9 Mar: Crowdy Bay National Park
We left our flying friends, who had returned noisily back to
their tree
tops at
sunrise, and
headed
back
towards
the coast,
direction
Crowdy Bay
National
Park.
First stop
Taree for
some food
shopping,
before
driving
through
Harrington
and Crowdy
Bay, a
small
fishing
village on
the coast
where the
sealed
road
ended.
Then after
17
kms of
a
"well
maintained"
dirt road,
we
arrived
all shook
up,
at
Diamond
Head
camp
/
picnic
area.
Much
to
our
delight
there were
lots of
kangaroos
grazing on
the grass
sites. We
ate lunch
on a
picnic
table
on
the
edge
of
the
beach,
before
embarking
on the
coastal
walking
loop
from
Diamond
Head to
Indian
Head. The
rock
formations
were
described
as being
stunningly
beautiful,
but we
were a bit
disappointed.
The
highlight was
a
small arch,
but the
official
walking
track
didn't
provide a
decent
view of
it. We
therefore
clambered
down
the
cliffs
on
a small
fisherman's
path to
get a
closer
look.
There
was
probably
on old
aboriginal
campsite
(midden) on
the
secluded
beach
as
there
were
lots
of
old
large
shells
in
the
sands.
We decided not to stay in the National Park campsite at Diamond
Head; the
camping
fees at
$37 the
night are
exaggerated
for the
limited
amenities!
So we
headed
off
northbound
to Port
Macquarie.
We stopped
off for an
Internet
and
playground
session in
Lake
Cathie,
before
finding a
nice
seaside
picnic
area next
to Sea
Acres
National
Park. We
barbequed
some steak
burgers
and
settled
down for
the night
under
the rain
and wind
(we have
hit the
edge of a
cyclone
targeting
the north
east
coast).
 |
 |
| The coastal
walk
at
Diamond
Head |
The arch at
Diamond
Head |
10 Mar: Timbertown in Wauchope
Today is grey, wet and miserable; our first day of bad
weather
since we
left
France. We
discovered
that there
are not
many
indoor
activities,
except
shopping,
in
Australia
! We
decided to
brave the
rain and
visit
Timbertown
20 kms
inland
from Port
Macquarie.
Timbertown
is a
reconstruction
of a
saw
miller's
village
dating
back to
1810. Many
old houses
and
buildings
have been
moved
and
restored
here to
recreate a
historic
town and a
steam
railway
has been
added.
We
spend
several
hours
wandering
around,
looking at
the old
buildings, listening
to a
talk on
the use
of bullocks
at that
time,
trying our
hand with
whips,
visiting
the
sawmill
and
wine /
port
tasting.
We met a
French
family
with two
girls (11
and 6
years
old) who
were
travelling
around the
world,
with no
planned
end date
and no
intention
of
returning
to France.
What an
adventure!
Next stop Smoky Cape, back on the coast in Hat Head National
Park. We
walked up
to the
lighthouse
and ate
dinner in
the picnic
area with
grazing
kangaroos
and
a
beautiful
view of
the
lighthouse and
a
huge
rainbow
.
A
rain
front
was
approaching
from the
sea and
descended
upon us
that night
in the
National
Park
campground.
Heavy rain
on a
campervan
roof is
unfortunately
not a
recipe
for a good
night's
sleep...
 |
 |
 |
| The steam
train
at
Timbertown |
A penny
farthing
at
Timbertown
-
we
even
saw
a
brave
soul
riding
it! |
A
magnificent rainbow
over
Smoky
Lighthouse |
11 Mar: Trial Bay Goal and Waterfall Way
We were up early after a lousy night's sleep under the torrential
rain.
François
woke up
feeling
awful with
a really
bad
cold... We
drove up
to the
goal,
before
breakfast
as the
campsite
in the
rainforest
was gloomy
and
claustrophobic.
The car
park in
front
of
the old
prison has
a lovely
view down
to the
sea. We
even
spotted a
few
dolphins
whilst we
ate
our
breakfast
in the
campervan.
The
best
breakfast
yet!
We had to wait until 9am for the goal to open. It
was constructed
in the
1880's to
house
convicts
to build a
breakwater
to create
a
sheltered
bay for
ships.
That
project
was
abandoned
after a
couple of
years and
the prison
too. It
was reused
to isolate
Australians
with
German
origins
during
WWI. We
could
explore
the
small
cells and
imagine
life for
the
various
inmates
.
We then drove north to Nambucca Heads where we ate a lovely
barbeque
on the
riverside,
before
going on a
walk along
the river
out
to the
sea.
There's an
interesting decorated
shore
break
made
of
boulders,
called the
V-Wall,
where
locals and
travellers
alike
have
painted
souvenirs
of their
passage.
Our
passage
was
interrupted
by the
rain, so
we quickly
ran for
cover to a
local bar
to
wait
for
the
shower
to
subside.
We
consulted
the map
and
decided
to
head
inland
to
Dorrigo,
along
Waterfall
Way in the
hope that
the
waterfalls
would
be
abundant!
We settled
down for
the night
at
Griffiths
Lookout,
at
700m
above
sea
level
in
the
mist.
 |
 |
| Cells at Trial
Bay
Goal |
Trial Bay
Goal |
12 Mar: Dorrigo National Park
When we awoke the mist had risen and we could see across the
National
Park from
the
lookout.
Both
Jenny
and
François
had heavy
colds this
morning...
The rain
is
obviously
getting us
down!
We
started
the
day
at Dorrigo Rainforest
Centre and
decided to
do the 2
hour
Wanga
Walk though
the
rainforest
to 2
waterfalls.
The
information
centre
kindly
warned us
of the
leeches,
so we
dressed in
trousers
and G
oretex
jackets,
with our
socks over
our
trousers, and
a hefty dose
of insect
repellent
over
our
trainers
and socks.
Despite
these
precautions
we still
had many
leeches
climbing
up our
trousers
in the
hope of
sucking
our blood!
Gaelle
was
totally
hysteric,
but we
were
all
lucky
to
escape
unscathed! The
walk led
us behind
Crystal
Shower
Falls and
past
Tristinia
Falls and
through
some
beautiful
native
rainforest.
After
marinated
pork chops
on the BBQ
in the
National
Park,
we
headed
to
Dangar
Falls for
a short
walk down
to the
base of
the falls.
Mid-afternoon we had a wander
around Bellingen
town
centre and
the old
butter
factory
filled
with
craft
shops
before
heading
north of
Coffs
Harbour to
Seally
Lookout
for the
evening
and
night.
 |
 |
 |
| Walking behind
Crystal
Shower
Falls |
Leeches
waiting
for
us
to
sweep
past
the
ferns
to
attach
to
us... |
Family
portrait
in
front
of
Dangar
Falls |
13 Mar: Evans Head
We all had a really good night's sleep at Seally Lookout. We
bought
some
deliciously
fresh bananas
on the way
down from
a
house
with
banana
plantations. After
90 kms, we
stopped
off in
Grafton
for a tour
of the old
historic
town and
a pub
lunch on
a
shady
terrace in
the Old
Post
Office
Hotel. A
further 42
kms
north,
we
drove
through
Maclean, a
town with
a distinct
Scottish
feel;
the
telegraph
posts have
been
painted
with
Scottish
tartans.
Then
after
another
65
kms we
arrived at
our
destination:
Evans
Head.
The
girls
spent
an
hour or
so
playing
on a
surf beach
with
crabs
on
the
sand
and
in
rock
pools,
before we
headed
to a
nice and
inexpensive
campsite
behind the
beach.
14 Mar: Evans Head
We decided to prolong our stay for a second night at the
campsite.
The first
job of the
day was
the
washing! Our
chores
continued
with food
shopping,
before we
headed to
the main
beach. The
girls had
great fun
surfing
the waves
with the
body board
and
jumping
in
the
waves
with
François.
We
returned
to the
campsite
for a
barbecue
lunch
and
some
shade.
Jenny went
for a
wander
around the
town to
buy a
couple
of
novels
to
read
and a
couple
of
maths
exercise
books for
the
girls,
to
motivate
them a
bit!
We spent a couple of hours late afternoon back on the beach, but
when the
girls
spotted a
big
jellyfish
on the
sands they
no longer
wanted
to
swim...
Instead
they
played
games on
the
golden
sands with
François;
noughts
and
crosses,
long jump
and tag
to name
but a
few.
Gaelle and Sophie had great fun playing with other children at
the
campsite
playground
next to
our site
until late
- good
practice
for
their
English!
And they
drank the
Shiraz
sparkling
grape
juice we
bought in
Timbertown.
 |
 |
| Sophie
enjoying
a
glass
of
Shiraz...
grape
juice...! |
Fun at the
campsite
playground |
15 Mar: Byron Bay
We went on a beautiful walk on Cape Byron, along the
cliffs and
up to the
lighthouse,
the
eastern
most point of Australia. It was quite a
hike in
the
heat,
but
the
views
of
the coast
were
spectacular and we saw a large
pod of
dolphins
just off
the coast.
We treated
ourselves to a very
welcome ice
cream
at
the
lighthouse,
before
walking
back through
the
coastal
rainforest.
By the
time we
reached the campervan we were
all dying
for a dip
in the
sea. We
quickly
changed into our
swimming
costumes
and
wandered
down to
the beach with a picnic and
the
bodyboard.
We spent a
few hours
enjoying
the sun, golden sands
and warm,
clear
waters of
the main
beach.
After the beach, Jenny and Gaelle went for a wander in the
surf shops
in town.
Byron Bay
is a
lovely,
lively and hip seaside
town.
François
and Sophie
found an
Internet
hotspot in a nice bar on
the
seafront
with a
good funky
live band.
We left Byron Bay, wishing
we could
spend the
evening
soaking up
the
atmosphere. If we had been
just the
two of us
we
wouldn't
have
hesitated...! But with the
girls, we
headed
inland to
a free
campsite
we'd spotted in our
guides and
maps in
a State
Conservation
Area next
to Minyon
Falls. The
campsite
was only
30 kms
away, but
it took a good hour to
get there
through
the narrow
windy
roads,
plus a detour for a closed
road... We
were
pleased to
arrive at
long last,
but not at all
pleased to
see that
the
neighbouring
National
Park had taken over
the
campsite
and introduced fees,
however
this fact
is not
mentioned
in their
big plush
brochure...
A honesty
box is on site
for fee
payment.
We'll
leave it
to you to
decide if we left the $30,
or
not...
 |
 |
 |
| A view from
the
walking
track
of
Cape
Byron |
Byron Bay
lighthouse |
Delicious and
well
earned
ice
cream! |
BACK
| 
