Australia via KL

It was drizzling when we awoke and that made us grateful that we had chosen a motorhome rather than a camper van or a system of tents etc. Pitching at a campsite takes a couple of minutes, breaking down may take 5 mins if everything gets coiled up properly and put away in the correct places. Eating breakfast, watching other people take down tarpaulins, get on ladders etc, well it made us feel good. Mind, some families bring everything. Yesterday we saw a family load three fridges/freezers onto the back of their lorry when they were packing up to leave.

Once we had packed up and left the site we went for a walk along the beach. Very breezy and not very warm so just a quick paddle and then back to Bertha for the first leg of the journey.

There are a number of “must see” beaches that are on our list. The trouble with many of these is that they are great beaches, but not much different from one another. I think that people create their own memories of a place based upon many things, the people they are with, what they did, what they saw, what they ate etc; location is only a part of it. Once everything else is stripped away, just leaving the location, well it’s not always that special.

Emerald Beach is one of those beaches. It would probably look better with blue sky and an extra 10C, but it was only a beach. Next!

There are a number of “Big” things around Australia. We have already seen the “Big Mango” at Bowen, but missed the “Big Prawn. This area has the “Big Banana”. We didn’t need to stop, a drive-by photo was quite sufficient.

Coffs Harbour was another recommendation. We headed for the dolphin sanctuary but were put off by the crowds and the price of admission and decided to go to the market and beach instead. The market was, like many, a combination of local produce and locally made handicrafts, plus food stalls and a music stage. Bun has discovered Gozeleme, today’s was spinach and feta.

Gözleme is a traditional savory Turkish flatbread and pastry dish. The dough is usually unleavened, and made only with flour, salt and water, but gözleme can be made from yeast dough as well. It is similar to bazlama, but is lightly brushed with butter or oil, whereas bazlama is prepared without fat. The dough is rolled thin, then filled with various toppings, sealed, and cooked over a griddle. Gözleme may sometimes be made from prepackaged hand-rolled leaves of yufka dough.

We enjoy the markets and the live music, they have a lovely relaxing vibe and families sit on the grass to eat their food, listen to the music and relax.

Now to the mountains. Two other “must see” sites, Never, Never Creek - great for swimming, and Dangar Fall, a waterfall.

We decided to take the scenic route on the first leg to Never Never Creek - MISTAKE. We should have realised that this would include 20km of corrugated unsealed gravel road. Whereas the previous ones had been in the open, this was around a forest, rather like a leg of the RAC rally. The main benefit of these roads is that Bun and I sit clenching everything as Bertha hits pot hole after pot hole and the rockery rattles and shakes. Bun has now done such a good job in Bertha than none of the doors or drawers swing open if we hit a big bump. No late life incontinence for us if we keep travelling these gravel roads.

Unfortunately the creek is dry, but we did see a Kingfisher.

The next leg was up the mountains. Bertha climbed 720m up to the plateau on top. We went at a steady pace, 40kmh. Fortunately not much traffic around to hold up.

The views from the top are great and may be better if the cloud lifts. The campsite is right next to the viewing platform for the Dangar Waterfall; this would probably be spectacular with a bit more water, but, nevertheless, impressive. We also walked to the bottom of the falls where there is a large pool where people often swim. The temperature today is around 20C so we probably won’t venture in.

Dinner, then bed.Read more