4 Mar: Newcastle
This morning we decided to discover the historic part of
Newcastle
by foot.
We walked
along the
man-made
spit at
from
Nobbys
Beach to
the
lighthouse
and back
and
then along
the wharf
to
Queens
Wharf
Tower.
After a
climb of
180 steps
we were
rewarded
with
a
lovely
view over
the city
and
harbour.
We then
visited
Christchurch
cathedral
before
heading
for
the
local
park
with
swings
and
slides, to
the kids
delight. Afterwards
we
drove
to
Blackbutt
reserve,
an
animal
reserve
set
in
bush land,
a few
kilometres
out of
town. We
barbequed
some
sausages
there
at
the
picnic
area for
lunch
before
setting
out to see
the
wildlife.
There are
kangaroos,
emus,
koalas,
wallabies, lots
of
birds,
wombats, a
snake and
possums
which we
didn't
manage to
see. Koala
encounters
were
advertised
at 14h, so
the
girls begged
to stay to
be able to
touch a
koala for
the first
time! We
got to pat
an
adorable
one year
old joey,
who wasn't
really
interested
by our
presence
or loving
strokes,
but by
the
fresh
eucalyptus
leaves
he'd been
given to
munch
on!
It began to rain quite heavily mid afternoon, so our plans to
return to
the
beach
were
put
on
hold.
Instead we
went
shopping
to buy
Gaelle a
new
mask
for
snorkelling
(she broke
her
previous
one in the
swimming
pool in
Albury)
and we
picked up
some head
nets to
keep the
flies and
mosquitoes
away when
we reach
central
Australia.
We also
filled the
fridge up
before
heading
back to
Queens
Wharf in
Nelson Bay
for a nice
local beer
and an
internet
session at
Queens
Wharf
Brewery.
The
views
from
the
second
floor
terrace
were
lovely as
the sun
set.
We
returned
to Nobbys
Head
car park
for dinner
and the
night. Our
night's
sleep was
interrupted
several
times by
locals
driving in
and
out of
the
car
park
for
a
seaside
chat
or a
spot
of
fishing;
until 4am,
can you
believe
it? They
should
have been
tightly
tucked up
in
bed...!
 |
 |
 |
| Gaelle and
Sophie
cuddling
the
joey
koala |
Jenny's turn
to
have
a
cudlde
with
a
koala |
One of the
many
lovely
coloured
birds
- a
rainbow
lorikeet |
5 Mar: Nelson Bay
Jenny went out for a run before breakfast along the seashore,
past Ocean
Baths to
Bogey
Hole, a
swimming
pool
carved out
of
the
rocks
by
convicts
in 1819 or
the
private
pleasure
of their
commandant.
It's now
accessible
to the
public for
bathing,
but it's
abandoned
to nature.
There are
soft
coral,
starfish
and crabs
living in
the pool
and huge
waves
come
crashing
in
against
the
side
of
the rock
pool
at
high
tide.
After
breakfast,
we all
went to
Bogey's
Hole for a
dip. It
was fun
! The
pool
is a
beautiful
mixture of
natural
beauty and
history.
After a drive of an hour or so, we arrived in Nelson Bay. A small
touristy
town in
the beautiful
bay
of Port
Stephans,
which
boasts
resident
dolphins
and the
Stockton
Bight,
sand dunes
stretching
35kms
south to
Newcastle.
We headed
straight
for the
tourist
information
office to
find out
about
dolphin
cruises
and
quad
excursions
on the
dunes.
Unfortunately
the quad
tours were
not
suitable
for the
kids, so
we booked
a dolphin
cruise at
13:45. We
had
just
enough
time for a
bite of
lunch and
a
seasickness
tablet
before
the
cruise
set
off.
We saw 2 pods of bottlenose dolphins which were
feeding. A
female
named Hook
and her
baby came
up to the
front
of
the
boat
and
swam
along
side
for a
few
instants.
It's very
difficult
to get
decent
photos of
them, as
you never
know where
and
when
they'll
come up
for air,
but we all
thoroughly
enjoyed
watching
the
dolphins
swimming
around.
After the cruise we went to see the stunning lookout above the
bay,
followed
by the
sand dunes
by Anna
Bay.
Sophie
went for a
paddle in
the sea in
her dress
and was
taken by
surprise
by the
waves; the
poor thing
came out
drenched,
covered
in
sand and a
bit put
out by the
ordeal! In
the
evening we
decided to
treat
ourselves
to dinner
in
a
restaurant
overlooking
the marina
in
Nelson's
Bay. We
both ate
some
famous A
ussie
steak; it
was lovely
and
tender,
yum,
yum! Afterwards
we headed
back
to
the sand
dunes for
the
night.
 |
 |
 |
| Bogeys Hole
(convict-carved
pool) |
Hook and her
baby:
bottlenose
dolphins
in
Nelsons
Bay |
Sand dunes at
Anna
Bay
and
our
view
for
the
night |
6 Mar: Seal Rocks
After a lovely night's sleep, rocked by the sea, we set off
further up
the east
coast to
Seal
Rocks.
Today is
wash day,
so we
picked
a
campsite
on the
edge of
the beach
in a very
quiet
setting
of
a
National
Park.
After
launching
the
washing
machines
we tucked
into
lunch
under
a
beautiful
blue sky,
protected
by the
awning
of
our
campervan,
with the
sound of
the
breaking
waves as
background
music.
We then spent a peaceful afternoon at the beach. The waters
were
incredibly
transparent
and warm.
There were
small
jellyfish
type
things
washed up
on the
shore,
which we
later
learned
were
bluebottles;
they have
painful
stings but
are not
poisonous.
Their
presence
put a
dampener
on our
bathing,
so at
around 17h
we went
back
to
the
campsite.
The girls
made some
friends on
the site
next
to
ours
and
we
joined t
heir
parents
for a beer
after
dinner; t
wo
brothers
and their
families
who had
migrated
from the
UK 3 years
ago.
Unfortuantely
there were
a group of
young lads
camping
opposite
us
who
partied
on
loudly,
despite
the
campsite
rules,
until 3 in
the
morning,
so
we
didn't
get
a good
night's
sleep. We
were
hesitating
on
whether
to
stay
put
for a
second
night, but
that
decided it
we would
continue
along
our
way!
 |
 |
| Beach at Seal
Rocks |
The girls
looking
at
a
bluebottle
washed
up
by
the
tide |
7 Mar: Seal Rocks to Forster
We started off the morning with a walk up to the historic
lighthouse
from the
beach (1.5
hours
return).
The views
from the
lighthouse
are
stunning.
On the way
back in a
local shop
we bought
a
body
board
for
all
the
family.
Back at
the beach
which was
today
clean
of
any
signs
of
bluebottles,
we all
tried our
hand at
surfing
the
waves.
The
conditions
were
ideal,
even for
the girls.
Gaelle
become
addicted
and
even Sophie
managed to
surf a few
small
waves
with
our
help.
After
a
picnic
on
the
beach,
we
decided
we'd
had
enough
sun
for
the
day,
so
headed
further
north
towards
Forster in
The Great
Lakes
region. We
stopped
off just
south of
town to
visit
the
lookout at
Cape
Hawke. The
lookout
was at the
top of a
20 minute
walk
through a
mosquito
infested
rainforest.
We sprayed
on the
mosquito
spray and
walked up
as fast as
we could!
The view
from the
top
was
worth
it;
we
could
see
the inland
lakes, the
coast and
the
surrounding
beaches.
We then
headed
into
Forster to
One Mile
beach.
The
girls
played at
a
playground
at a
picnic
area
behind the
beach. We
then
decided to
take a
walk to
discover
some of
the
Forster
coast and
ended up
on a
beautiful
sand dune
overlooking
One
Mile
Beach.
After a
barbeque
dinner at
the picnic
area, we
headed
back
to
the
lookout
for the
night, for
a quiet
night's
sleep.
 |
 |
 |
| Gaelle trying
her
hand
at
bodyboarding
for
the
first
time |
Sophie surfing
a
wave |
On the sand
dune
at
Bennett
Head
overlooking
One
Mile
Beach |
8 Mar: Inland to Ellenborough Falls
This morning we were on Forster Beach at 8:30 am. Jenny went
for a swim
in the
ocean
baths
whilst
François
and the
girls headed
for the
waves with
the body
board.
What a
wonderful
start to
the day!
We then
decided to
drive
inland to
see some
flying
foxes near
Wingham.
After an
instructive
halt at
the
tourist
information
office
at
Taree
and
a
lunch
and
Internet
break at
McDonald's,
we arrived
in
Wingham
Brush
Nature
Reserve.
From the
boardwalk,
you can
see
hundreds,
if not
thousands of
flying
foxes in
the trees.
And not
just
any
trees,
giant
stinging
trees;
that is to
say that
their
leaves
sting
badly and
signs warn
that if
stung,
medical
advice
should be
sought...
The list
of dangers
in
Australia
is getting
longer
and
longer! We
also say
some brush
turkey
(black
turkeys
with red
heads)
wandering
around the
reserve, a
glimpse of
a land
mullet (a
sort
of
large
dark
lizard)
and some
superb
Moreton
Bay fig
trees.
After an hour's drive and 10 kms of dirt track we arrived at our
next stop
off, at
Ellenborough
Falls;
apparently
the 2nd
highest
falls
in
NSW, at
200
metres. We
saw a
huge, 2
metre,
goanna when we
arrived by
the picnic
area - an
impressive
beast.
Sophie and
Jenny
took
the
walk
down
to
the
base
of
the
falls
via
641 steps,
whilst
François
and Gaelle
took the
flatter
option to
a lookout
point. We
then
headed
back to
Wingham
Brush,
towards
the coast,
where we
settled
down for
the night.
At sunset
we saw all
the flying
foxes fly
off to
hunt for
the night,
all
200'000 of
them -
an unforgettable
sight!
 |
 |
 |
| Little red
flying
foxes
at
Wingham
Brush
Nature
Reserve |
A magnificent
Moreton
Bay
fig
tree |
Sophie at the
base
of
Ellenborough
Falls |
BACK
| 
