die Landschaft und auch die Autobahnen sind der Hammer hier. Wir sind heute auf dem bis jetzt besten Campingplatz in Australien gelandet und auf der Straße zum Campingplatz haben wir tausende Flughunde in den Bäumen hängen sehen.Read more

    • Day 1

      Overnight at Woolgoolga

      September 1, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

      Stopped at Woolgoolga Caravan Park for the night, really nice spot right on the beach. The park is also dog friendly, which is handy to know. Beautiful afternoon to walk along the beach and looking forward to an early night 😴Read more

    • Day 71

      Wooli, Moonee Beach & Woolgoolga

      April 30, 2022 in Australia ⋅ 🌧 20 °C

      9wks in and am getting lazy - you're getting three towns in one footnote.

      Wooli (pronounced Wool-eye) is just up the road from Minnie Water. We went there for the dawn service at 5am for Anzac Day. Was a bit pants as we were stuck down the back and couldn't see or hear the service. But we could hear the Last Post ringing out across the sea, which gave me chills.
      We will remember them.

      We buggered off down the beach once the service was over and caught the sunrise, was pretty special. Lovely area, where the river meets the sea.

      We had high hopes when we moved on to Moonee Beach. The caravan park was 5 stars with rave reviews about how dog friendly it was, how great the area was and how close it was to the beach.

      And the big town of Coffs Harbour is ten minutes down the road, with all the big shops I needed for various bits and bobs. I'm thinking of getting a portable washing machine, as I'm spending a small fortune on park laundries. Which are notoriously rubbish with old top loaders, manufactured in eighteen eleventy three. Clothes come out dirtier that they went in and it's ruined several new white shirts. But the portable machines are pretty weighty and quite large, don't think I've got the space or weight left for one.

      Well, Reflections Holiday Park at Moonee Beach were rubbish. Not dog friendly, just dog tolerant. The site was a swamp, ankle deep in mud. The car and the van are now filthy. The 'beach' was in fact the estuary, it was a good 20 minute walk to the actual beach, across ridged hard sand that killed the feet and several swims through permanent trenches in the sand, caused by the tide.

      We nearly stepped on a sleeping stingray whilst wading across to the beach to watch the surfers early one morning - and that was the highlight of our stay.

      We nipped up the coast to Woolgoolga to check out the Buster shipwreck that had been exposed on the beach, due to the wild weather. And stumbled across a beach front caravan park when I took a wrong turn. It was glorious. No mud, just a few steps to the beach which was huge and wide with warm water (and a historic shipwreck). I booked on the spot and we abandoned the swamp at Moonee Beach the following morning.

      And that's where you find us right now - Lakeside Holiday Park, Woolgoolga. Ironic name as there is no lake. Just a wide creek that flows into the sea.

      Dick did a flying jump to catch a stick yesterday. His legs went out from under him and he landed square on his arse in the sand. He limped back to me and whimpered a bit - so I knew he'd done himself a mischief.

      He's scraped all the skin off his a-hole and bruised his backside. He's been having salt baths in the sea (which must really sting) and some soothing gel on his unmentionables. I may need to whip him to the vets for antibiotics when they re-open on Monday.

      Reason for vet visit: 'A red raw butthole'
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    • Day 24

      Woolgoolga Beach

      February 23, 2019 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 24 °C

      Woolgoolga - was ist denn das? Das hab ich mich auch gefragt... Und warum ich grad hier meinen Zwischenstop eingeplant hab. Es war Intuition. Und wisst ihr was - es war super cool. Strandspaziergang - ein Schiffswrack, das nicht mehr wirklich erkennbar war und Surfer, die sich waghalsig in die Sturmwellen geschmissen haben. Das alles abgerundet mit einem Brownie und einem Cocktail. Was braucht man mehr?Read more

    • Day 62

      It rained and rained ...

      September 10, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

      And rained.
      So much fun.
      Well apart from when the heavy rain stopped during the night but the drops kept falling from this magnificent fig tree on my site.
      Because they don’t fall in any regular pattern so you lay awake to hear the next ones on the tin roof.
      But the listening to them is nice.

      So I haven’t had to have my awning up.
      Well, once before only.
      The weather has been sunny and warm so I have only had the green sun shelter up.

      Anyway, this morning I had Lacey booked for her vaccination at a Vet in Woopi.
      9.45am.
      So Lacey and I went for a morning walk by the Lake in the rain and then sat tucked up on the step of Tin Tin and watched the rain fall.
      Emily and I decided to put the awning up after I had driven to the Vet.
      Off we went.
      Same street as Ground Earth cafe in town.
      3 minutes away.

      Lovely Vet, Jim.
      Had that opaque screening on his glass windows as he was set up in a shop really that faced out to a arcade.
      So funny.
      He drew diagrams for me on that opaque glass with a white board marker.
      I asked him when he discovered he could do that and just rub it off with a tissue.
      He said 3 years in.
      He was thrilled.
      Lovely man.

      We had quite a chat.
      Then I asked him if he knew the border collie breeder in Woopi.
      He didn’t but Kara, the vet nurse had a dog with a litter due next week.
      Much excitement.
      Turns out she was looking after this dog for the birth.
      She is a working farm dog and Kara is going to have one of the puppies.
      So I told her all about Emily ... ( you can probably imagine )
      And she said bring Emily in to see her.

      So off I raced, so excited.
      It was 10.30am and Emily was in a meeting.
      So I paced outside her door, in the rain.
      ( She said later that she didn’t think getting the awning up was THAT important.)

      The meeting finished and I grabbed her and said, “ Get in the car. I’ll explain on the way.”

      I explained on the way.

      Emily met Kara.
      They got on like a house on fire.
      The puppies are due Wednesday or Thursday next week.
      ( Thursday is Emily’s 41st birthday!)
      They are going to do an ultrasound early next week.
      They think she has a few puppies in there as she is quite big.
      ( Vets know these type of things...)

      Anyway 5 puppies have owners already.
      Emily is claiming the 6th, if there are 6 puppies.
      Fingers and toes crossed everyone.

      Kara invited us to meet the mother dog on Sunday.
      Both Mum and Dad are working border collies.

      So I really, really, really hope all goes well and there are lots of puppies.
      Imagine Emily walking the beach with a puppy.
      Riding the paddle board with a puppy.
      Snuggled up on the bed with a puppy.
      Oh....

      Don’t imagine life in the bus with a cat and a puppy until they get to know one another ...
      Or the manoeuvring involved getting a puppy in and out the door of the bus while keeping the cat inside.
      It will be an absolute nightmare.
      But she’ll have a puppy.
      And a companion on all those beach walks.

      She is also bringing her car up so they will go on trips together.
      I am so glad she is getting a dog.

      Then, we put the awning up.
      A 2 minute job.
      And so much fun to see it up.

      Read for the rest of the day, in between walks.

      Rain due tomorrow as well.

      Having an absolutely wonderful time.

      Fingers crossed everyone.

      Xxx
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    • Day 49

      Emily is limping ...

      August 28, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

      Emily went to Sandy Beach yesterday to help Rhyll with a clean up in her back yard, kicked a pile of small branches and her ankle connected with a large bit of wood.
      It swelled overnight so by the time she got home this morning, she was limping quite badly.

      I got up at 7am.
      Magnificent day.
      And Emily wanted to wade in the cool water for her ankle so off we went, slowly.
      This was quite simply the best morning.
      All we could do was paddle and make our way slowly up the lake to the sea.
      So it was leisurely.
      And the difference was amazing.
      I loved it.
      We are usually going fast.
      This was so much better.

      Lacey and I crossed the creek.
      It was low tide.
      And walked part of the track on the other side.
      Emily kept slowly walking in the water.
      Lacey swam the creek several times.
      ( She seems so proud of herself!)

      Long, slow walk.
      Up the rocks on the other side.
      Emily joined us as the cold water was doing the trick.
      Then we wandered into the waves.
      Magnificent.

      Back to camp.
      No wind and lots of sun.

      Emily put a cold pack on her foot and read.

      Barbara, a lady by herself, in her 70s who we chat to a lot, was sitting in the sun on an empty site opposite her van when a caravan pulled in to take that site so she moved into the sun on the next site ... closer to us.
      Then another van arrived for that site ... so I invited her for lunch.
      Chicken wrap.
      We sat and chatted for ages.
      She has been coming here for over 20 years.
      She lost her husband a couple of years ago but still comes as she knows so many people here.
      They have been coming for as many years.
      Wonderful to hear what the Park was like back then.
      And they used to waterski on the Lake!
      It has silted up a bit much for that now.

      More reading.
      Bit of walking.

      Emily headed into Coffs.
      Daryl and a Martine picked me up for an early dinner at the Seaview Tavern
      ( That’s what the pub on the hill is called.)
      Great food and a lot of fun.

      Emily is now visiting Crystal in Woolgoolga.

      Lovely day .

      Xxx
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    • Day 61

      Bit excited.

      September 9, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

      Roger rang.
      He likes Iveco Vans.
      This is huge.
      He can tell us in no uncertain terms what vans not to buy.
      He gave the OK on the Iveco.
      “Not a bad van out of all of them”
      I am taking that as a ‘Yes.’

      So onward and upward.
      Much planning.
      And a lot of designing.

      YIPPEE.

      On the other side, I think Emily is staying with Bumper for a while yet.
      She is bringing her car up here so can travel to places she wants to see.
      And she is thrilled to have her home base, Bumper, in Woolgoolga.
      So, after all that hard work, she is going to sit back and enjoy her home.
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    • Day 61

      Bumper interior finished!

      September 9, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

      Beautiful sunny day today.
      Rhyll came with her dog for a walk with Emily at 9am.
      Lacey and I went for a lovely walk around the lake.

      Read until the girls got back.
      And then Rhyll left and Emily did some work.

      Then we headed to that special shop in Woopi to get curtains to divide Bumper’s front driving section from the living area.
      These were block out curtains and came in the most beautiful pale grey and white.
      We could not have got better colouring if we tried.

      Then to Burger Box again.
      Burgers for lunch at the table at Teabag Corner.
      Then off to Mitre 10 for dowel for the curtain rods.

      We haven’t got a saw.
      The young workman in the park agreed to saw the dowel to the correct length for us.
      Three cuts and we were set.

      Up went the curtains in the bus.
      They look fantastic.
      Then we took the insulated silver sun shield from inside the windscreen of Bumper, laid it on the next curtain and with 2 sided tape managed to exactly cover both sides.
      Back on the inside of the windscreen that went.

      Then 2 rods, one above each side window of the cabin.
      Curtains attached to those.
      Voila... total block out and sun protection for the whole front cabin which, in turn makes the whole bus cooler.
      And it looks great!!!!!

      Long walk over the creek in the sun.
      Chat to our lovely neighbour under my green sun shelter ...about vans.

      Dinner.
      Steak and veges.
      Started to rain slightly.
      Rain forecast all day tomorrow.

      Bed.
      Blogging.

      Great day!

      Xxx
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    • Day 60

      Hello from Paradise.

      September 8, 2020 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

      We are having a wonderful time in Woopi!
      Sometimes doing stuff.
      Sometime not.

      Up at 7am.
      Sunny and still.
      We went for a walk on the beach in the sun.
      This time north across the creek where it meets the ocean.
      ( I wore shorts today. Yesterday I didn’t and the water was too deep to cross in rolled up jeans.)

      The depth depends on the tide, of course.
      Wonderful walk in the sun.
      Lacey greeting all her friends on the beach.
      The same people tend to walk at the same time and we know them, and all the dogs.
      Cody, a little terrier/ collie cross is Lacey’s special friend.
      They run towards each other at full speed to say hello.
      It’s lovely to watch.

      Emily had a few meetings so I headed to a vet near Mitre 10 to get some dog food for the trip home. We would have run short, I think.
      Then grocery shopping at Woolworths.
      The people who are camped next to us were riding their bikes through the car park there and we waved furiously.
      People in caravan parks are lovely.
      Everyone talks.
      This couple arrived yesterday and she came over as Emily and I were discussing the Iveco vans.
      “ Sorry. Couldn’t help eves dropping ... what are you going to convert?”
      We had a great chat.

      Back to camp with a hot chicken and salads ... as well as other things ... but we attacked this as if we had not eaten in years.
      All this fresh air and exercise, I think.
      Once again we were starving.

      I had seen some very nice cane baskets at the enormous $2 type shop here and mentioned them to Emily.
      So off we went.
      Got two.
      And Emily did some organising in Bumper.
      Looks amazing.
      Trying to have things in baskets ( which will be screwed to the counter top ) so she can just up and drive without so much packing up.
      Off to buy curtains tomorrow for behind the passenger and driver seats.
      ( Same shop. It is a great shop.)

      Read on the deck.
      Another couple of walks.

      Wonderful dinner, rolled chicken and veges.
      Followed by chocolate freckles.. also from that shop.

      Tomorrow’s forecast - 23 and sunny, may rain late afternoon.

      Xxx

      Oh ... and if you enlarge the photo of inside Bumper, there are 2 photos on the whiteboard.
      One is Emily about 2 years old having a tea party with a Grandma.
      Unfortunately, Grandma is not in the photo.
      The other one is of Emily with my Dad, her Grandpa splashing in the paddle pool.
      Again, she’s about 2 years old.
      These were taken when Mum and Dad flew to visit when were lived in Bunbury, WA.
      Dad had this photo on his bedside table and kissed Emily goodnight every night for over 30 years.
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    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Woolgoolga Creek

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