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East Coast Australia
  • Walshies Down Under
  • Jenny Walsh
Feb – May 2019

East Coast Australia

Travelling up the East Coast of Australia with our Campervan in tow. Read more
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  • Trip start
    February 16, 2019
    East Coast Australia

    The Adventure Begins

    February 17, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Whoopeee. Our adventure begins. Loaded up the van, mainly with beer, cider and red wine... and hitched up the car ready to start part 1 of our Walshies Down Under Trip.

    Don’t worry, not every day will be an essay on r trip but do read on...

    We are driving our trusted Toyota Kluger Grande, a bit of a workhorse really, complete with kayaks on the roof rack.

    Our home for the next 5 months is our Goldstream “storm” campervan. We have mountain bikes at the rear and a whole range of creature comforts on board including air con. A 3 way fridge, oven, 2 x 60l water tanks, hot water system and shower, solar panel, TV, microwave, cuddly toy, and most importantly a Nespresso coffee machine.

    Today we set off and are heading to The Snowy Mountains in New South Wales. It’s about a 6 hour drive. We’re camping at a place called Thredbo Diggings at the base of Mt kozciuszko, Australia’s tallest Mountain. Great for bike riding and hiking.

    It’s the middle of summer here in Aus but Thredbo is part of the alpine region and yes, it’s a ski resort in winter so it still gets cold at night. Jen has her UGG Boots, they are well worn and have a hole in the big toe for ventilation.

    DRIVE: Melbourne to Thredbo (551km)
    So we’re driving up the Hume Highway towards Wodonda and almost ran out of petrol. Great start, we diverted to Barnawatha, it has a general store and that’s it and with 1k of petrol to go, we made it and refuelled.

    We Came through Corryong and purchased a National Park pass at Khancoban and took The Alpine Way (Charlotte Pass) through to Thredbo which gets steep, windy and narrow after passing Tom Groggin. The car and camper did it easy and the scenic drive with snow gums lining the road was awesome.

    THE CAMP
    On the banks of Thredbo River, Thredbo Diggings is a beautiful scenic spot which gets busy during Summer weekends but clears out during the week.

    Apart from bush sites for tents and caravans, the only facilities are pit toilets (no water supplies here, BYO) and fire pits for cooking in.

    We setup overlooking the river with good elevation so we could see down the valley.

    WILDLIFE
    Ducks, Kangaroos, Rosellas, Brush Tail Possums

    Sat having a Corona after setting up for the night.    Read more

  • East Coast Australia
    12

    Damper Bread at Thredbo Diggings

    February 17, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    2nd night camping on the banks of the Thredbo River at Thredbo Diggings. Woke up to an awesome view and the sound of Kookaburras as the mist rolled over the river and the sun glistened in the running water.

    We ventured on our mountain bikes and took a trail to Bullocks Hut. Jen managed to take out a few trees during our navigation through the narrow bike trail and we spotted a couple of bush kangaroos on our way.

    Back at base, just relaxing. Lots of Marsh Flys hanging around the pit toilets. They're never seems to be more than 3 or 4 flys but if you kill them all, 3 or 4 immediately take their place...!

    We made a campfire in the evening and let the wood burn to hot coals and placed my yummy damper bread recipe in a pot belly stove to cook.

    DAMPER BREAD RECIPE (30-40min)
    2 cup self raising flour, 1cup milk, a pinch of salt, walnuts, chocolate cherries.

    The choc cherries were kindly send to us by Jackie in Chicago. First attempt at damper and delish. A real winner.

    The Ducks have retired for the night and possums are scouting around the campsite for food and we spotted a platypus in the river during twilight.

    The days are sunny and warm but it can get quite cold in the high country at night so we have made hot water bottles to keep the toes warm.

    WILDLIFE
    Ducks, Busk Kangaroos, Platypus, Marsh Flys.    Read more

  • East Coast Australia
    111

    Mountain Bike Trailing 101

    February 18, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Day 3 of our great Adventure. There’s an intermediate mountain bike trail from Thredbo Village which passes our campsite at Thredbo Diggings. So we decide to ride it in the opposite direction to Ngarigo Campsite 9km return. How hard can it be?

    Wait a minute, it seems quite steep and unforgiving and all the pro bikers are riding past us at great pace in the opposite direction. Of course it’s a downhill mountain bike track and we are riding it uphill... doh!

    Jen went forwards and then backwards into a bush (see pic/it’s for real) and when we finally got to our destination, we were cooked (see pic of our bikes, we have both collapsed beside them).

    After a ham sandwich and a bit of a rest, we gamefully donned our bike helmets and traversed down the mountain bike trail back to base camp which was a hoot, so much easier, and not much peddling required.

    Needless to say, a dip in the river and siesta was required to recover.

    A quick storm passed and we lit the campfire to cook a pot belly sausage and red wine casserole in the evening. Quite like cooking over coals. Maybe we shall try walking over them next... it may be easier than mountain biking.

    WILDLIFE
    A Bush Cyclist...!    Read more

  • East Coast Australia
    2

    On Top of Mt Kosciuszko 2228m

    February 19, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Mt Kosciuszko is Australia’s tallest peak at 2228m and one of the hardest names to remember how to spell. Good job I have my trusted spell checker/wife to correct me.

    After a short drive to Thredbo Village, We caught the SIUKZOCKOS Express chairlift up to Eagles Nest to start our 13k return hike to the top. A bit windy on the way up but awesome blue sky and panoramic views of New South Wales and the Victorian Alps.

    In winter, it’s the ski season here but during the summer alpine season, there are downhill mountain bike tracks running from the top of the chairlift. The Mountain bikers are kitted up like armadillos and don’t seem to care about brakes as they fly down the near vertical tracks.

    Back at camp, I took my drone for its first real mission, to capture Thredbo Diggings and the magnificent Thredbo River. All good and landed the drone back at home base in one piece.

    WILDLIFE
    The usual suspects    Read more

  • East Coast Australia
    1111

    Snowy Mt Drive to PU a Possum at Bodalla

    February 20, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    “Moooving Day” today. and not just us...

    DRIVE: THREDBO DIGGINGS TO POTATO POINT (264km)
    We packed up early and hit the Snowy Mountain Highway through Jindabyne and crossed the magnificent Great Dividing Range which extends from Victoria right up to North Queensland.

    Our destination, Potato Point on the NSW coastline. Don’t worry, we will find out why it’s called Potato Point for tomorrow.

    En route, we passed Jincumbilly train station. You may be waiting a while for the express train, but hey, no one is in a rush in these parts, particularly the cows.

    We got caught head on into a herd of cattle on “moooving day” from paddock to plate... The bull took a fancy to our corr (sorry, car) and stubbornly took centre stage on the highway.

    WARNING... don’t ride a bike over Dalgety bridge unless you can swim.

    As we meandered through the high planes, we stopped at Pipers Lookout, named after Fred Piper, a long serving Bus Driver on the Cooma to Bega route (see pic).

    This is serious cheese and Motorbike riding country. “Bega”s famous for Bega” and Don’t blink or you may miss Tilba Tilba so please STOP. Central Tilba, the main part of this historic 1873 township is just around the corner and its where we ate lunch, visited the chocolate shop and stocked up on cheese at the Tilba Tilba cheese factory.

    We continued on to Bodalla to rendezvous with Possum (Jaime) who was travelling down the coast from Sydney by bus. The pick up went smoothly... as her bus passed us by and we chased it through Bodalla until it finally stopped. Like I said “moooving day”.

    CAMP SITE: beachcomber Holiday Park / Potato Point
    We are staying 2 nights at Beachcomber Holiday Park and have a fantastic site right on the beach front. There are more Kangaroos here than campers and the holiday park is very eco friendly, no power other than solar, no lights, bore water for showers and filtered drinking water from rain tanks.

    It’s great to have Jaime joining us on our trip for a few days. A glass of red, a piece of steak, a morsel of cheese and the family is right at home.

    WILDLIFE
    Lots of Kangaroos incl. baby ones, possums    Read more

  • East Coast Australia
    2111

    Why the Name Potato Point

    February 21, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    So why the name Potato Point you may ask? We took a photo of a rock that looked like a potato...! Alas, no need to load that one anymore after a little “digging”, we finally found the true answer.

    Potato Point is a village connected by road to the town of Bodalla, and surrounded by the Eurobodalla National Park. The Brice family grew vegetables and potatoes here, rowing them out to ships standing off the point for transport to Sydney market.

    Our car wouldn’t start this morning, assume a flat battery. Well not really, I must admit I had left the keys in the campervan and I spent a good while diagnosing the problem as the electric push button start wasn’t working. Obviously, I need the keys on me and had to fess up to Jen and Jaime.

    Today was more relaxed and nothing much on the agenda. We ventured into Bodalla and visited the Bodalla Dairy, Cheese and Ice Cream Factory. The girls played it safe with “let’s go camping” ice cream which was vanilla and macadamia with a subtle hint of smoke...! I went on a limb and got the “chilli and chocolate” ice cream which practically set my taste buds on fire.

    As you can see, we managed to take a pic of two real, live dairy cows. They breed them strange in these parts. I could swear they look like dogs...

    After a visit to the Bodallla All Saints Anglican Church, built in 1881, we drove to Tuross Head and found a cool and relaxed boat shed cafe with its jetty jutting into the lake. A very peaceful place to chill and have coffee.

    We have mentioned a lot about cows in recent posts so this is the last mention for a while. I spent the afternoon cleaning cow dung off the under side of the car and camper after our drive through a herd of cows yesterday.

    Pasta for dinner and a chance to teach Jaime a new card game, Blind Don. Look it up and give it a go.

    WILDLIFE
    I fed a juvenile Kangaroo some bread this morning and it bit my finger by mistake. Not supposed to feed them so serves me right.

    .    Read more

  • East Coast Australia
    21

    Jervis Bay, A Little Slice Of Heaven

    February 22, 2019 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 21 °C

    There was a power outage this morning. We had run the 100AMP Marine battery dead due to an excess of charging gadgets and the fact we have been on unpowered sites for 6 days.

    We were literally like Apollo 13 trying to power up the LIM and orbit the dark side of the moon before our next destination, Jervis Bay, NSW.

    DRIVE: Potato Point to Jervis Bay (172km)
    On our stroll up Princess Hwy, we took a scenic detour and then passed through Batemans Bay, a large fishing and tourist town. Further up the coast and another 54km, we stopped at picturesque Ulladulla for lunch, Flat Head and chips. Jen and Jaime restocked food supplies whilst I bought a spare Marine battery and refilled water tanks as Jervis Bay is also off grid.

    CAMP SITE: Green Patch / Jervis Bay NSW
    Jervis Bay in the NSW Booderee National Park is indeed a little slice of heaven. We are camping at Green Patch (site 53) which is right on the bay beach but it feels like we are in a sub tropical rainforest full of animal noises that we have never heard before. In fact, The Booderee National Park is full of native gum and 200 species of birds (raptors).

    The campsite is very private and the beach is crisp silica white sand that squeaks when you walk on it. Canpsite 55 is also a great big flat site for 2 families.

    Can you guess the Christmas carol me and Jaime performed on the squeaky sand? Straight in for a refreshing dip as we have had a warm summer’s day today.

    The girls heading off to explore the beach whilst I returned to “The LIM” for a siesta. Some folk call our campervan “sleepy hollow” as you will always find the male species of our clan in the camper asleep in the afternoon. Not unlike a Koala.

    Jen got quite excited as the girls spotted a pod of Dolphins frolicking close to shore in the bay. Jervis Bay is perfect for our kayaks as it is a calm and well protected bay. That’s our activity for tomorrow then.

    Drinks-a-clockses prepared by Jaime with cool beer and time for dinner, a nice fillet of salmon. Well that’s the day done, but what’s that weird scary animal noise coming from the bush. It’s seriously freaking us out a bit... like that movie... Jurassic Park.

    WILDLIFE
    Rainbow Lorikeets, Little Wattle Birds, Peacock, Walabies, Possums, Dolphins, unknown strange noise from the bush.    Read more

  • East Coast Australia
    1

    Walshies Dolphin Kayak Adventures

    February 23, 2019 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 21 °C

    Up early this morning and spotted a baby emu outside the toilet block. Maybe that was the weird and scary sound we heard from the bush last night. Emus are flightless but will chase you down if threatened so I was watching out for bigger bird close by.

    A good beach day today so we launched the Kayaks at Jervis Bay in search of the pod of dolphins Jen had spotted yesterday. The bay is pretty calm and well protected so it’s ideal for a leisurely Kayak adventure.

    We paddled up and down the shoreline but no dolphins to spot today. The Walshies Dolphin Kayak Adventure comes with no guarantees other than a relaxing paddle, great scenic views and a spot on board the vessel to hold your can of beer.

    The ranger at the station told us that a pair of peacocks had recently took up residence at the Greenpatch campground. I spotted one on the way to the beach as well aa a pair of rainbow lorikeets,

    There’s so much wildlife here and a brown swamp wallaby passes our campsite just before dusk each evening like clockwork.

    We made an open fire in the on site bbqs and baked some potatoes for dinner. Jaime was keen to try my damper recipe so we made a batch together and cooked it to perfection in the pot belly stove.

    WILDLIFE
    Baby emu, peacock, rainbow lorikeets, swamp wallaby.    Read more

  • East Coast Australia

    Huskisson, Greenfields and Hyams Beaches

    February 23, 2019 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 22 °C

    Its Sunday so after a big cooked breakfast, we had a morning stroll up the beach and back at Jervis Bay,

    We decided to drive to Huskinsson which is the main town for lunch and it has a great cafe culture. A local triathlon had just finished and the cafes were brimming with fit but exhausted participants. As you can imagine, the Walshies at least looked the part as we mingled with the athletes and competed for a table, a cafe latte and lunch. I think we have conpleted a swim, bike, run on our trip so that counts at least...!

    The bay beaches are outstanding so we explored secluded Greenfields beach, another example of white silica sand and the main Hyams beach.

    Back at camp, the little wattle birds were intent on swooping past Jen and Jaime as they played cards and sipped cider. Quite harmless fun as the birds dive bombed past from a gum tree, circled and repeated their aerial display over and over.

    After sunset, the possums came out and seem oblivious to the campers as they go about their night shift. A baby possum was hitching a lift on mummy possums back and I had to scatter two possums from our campervan roof.

    WILDLIFE
    Kookaburras, little wattle birds, possums    Read more

  • East Coast Australia
    1

    Cave Beach and the Shaded Kangaroos

    February 25, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    A lazy morning to start the day. I watched the EPL, Man Utd v Liverpool which was a scoreless draw so after the match, I retired to the hammock (hangermatter) for a morning snooze.

    After lunch, we set off to Cave Beach, an expansive surf beach on the coastal side of Jervis Bay. A sand lizard past us by.

    On return to the car park, a kangaroo with Joey had taken up residence behind our car, enjoying some shade from the afternoon sun. They were very friendly and completely approachable so I finally coaxed the duo away from the car. The Joey was intent on trying to find a way back into mummy’s poach but it was too big and had completely out grown the comfort of its first home.

    As we sat down for dinner, Jen spotted a red bellied black snake crawling out from a dead tree trunk. Pretty harmless really as long as you don’t get bitten...!

    The evening light was perfect as the sun started to set on the beach at Jervis Bay so myself and Jaime took the drone out for a mission ( see videos)

    WILDLIFE
    Blue bottle jelly fish, Shaded kangaroos, sand lizard, red bellied black snake.    Read more

  • East Coast Australia
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    Possum heads home as we hit Blue Mtns

    February 26, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Your usual blogger (aka Steve) is under the weather so the back up has been called in... It was time to leave our little slice of heaven and head further north and west; back to the mountains.

    DRIVE: Jervis Bay to Katoomba via Shellharbour (269km).
    Getting the hang of the pack up now so we were on the road early; or maybe it was the extra pair of hands? A stop at Shellharbour for brunch before we dropped Possum/Jaime at Wollongong station. We’re pretty sure she was heading south but we didn’t actually see her board the train to the airport!! Leaving the coast behind us, we headed up and over Mt Keira and worked our way around the outskirts of Sydney. Lots of double B trucks and a couple of rogue bus drivers to deal with!! Wound our way through Glenbrook, Blaxland, Faulconbridge (home to Norman Lindsay, author of the lovely children’s book, The Magic Pudding), Wentworth Falls, Leura and finally into Katoomba.

    CAMP SITE: Katoomba Falls Tourist Park / Blue Mountains NSW.
    (Almost) Full set up for the first time as we’re on a powered site. You know what that means - microwave, air conditioning/heating, Nespresso machine... Now Steve’s in heaven... Didn’t set up the TV though - almost two weeks now without. Great location; across from Scenic World (OMG, I’ve never seen so many tour buses) & a short walk to the famous Three Sisters. You’ll have to wait to find out why they’re famous. Tidy, well-maintained camp with good amenities and sites. And more motorhomes than at a caravan show!!

    While Steve took a koala nap, I did a quick explore around Leura Cascades, ending up at Rooster restaurant drinking in the view (& a cheeky splash). A low key evening - some solo Bananagrams & Rummikub for Jenny; zzz’s for Steve :)

    WILDLIFE
    Koala having a nap...    Read more

  • East Coast Australia
    21

    The Three Sisters

    February 27, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    So here’s a tip - don’t go anywhere near the Three Sisters and Echo Point until after 5pm. The crowds have gone by then and the parking’s free :)
    And just why are they called the Three Sisters? According to Gundungurra Dreaming, three beautiful sisters named Meehni, Wimlah and Gunnedoo fell in love with three brothers from a neighbouring nation, the Dharruk people. As marriage was strictly forbidden by tribal law, the brothers decided to take the sisters by force. Tribal war forced the Kuradjuri (clever man) of the Gundungurra people to turn the sisters into stone. He intended to restore them after the war ended but, you guessed it, he was killed in the battle and to this day nobody has been able to break the spell. The Three Sisters watch over the beautiful Jamison Valley; home to a myriad of beautiful walks, including National Pass.

    So, yes, we popped on over to see the Three Sisters late in the day, having restocked our supplies after a “Possum” ate them all, and done the laundry...

    Also got our waterfall fix today at both Katoomba and Wentworth Falls, although not much water flowing over them. And of course, if you want to walk to the bottom of a waterfall, you’ve got to walk back up!!! It’s also well worth just meandering through the back streets of the little towns and villages in the Blue Mountains. Wentworth Falls has some lovely real estate, including one on the market now - The Falls House - if you’ve got a cool $3 million...

    WILDLIFE
    Yellow-crested cockatoo    Read more

  • East Coast Australia

    The Walls Lookout and Bilpin Cider

    February 28, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    We followed Jaime’s advice today, leaving the tourists behind us and headed for the northern side of the Blue Mountains. Archibald Bell, with help from the indigenous at the time, found a new way across the mountains and it became known as the Bells Line of Road, or The Botanist’s Way.

    Jaime had been staying over that way on her east coast adventure and told us about a great lookout and a cider orchard. We hit both!!

    The 1.2km walk into Wall’s Lookout ends in sheer cliffs overlooking Grose Valley. We hung around here (sometimes literally) for quite a while as we had the place to ourselves. It was great to explore and the panoramic was awesome.

    Feeling a bit peckish and thirsty, we continued along the road to Bilpin Cider where we did a tasting and feasted on fantastic apple pie (Steve) & brownie (Jen) with cream. Bought a 6 pack to take with us (cider, not pies & brownies!!).

    Quick stops at the Botanic Gardens at Mt Tomah (the only ones within the boundaries of a national park) and the Hydro Majestic Hotel before we took our own advice and re-visited the Three Sisters after 5pm. This time we walked down the Giant Stairway to the Honeymoon Bridge.

    WILDLIFE: Lyrebird, (some sort of) reptiles, marsupial mouse, echidna.    Read more

  • East Coast Australia
    11

    A Local Secret, Patonga Beach

    March 1, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Another moving day today but downhill all the way from the Blue Mountains to a hidden gem in the northern beaches of Sydney.

    DRIVE: Katoomba to Patonga (174km)
    We managed to hit 13.6 lites per 100km, our lowest fuel usage to date (won’t last) as we coasted down from the Blue Mountains applying soft breaks occasionally to slow “The Lem” down. That is of course until we hit the outskirts of Sydney. It was absolute madness trying to get through the western suburbs to head north up the coast and it took about an hour to go 20 kilometres.

    We made it though to Patonga Beach, another treasure of the east coast and a secret spot for locals to enjoy camping with the family. Patonga Beach is right at the mouth of the Hawkesbury River and in the middle of the Brisbane Waters National Park. Why does Sydney have a NP called Brisbane?

    CAMPSITE: Patonga Camping Ground / site 33
    Patonga Camping Ground has beach on one side and tidal creek on the other - perfect for kayaking. Site 33 is shaded by a lovely tall gum tree and 10m away from launching the kayaks. Being the last weekend of summer (technically, the first of autumn actually), the camp is full. There are kids everywhere - lots of shouting, laughing and bike stacks; just what summer camping should be all about.

    The tide was flowing into the creek in the afternoon so we took the kayaks out and rode the waves at the entrance into the open sea. This was fun as we managed to take on board enough sea water to sink the Titanic and although still technically afloat, we were pretty much sitting in a pool of water with our kayaks barely above sea level. After bailing some ballast, we turned inland and drifting down the creek with the current.

    Patonga is mostly beach shacks and holiday homes and some of the properties are on the other side of the creek so locals need a tinny to get to them. It does have a fantastic bar/restaurant called The Boat House which is vibrant and busy all day long. We sat there late afternoon with a wine/beer & some beer battered chips for a very leisurely end to the day.

    WILDLIFE:
    Bush turkey, pelicans    Read more

  • East Coast Australia
    21

    An Espresso Stop On The Great North Walk

    March 2, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    This morning, we woke to the sound of a duck being chased around the campsite by a willing but incapable bunch of campers. The duck had netting caught on its right foot and the chase was on to corner it and free it from its shackles. Now ducks are well smart and this one just knew how to “duck and weave” to evade all attempts at being caught. It’s was like the closing scene of The Benny Hill Show as the procession of campers got bigger and the chase went from campsite to campsite.

    It’s quite humid already so we packed our hiking bags so that we can do an early morning hike from Patonga Beach on part of the Great North Walk.

    The Great North Walk is an iconic 250km multi day (10) hike between Sydney and Newcastle. We are doing a small but steep section offering stunning views of Patonga Beach, Brisk Bay and the mouth of the Hawkesbury River. At the head of the Bay on the opposite side lies Palm Beach, a popular retreat from Sydney and the location for the filming of Home and Away. You can get a ferry from Patonga for $20 return but limited shuttle times.

    Part way through our hike, we stopped for a break and I made a fresh, hot espresso with my hiking Nanopresso machine (see video). Bliss.

    After learning how to almost sink a kayak yesterday, we got a bit more adventurous and kayaked to a near by cove from Patonga Beach in the afternoon. I tried catching a wave back in and looked good for a fleeting moment until the front of the kayak decided to go for a dive... 10 out of 10 for style. The tide was on its way out so on our return, we ditched the vessels, jumped in and peacefully floated down the creek towards open sea.

    It’s been a day of sun, sea and activity so no wonder we crashed early for a well earned nights sleep.

    WILDLIFE
    Shackled Duck, Scary Spider.    Read more

  • East Coast Australia

    Wine Tasting In The Hunter Valley

    March 3, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    Australia is blessed with a great climate and a number of superb wine regions. The rolling vine filled landscape of Hunter Valley is 157km north and slightly inland from Sydney and is best known for its Semillon and its Shiraz. That ticks two boxes for us in search of the good life.

    DRIVE: Patonga Beach to Hunter Valley 113km
    The Hunter Valley is a hop and a skip up the freeway from Patonga so we had plenty of time to enjoy a Sunday afternoon exploring the wineries.

    CAMP: Wine Country Tourist Park, Nulkaba, Hunter Valley, site 19.
    The tourist park is small but clean and tidy and is the closest caravan park to the wine action.

    After setting up, we immediately headed to Hanging Tree Winery which is just around the corner and hosted by Ken and Kathie. As you can see, “Beware Of Snakes” although Ken showed us a picture of a Red Back Spider killing a Brown Snake, one of the most venomous snakes in Australia, with its own venom. So I say, beware of spiders who eat snakes...

    Hanging Tree magnificently preserves the Aussie homestead heritage with the cellar door featuring wine tasting inside a reclaimed 1880s farm shed. Their other farm shed needs a bit of work though...

    We tasted a great Semillon and indulged in a couple of vibrant Shiraz reds and the 2013 Blacksmiths Reserve Shiraz Cabernet was our pick.

    Onto Ivanhoe Winery “a wine for every Knight” to try something new, a Chambourcine, which is a French/American grafted grape variety, soft and smooth with vibrant cherry and dried spice. The property has outstanding vista views and we were able to tick Geese off the list of Wildlife.

    We had certainly peaked too soon as we had tasted quite a few wines and the afternoon sun was calling us for a siesta.

    Across from the Tourist Park is Potters Brewery, an old brick and pot making property with many of the original dome kilns still in tact. The Aussie pub favorites, Chicken Parma for me and Beer Battered Fish for Jen finished off with local beers and cider.

    All in all, quite an indulgent day.

    WILDLIFE
    Geese, a picture of a Redback devouring a Brown Snake    Read more

  • East Coast Australia

    Hanging in the Hunter

    March 4, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    Working ourselves up to taste some more wine, we first stopped for a coffee (Steve), hot choc (Jen) & excellent banana & walnut bread at Cafe Enzo in the PepperTree Village. There’s a collection of businesses in the village as well as a wedding chapel and reception ‘barn’. No wine purchased (yet!) but did boost the local economy with some purchases at the Providore and Alpaca Barn.

    Next stop - Andrew Thomas wines; chosen because they specialise in Semillon and Shiraz. Spent a good hour there with Brooke learning about the different soils in the valley and their effect on the wine. Both Brooke and Ken (Hanging Tree) recommended Hart & Hunter so... Like at Thomas wines, we were the only ones at H&H. Another hour spent, this time with Daniel, learning more about wine. Now we know more than just how to drink it...

    More supplies bought. Now, how to fit a cellar in the campervan???

    A dip in the pool, a chat with a “bloke” who was about to do the 6 day Ténéré Tragics moto-cross ride from the Hunter to Thredbo via every dirt road to be found (we’d seen some of them wearing the T-shirts in the pub the night before and wondered), and sausages in bread for dinner rounded out the day perfectly.

    WILDLIFE    Read more

  • East Coast Australia
    1

    Soldiers Point, Port Stephens

    March 5, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    For some reason, the campervan seems a bit heavier this morning as we leave the Hunter Valley to head back to the coast. That’s right, it’s all that wine we bought, weighing us down...

    DRIVE: Hunter Valley to Port Stephens 95km
    A short drive today to Port Stephens which has a well established coastal residence but is also a popular destination for holiday makers and travellers.

    The port was named by Captain Cook when he passed on 11 May 1770, honouring Sir Philip Stephens, who was Secretary to the Admiralty.

    CAMP: Big 4 Ingenia Holiday Park, Soldiers Point site 2 / en-suite / 4 nights.
    We have the Luxury of an en-suite powered site at Ingenia Holiday Park. Surrounded by palms, the site is very cozy and private and as it’s mid week, there’s not many folk around but the occasional RAF fighter Jet from Newcastle, thundering through the skies above.

    Now Soldiers Point was originally the site of a garrison of soldiers that was established in 1820 to hunt down escaped convicts. POME Steve as I go by... which stands for “Prisoner Of Mother England”.

    We set off in the afternoon to explore the peninsula and followed a scenic route hugging the shore line down to Nelson’s Bay, the starting point for whale watching, dolphin cruises, boating and fishing.

    We continued on past Shoal Bay and the imposing Tomaree Mountain jutting out of the sea and onto Fingal Bay at the edge of the Tomaree National Park.
    The coastal panoramic is quite stunning with long stretches of golden sand and turquoise waters highlighted by a number of peaks, small islands and rock formations. On the way back, we stopped for a Goanna crossing the road.

    Port Stephens has an abundance of mature gum trees extending from the NP and there are signs everywhere to watch out for Koalas. Haven’t seen any yet but will post as soon as we do.

    WILDLIFE
    Goanna crossing the road    Read more

  • East Coast Australia
    11

    Snorkelling at Fly Point, Nelson Bay

    March 6, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 33 °C

    Woke up to cheeky and chirpy Rosellas this morning. Maybe it was the smell of hot coffee or more likely the aroma of Jenny’s bacon butty (that’s northern speak for toasted sandwich).

    We too were in a bright and chirpy mood. The sun was already hot, the sea breeze had dropped and the ocean around Nelson Bay was pretty flat and calm. Perfect weather to test drive our new snorkelling gear at a local dive spot at Nelson Bay called Fly Point. Even our wetsuits still fit and we haven’t worn them since our teenage years...!

    We had missed high tide by an hour or two but even so, there were lots of flat head, bream and little yellow fish to see (as identified by Jen), meandering through the rocks and seaweed. Of course Jen latched on to a school of bream... ever the teacher!!!

    We shall try snorkelling the same spot during high tide as a local said he had spotted a turtle.

    After lunch, aquatic sports make you hungry, we travelled across Port Stephens to a wonderful spot called Birubi Beach at Anna Bay. Birubi Beach is surronded by amazing sculptured sand dunes which go on forever up the shoreline and into the distance. This is aboriginal land owned by the Woromi Tribe and with permission, you can traverse the dunes in a 4 wheel drive for a bit of fun off roading.

    Alternatively, tour groups have quad bike dune tours and dune surfing. We opted for the more dangerous past time of walking the beach and the sand was so hot, Jen literally burnt her toes. I was wearing thongs but Jen insisted bare foot is the Aussie way to do it and she painfully continued walking the hot coals. We took a dip in the surf and immediately dried off after coming out under the now baking sun.

    Feeling that we needed to extend ourselves and complete more than two activities in one day, we headed for Fingal Bay during the afternoon low tide. At Fingal Bay, we walked the pristine beach to a point where on low tide, you can walk across the spit to Shark Island. The tide was turning though and it’s quite unique to see tidal waves breaking on each other coming in from opposite sides.

    There has been well documented shark feeding frenzies at Fingal Bay, hence, Shark Island, so we pretty much just walked in the shallows.

    The mood had changed and a storm was brewing as the temperature suddenly dropped so we headed back to the refuge of our campervan to batten down the hatches.

    All in all, one of our more active and fun days.

    WILDLIFE
    Rosellas, Flathead, Bream, Small Yellow Fish    Read more

  • East Coast Australia

    A Trip To Pearson Street For An Apple

    March 7, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    With great sadness, my beloved 9 year old MacBook Pro gave up yesterday. So after a search for the closest Apple store from Port Stephens, we travelled down the coast 65km to Charlestown, just past Newcastle. Jen did spot a Koala in a tree en route so another wildlife experience ticked at 100km/hr, (not the Koala, us driving).

    Destination, PEARSON ST.

    After sorting out a new MacBook Pro at the Apple store, we headed for Newcastle and followed the scenic route, Industrial Drive.

    Newcastle is the largest coal exporting harbour in the world, exporting 159.9 million tonnes of coal in 2017. Beyond the city, the Hunter Region possesses large coal deposits and Newcastle sits on the mouth of The Hunter River. Newcastle is densely populated and is a mix of industrial areas and old heritage buildings in the CBD.

    On 28 December 1989, Newcastle experienced an earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale, which killed 13 people, injured 162 and destroyed or severely damaged a number of prominent buildings.

    We didn’t have time to explore the heritage buildings in Newcastle but found a Harbour restaurant for early dinner and then headed back to Port Stephens. On return, we passed Fighter World where we saw two low flying fighter jets in pursuit and quickly vanish into the distance. By the time we had travelled the 1km to pass by the airport, the fighter jets had already landed and were taxiing on the runway. Amazing.

    Back at home base, I turned my new MacBook Pro on and realised that I have just got back an hour a day of my life as it is super quick compared to my old one so with a heavy heart, I got acquainted. PROBLEM... all my files are backed up in Melbourne so will have to fly home for a day next week to reinstall... doh!!!    Read more

  • East Coast Australia

    Trumpet Fish at High Tide

    March 8, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Local advice, snorkel Fly Point at high tide. So, quick breakfast and back to our dive site for a new underwater discovery.

    We look like professionals already as we pushed past a novice tour group awaiting instructions and stepped into the deep blue sea.

    Jen was “blown away” as she spotted a number of Trumpet Fish catching the morning sun breaking through the aqua and a baby ray passed us by.

    Snorkelling is our new found past time as it’s so much fun and we look forward to finding new dive sites on our travels.

    Nelson Bay Marina has a number of good cafes and restaurants so brunch was a latte and an iced chocolate at Blueys. There are also a number of fresh seafood shops so we bought sand whiting for dinner and a dozen oysters.

    Keen to get the kayaks out, we went back to Soldiers point Marina and set off through the shallows to find ourselves almost stuck on an oyster bed... heaven!

    Not quite, there is $275,000 fine if you are caught taking the oysters so we settled for on $14.95 dozen we bought at the seafood shop.

    All good.    Read more

  • East Coast Australia

    From One Port To Another

    March 9, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    DRIVE: Port Stephens to Port Macquarie (246km). Straight up the Pacific Highway although we could have taken the scenic route through Blueys Beach and Seal Rocks... next time. Steve would have missed out on cherry pie at Andy’s Cherry Pie Cafe (aka shed) if we’d detoured...

    CAMPSITE: NRMA Port Macquarie Breakwall Holiday Park. We’re on sixteenth avenue - just how big is this park? Right on the river and next door to Town Beach. Lovely big grassy sites with mature Cypress Pines, an esplanade full of painted rocks and walking distance to town.

    Once set up, we took off on the bikes for a bit of exploration. Some great history in Port Macquarie with buildings and sites dating back to the 1800s. Ventured up to Flagstaff Hill via Mrs York’s gardens. Bertha York started her work on the garden in 1963 as a labour of love. She wanted to tidy up and beautify the space. Five years later, the area was officially named Mrs York's Garden.

    A flagstaff was one of the first installations when the 48th Regiment of Foot arrived under the command of Captain Allman in 1821. Captain Allman's orders included the establishment of a signalling station adjacent to the new settlement due to the known dangerous bar across the entry to the Hastings River. Lights were used to signal the condition of the bar to the fort on Gaol Point and to passing ships at sea with a beacon fire burned constantly through the night.

    Just as we got back, we got an SMS warning of severe thunderstorms and large hailstones. The advice was get under cover (including your car). Hmmm - how do you do that in the middle of a caravan park? We batoned down the hatches - literally - and sat it out indoors. No hailstones but lots of rain. We love the sound of rain on our roof.

    WILDLIFE
    None to mention    Read more

  • East Coast Australia

    Lighthouse Walk and a Port Sunset

    March 10, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    We woke up this morning to the sound of pounding feet as the Port Macquarie Running Festival was on. There’s the 21.1km, the 10km and 5km and if you do all three, you qualify as a Treble Buster. It was stinky hot and humid.

    We took ourselves off in the high humidity to do part of a great walk that runs 9km south along the coast from Port Macquarie. We walked the bit from Shelly Beach to Tacking Point Lighthouse through Sea Acres National Park; crossing 4 or 5 beaches and up and down. Absolutely beautiful (well, except for the nudist bloke). Little Nippers were out training on Lighthouse Beach and on our return to Shelly Beach, we spotted a number of leisurely goannas who seemed friendly enough.

    In the afternoon, we took a stroll around the neat and tidy town and ended up at the Royal Hotel for a drink and a bite to eat. The 1881 hotel sits right on the foreshore of the river with beautiful Norfolk pines and water views towards Pelican Point. We wandered down to the jetty to watch a spectacular sunset and take in the serenity.

    And bats!!! We have never seen so many flying foxes. Where are they coming from? There were thousands crossing the foreshore and heading to a distant point in search of food.. I suspected they were circling back and flying over again but maybe not. The odd one was flying back and had obviously left the light on at home.

    Sitting out back at the van; the temperature is perfect, a glorious evening. Port Macquarie is a definite “come back again’ place.

    WILDLIFE: Lizard, Goannas, Flying Foxes (Bats)

    .    Read more

  • East Coast Australia

    Trial Bay Gaol & South West Rocks Creek

    March 11, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    After leaving the serenity of Port Macquarie, we headed up the coast, final destination, Coffs Harbour. We were recommended to visit South West Rocks on the trip up so we detoured through the lush green cattle country on a pleasant drive.

    DRIVE: Port Macquarie to Coffs Harvour via South West Rocks (187km).

    South West Rocks is indeed a beautiful spot and the Horseshoe Bay Holiday Park is beachside camping at its best. We had decided to just spend the day here and head up for 3 nights at Coffs so best make the most of it.

    First, we stopped at Tasty Treats, a cute little cafe overlooking South West Rocks creek and ordered toasties for lunch.

    After lunch we headed just a few km to Arakoon National Park and Trial Bay Gaol. Set on the peninsular, Trial Bay Gaol was established in the late 19th century as a Public Works Prison to house end of term prisoners brought to build the breakwater. In 1903 the project was abandoned and the prison closed until Wolrd War 1 when the prison was reopened as an internment camp for "Enemy Aliens" (Germans). Since the 1960's the Gaol has been actively conserved for history and forms part of the NSW National Park Estate.

    The current custodians of the Gaol are the big Red Kangaroos who lurk in the dark shadows of the old stone walls for respite from the sun.

    A couple of escapees got caught doing "a runner" from the Gaol and ended up interned, one of which was bound to the flogging machine for eating chocolate during Lent...

    Its sticky, hot and humid so after our prison release, we headed back to South West Rocks Creek for a blissful cooling off where the beautiful crystal clear sandy waters meet the deeper aqua waters. The creek is an inlet from the sea and is absolutely the best bathing spot we have been to so far. After following the old wooded bridge crossing, we came to a nice jetty to access the creek. We dived straight in...not quite!, the tide was out and the shallows were less than a foot deep so we waddled in and just sat in the pristine waters. The temperature is perfect and the 360 degrees panoramic from the creek is picture perfect.

    We rejoined the Pacific Highway to Coffs Harbour and arrived at our camping spot in the late afternoon.

    CAMP: Big 4 Park Beach Holiday Park / Coffs Harbour / 3N
    We are on a powered site / 491 at the far end of the park so very peaceful but not too far from the big play pools.

    Jen was in charge of backing the camper van into our spot today and nailed it first go so she was happy with that.    Read more

  • East Coast Australia
    1

    Laundry Day And A Drive to Sawtell Beach

    March 12, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Just in case you were thinking by now that life’s one great big holiday, we have chores to do. That’s right, it’s officially. LAUNDRY DAY + a trip to Bunnings Warehouse for supplies.

    After hanging out the washing and wrapping the campervan in it, we got on our bikes and followed the bike trail to Coffs Harbour Marina. The jetty stretches out across the Breakwall and a group of teenage school kids were out doing their PE class. Unlike school sport “when I was a lad” (cross country or running the oval), these guys had snorkels, flippers and cozzies ready to buddy up and jump into the deep blue sea. How cool is that ehh?

    Undeterred as we didn’t have our snorkelling gear on us, we opted for the next best thing, Fish N Chips at the Marina Fish Shop.

    The town of Coffs Harbour is quite big but the foreshore and Oceanside have been maintained in pristine condition with great recreational facilities, bike paths, board walks and rows of mature trees.

    On our return to the BIG 4, we cooled off in the adventure play pool. I think its made for kids but this time of the year, the grown ups have it to themselves and we’re kids too, just bigger.

    We then ventured down the coast 8km to a seaside escape called Sawtell. There is a popular surf beach which wraps around a typical Aussie saltwater beach pool. The locals have this everyday.

    Sawtell has a neat and trendy Main Street, impeccably landscaped by giant fig trees and palms. The street has a host of boutique shops, cafes and of course the local pub.

    For dinner, i cooked a chicken schnitzel the size of Australia. That’s right, the red arrow points to just about where we are on the map.    Read more

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