day 83 Sep 16 Fri Nelson to Newcastle

Off to another Port today - This time Port Stephens. We stop off at Anna Bay and the phenomenon of Stockton Sands. A 35km mass of ever shifting sand dunes. A beautiful place - but not possible to negotiate without a 4x4 or a little local knowledge. So we book our places on another one of Nicole's surprise trips - sandboarding.  This involves boarding a "sand bus" which takes us slipping and sliding across the dunes to a spot in the middle of nowhere but surrounded by enormous dunes. 

We spend the next hour or so climbing up the ever shifting sands ( very hard work) and then sliding down seated on a short, narrow board using our hands to keep balance on either side. 

  

We all manage a wipe out and a face full of sand or two along the way but have a great time.  

 

We have the area to ourselves for almost an hour when the next tour group arrives. 

Bus loads of Koreans suddenly descend on the previously quiet and tranquil sands. Their tour guide demonstrates correct use of the sand board and how to climb up the dunes... it becomes more amusing to watch them than actually boarding ourselves and our peace has been shattered.  They are not really dressed for it either! The moral of our morning is never trust a Korean to take a family photo!

Our sand bus comes back to collect us and we drive back over the sands to a waiting milkshake in the beachfront cafe. Thus marks the beginning of "Sausage Rollgate" in which a father and a small child almost come to blows over a savoury snack. This continues while a mother and a slightly older child explore nearby Nelson Bay. 

 

 

In the calm after the storm we all explore the many little beaches surrounding the town and are delighted to find pelicans in abundance surrounding the fishing tables at Salamander Bay as the afternoon is drawing to a close. One takes a liking to Tiegan - she is not so sure! We stand an watch their antics for a while, enjoying their duck dabbling and rowdy jostling for fish scraps at the waters edge - and they make the most bizarre sound - a cross between a honk and a pig oink.
Rowan spots a pair of dolphins in the water quite close to shore and we follow them along the beach until the sand runs out. Their are some beautiful beach front properties here and we are quite taken with the place. We try and find a late afternoon snack and ice cream but are unsuccessful instead we find another glorious little beach complete with bunnies on the grass verge, dolphins in the water and a cockatoo playing on the shore line.

The day is complete when we drive to our next camp spot and spot a field by the road with 20 or so wild kangaroos grazing in the dusk. Not sure who was watching who as, unlike the very tame roos at Aus Zoo, these were extremely wary of any noise or movement. Seconds after the click of the camera they took off into the safety and cover of the trees. Amazingly we are the only people at the rest stop tonight. There is huge investment in Highway 1 going on, and enormous development, widening and improvement of sections the road happening and some rest areas are no longer there or are inaccessible. This area was just off the road in an area still under construction which is why we think it was so empty.

day 84 Sep 16 Fri Nelson to Newcastle

Our last full day in the van and we are in Newcastle -we all love the city immediately despite it's industrial feel. As we drive in along the newly developed marina and waterfront area we spot Nobby's Head. Formally an island but joined to the mainland by a causeway in the 1800s and now home to a modern lighthouse station which is open occasionally to the public. Huge cargo ships are being pulled by several tugs out along the narrow channels and out to sea and we watch their progress and maneouvres as they start their journeys. We enjoy a walk along the sea wall out to the point together and then back along the beach and the surf and waves of Nobbys Beach. 

We drive around the bay to Newcastle Beach and the Bogey Hole. The first convict dug bathing spot in Australia - sadly it is all fenced off and we can only look down on it and wonder about the prisoners quarrying the stone and what hell they must have felt they had landed up in.

We drive up to a cafe and enjoy a wonderful drink and ice cream overlooking the main beach.

After lunch the girls decide to spend their last full afternoon before Sydney back on Nobby's beach and  we dig, tunnel,build sand castles, jump waves, boogy board and people watch for the afternoon.

It is a really great afternoon which ends far too soon. We drive to our last free rest stop - 60km out of Sydney - and our last night in the van. Sadly the bbqs which we had hoped to use had been removed and so we have to cook our sausages and burgers in a frying pan instead. We are approached by a lady from the Bahamas who is travelling with her husband up to Cairns via Brisbane where they will pick up their 18 year old daughter who is in Australia for a year. It transpires that this is their first night in a campervan and they are grateful for our limited knowledge. We are happily pass on the boogie board, our Camps 6 bible and bits and bobs of food which we will be unable to use before we leave e.g. the spray oil which has been invaluable for using the free bbqs, kitchen roll and our last pasta, rice and mayonnaise. It is a really cold night, even David feels the drop in temperature and we find ourselves making hot drinks before bed.

day 82 Sep 15 Thurs Port Macquirie to Nelson Bay

Next stop Port Macquarie. Only a few hundred kms from Sydney now - the end of the van is nigh - Rowan has a particularly disturbed night and ends up in the van, David is evicted and has to sleep up in the roof pod! Another lovely beach, it is great to see the girls enjoying the sea and finding new ways to entertain themselves.Today it is a sand castle and "found" object sculpture and they spend time dragging enormous bits of driftwood along the beach to balance on the rocks and make a sort of camp. David enjoys himself on the boogy board in the sea and we watch the comings and goings of the locals in wet suits with a variety of boards and skill levels!

Our slightly wierd camp spot tonight is at the Ayers Rock Road house - a slightly tatty petrol station 24 hour cafe housed inside a model of the Rock. It becomes obvious that the upstairs of the complex is home to hall space being used by local scouts, who are camping in the camp site in the next field, for breakfast and run arounds. It is a quirky place but comforting that we can go inside for the loo atleast.

day 81 Sep 13 Tues drive to Coffs - big banana, Sawtell for lunch - drive to Kundabung

 

The starts in the van are quite early in the van - the blackout blinds are great but light does seem to creep in and the minute the girls are awake the van starts bumping around as they play together in the roof pod. We now know how to limit the condensation issue using towels along the edges of the mattress - their bedding has got slightly damp around the edges as moisture collects and then runs down the inside of the canvas/plastic interior of one side of the roof as a result of body heat and colder air outside.  The towels inevitably need drying out in the mornings and we like to air the pod in the sun before we close it up for the day. This means a strategic move of the van and the flap to catch the sunlight! We suddenly catch a glimpse of ourselves - parked on a truck stop/petrol station/cafe forecourt, cooking breakfast out of the back of the van, sitting on camping chairs all the while catching up with emails on the laptop and using a handy outside socket to charge the camera battery again. OMG! 

We pack up and drive to the original "BIG" in Australia - the girls are almost as obsessed with this as the Aussies seem to be! As we drive in to the "Big Banana" complex outside Coffs Harbour and the girls decamp for the now familiar photo opportunity there is a shout from the coffee shop verandah and we look up to see Hazel, Rosie, Poppy and Sandy waving madly at us! Are we stalking them or vice versa!?!

Another quick catch up and coffee together and we head off passing through Coffs Harbour choosing to stop instead at Sawtell just south of the main town. We lunch at the river creek before discovering a sea water pool just around the point.

 

It is surrounded by rocks which Rowan decides to climb over to get to the opposite side. Little did we reallise that on the other side was a drop of about 10 feet into the sea and more rocks. Oops! The girls play for a bit in the sand on the waters edge - but decide the pool is too cold to swim in.

 

It is a sheltered spot and Nicole basks in the sun - David has nicknamed her the reptile - on account of her cold body temperature when out of the sun and the need for extra layers in the colder evenings. Charming - but true! After a very pleasant few hours we drive on to the next free rest stop at Kundabung.

day 73 Sep 5 Noosa

We wake to a drizzly start to the day - but we have some friends for company! The van is surrounded by kookaburras which are completely unfussed by our comings and goings and instead sit patiently and watch our every move. The girls are amazed they can get so close and even decide to try feeding them by hand with varying degrees of success. The beaks are quite sharp when you are this close!

 

As the morning progresses and we head back in to Noosa - we have decided to return as the beach was so good yesterday - the weather brightens up and we spot another photo opportunity with the local mascot - The Big Pelican!

Another picnic - this time at the beach at Noosa Heads - and more time playing in the white sand and sun!

 

day 72 Sep 4 Sun Tin Can Bay to Noosa

 

Today our adventures started early. We are in Tin Can Bay and need to be here for a very special encounter - except we need to be in the little marina by 7.30 a.m - After a "free camp" down a track just outside the town we arrive at the marina and the girls are delighted with the sight of pelicans - we had tried to spot pelicans while we were in Hervey Bay and had been unsuccessful so this was an added bonus!

 

Tin Can Bay is located at the bottom end of the Great Sandy Strait and is one of the few places where you can feed the rare Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins. This is why we are here!  Dolphins have been interacting with residents and visitors of Tin Can Bay for 30 years.They generally arrive at the boat ramp at Norman Point between 7.00am and 10.00am and today they make us wait - we almost think we have a wasted trip! It all started with “Scarry” nicknamed due to the numerous rough edges along her dorsal and tail fins. “Scarry” appeared with a young male dolphin, Mystique, believed to be her youngest surviving offspring.“Scarry” has not been seen since early 2003 but her son Mystique and girlfriend “Patch” still come  in to the boat ramp to observe humans and be hand fed. A ripple of excitement as two dolphins are spotted and swim up and almost onto the beach.

They are given the daily once over and then we are allowed to collect our one fish in a bucket and head onto the tiny beach and take our turn to feed them.

 

 

The dolphins are so gentle and the girls are overjoyed at the experience. Definitely worth getting up early for! We again vow to have further dolphin contact at the next opportunity.

Our next stop is at the northern end of the "Sunshine" coast at Noosa. We find an amazing beach and the girls enjoy an afternoon playing in the surf and on the beach.

 

 

 

We decide that we should pay for a camp stop tonight which has hot showers and more importantly a socket to charge the laptop and the camera battery which is on it's last few drops of power. We consult the Camps 6 book - now our bible and find a beautiful spot slightly inland right by Lake McDonald. It is owned by Scouts Australia and we resist the urge to light a camp fire and sing "Ging Gang Gooley!" but only just!

Not a bad place to spend a night!