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 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!

day 69 September 1 Thurs Agnes Water and 1770

An energetic morning spent kayaking around the waters surrounding 1770 and Agnes Water in the hope of seeing dolphins. 

 

Our host was Simon, looking every bit the part, who paddled around with us, Rowan sandwiched between Nicole and David and Tiegan paired up with Anton, (Simon's new side kick).

  

We paddled around Agnes Water, initially with the tide and then against it spotting a lot of birds! Sadly our only glimpse of dolphins was a pod of 3 about 50 metres away who teased us several times by popping up and then disappearing. 

Our first stop was a sand bar where we took a well earned break and waded up onto the beach for views of the two little towns we had just come from. The sea conditions were turning and it became clear that we could not paddle into the open ocean today. 

We contented ourselves with our next paddle to Butterfly Beach, across the tide this time - even harder work, especially with the extra person on board- complete with our crash helmets! This stopping point was for us to enjoy Simon's snacks! A tiny cove where just through the mangrove and trees thousands of butterflies gather. A quick shake of the tree by Simon and we were treated to beautiful fluttering above our heads. Snacks and drinks over with (fruit cake, crisps and pop) and a few quick photos later we start our paddle back to the jetty.

 

 As we hug the coast, still hoping to see a dolphin or two, we pass by Captain Cook's landing point in 1770. This is big news here and each year the landing is re enacted and celebrated by the town complete with replica sailing boats and full costumes. As we near the end the girls suddenly spot Sandy, Hazel, Rosie and Poppy on the beach waving and taking photos - they have moved campgrounds and are now parked almost on the beach!

 We are all relieved to get back and go to say our goodbyes before heading south again finally stopping for the night at Apple Tree Creek rest stop (another freebie site) and the girls' first experience of the phenomena of "the composting toilet"!  Whiffy WOO and screams from everyone "Don't LOOK DOWN!"