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 80 Sep 12 Mon Ballina to Yamba

We say goodbye to Liz and John, AGAIN! and drive south to Ballina and the very shabby "big prawn" located on top of a seafood restaurant on the town boundary. Like the "big pineapple" it is now closed and has seen slightly better days. Ballina itself has nothing much going on so we continue on to Yamba in search of another good beach. This coast is rather spoilt for good beaches - Yamba is no exception and the girls play for a while in the rock pools we find in a small sheltered cove we stumble upon. Sadly the weather breaks suddenly and we take cover in the van, hoping it will blow over. Unfortunately the cloud and drizzle seems to be there to stay and so we treat ourselves with "jaws" and chips from the locally famous Gormans seafood cafe. The troops are not disappointed and it is devoured with gusto. We drive on to Half Way Creek rest area and are amazed to find kangaroos grazing on the grassy area as we make camp. Sadly the arrival of a large purple and green van heralds their departure! Subtle and understated we are not! The rest stop is located at the back of a petrol station and all night truck stop and cafe. Once bedtime is over Nicole heads inside to the warmth of the cafe area, a large pot of hot chocolate, wi fi and free electricity and is able not only to charge the laptop but also spend a few hours catching up on the blog, uploading photos from almost a month before. It is a long job, but made easier by the warmth and relative peace and comfort of the surroundings. The further south we travel, the colder the evenings have got and the more clothes have been needed. The girls have nick named me "goat feet" due to the glamorous sock and flip flop combo, improved only by the digging out of the thermal trousers worn under shorts! Stylish is not the word!

day 79 Sep 11 Sun Lennox Heads

Poppy's birthday! We deliver our little present and wish Poppy happy 4th birthday and join her for a birthday cake celebration.

 

Another day, another market, this time along the coast at Lennox Heads. It is a quaint little seaside town, popular with surfers as the waves are great here, and in fact all along this stretch of coastline. The market stretches along the beach road and on the shores of the lake... whose waters are stained a rather odd brown colour on account of the tea trees which line the banks. The waters are therapeutic but none of us fancy it much! The beach is so beautiful that we stay here after the market and a delicious coffee and have our lunch on the sand. Sadly in the afternoon the wind picks up and so we head back to Byron where it is more sheltered. As we leave Liz and the gang arrive! They had had a flat battery on their car and so couldnt go where they were planning to and ended up at the same market.

 

We decide to rendezvous later on the beach after we have visited the lighthouse at Cape Byron - the most easterly point in Australia. We drive to the car park at the top - and are staggeres to find the charge is $7 - so we turn round and park 300 metres below for free and climb up the hill along the path. The views towards Byron and beyond are beautiful but looking out to sea there is a huge expanse of open ocean! 

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Cape Byron Lighthouse is the most easterly light in Australia, and one of the most powerful.The cape was named by British explorer Captain James Cook on passing here on 15 May 1770, to honour British explorer John Byron who circumnavigated the globe in the HMS Dolphin from 1764 to 1766.

  

Day 78 Sep 10 Sat Lismore, Bangalow, Byron Bay and Mullimbimby

We are woken at 3 a.m by a cockerel with no sense of sunrise time. He, or rather all of his other cockerel friends who appear to live with him at the rest stop,continues to crow almost non stop until we leave the rest stop later in the morning! We try to go to "Tropical Fruit World" where there are many different and unusual fruits to sample and the "big avocado" but it is not yet open when we arrive at 9 and doesnt open for another hour and a half. We drive on to Lismore as we have heard there is a good local market here, but are rather disappointed in what is on offer. We stop for a coffee in the town and consult the tourist information office. There is a koala hospital here which is open for visits- but the tourist info lady says that we are a) too late for the Saturday tour and b) that the inmates are mostly one gum leaf away from the big eucalyptus tree in the sky and that it is probably not the best place for the girls. She tells us that there is a food festival in nearby Bangalow -  a town which ironically we passed and nearly stopped at on the way up to Lismore - which is definitely worth a visit, so we head back to the van and make our way there. Amazingly as we drive into the town the girls suddenly spot John and Hazel walking down the road but they are walking in the opposite direction and we are stuck in the queue for the car park- they are also here and we didnt know! Not the first or last time this happens in the coming days. We park the van and head into the "Taste" festival on the showground. Lots of amazing produce on show, lots of things to taste and cheap tasting plates  for $5 or $10 on offer from local gourmet cafes, restaurants and hotel kitchens. The sun is shining, there is a band playing and the smells are amazing.

   

The highlight for the girls is a free "rabbit petting" session with 7 week old bunnies provided by Macadamia Castle, a nearby tourist attraction. As we head back to the van for our usual picnic lunch there is a shout from a nearby car - it is Liz and family! We catch up with all their news and decide to head to the beach at Byron Bay for the afternoon and meet up later.

We end up camping at the same place  - Mullimbimby Rugby League Ground, which rents out pitches in the off season around the ground - there are hot showers in the changing rooms and a covered bbq area with sockets.

day 76 and 77 Caloundra and Brisbane

Day 76 Sep 8 Thurs Caloundra to Brisbane -
After a full day exploring the wonderful Australia Zoo we have another beach day at beautiful Caloundra Beach - More boogy boarding, more clean, soft white sand and another picnic lunch with free barbecue. The girls are becoming much more confident in the water and really getting the hang of the waves and boogy board. Sadly we leave the Sunshine Coast - but not before I have a minor accident whilst doing the chores at the back of the van. A sharp knife falls off the back shelf and point down lands in the top of my foot - ouch! As usual we dry our towels in the morning sun, hanging off the doors and bonnet of the van - we are really getting the hang of life on the road!   We have no option but to pay for a van park in Brisbane as the options for free camps and rest stops are pretty non existent. We head towards the "Aztec" themed holiday park - a purpose built holiday village housing static mobile homes, caravans and campers and tents. It has amenity blocks with laundries and sockets and super clean and modern showers and bathrooms.  A real treat!  Again David does the washing and charges the laptop and camera batteries while I do bedtime!
Day 77 Sep 9 Fri Brisbane -

Today we head into Brisbane to swap the van with the leaky roof, dodgy gas stove handle and other minor faults. As we arrive into Brisbane we are grateful for the sat nav which guides us effortlessly into the CBD just as the drizzle threatens.  It is quite straightforward swapping all our bits to the new van - and we realise that we now have 2 new gas bottles which will hopefully last till Sydney. A regroup in a very good coffee shop at the bottom of a nearby office and shop complex and then a dash to the new van (which we left in the Jucy depot) as the rain starts. We decide that there is not much we really want to see in Brisbane - it is a city like any other with its' museums and attractions - so no real reason to stop for any length of time expecially in the rain. We contemplate an afternoon at the movies seeing The Smurfs (a combination of a treat and a bit of normality) but the times dont work and so we content ourselves with a trip to Woolworths, a scoot round the shops and a snack lunch at the Westfield complex which we passed on the way in and on our route towards Sydney. We aim for Tweed Heads and Coolangatta and in the end camp at rest stop 1 in NSW of Camp 6 - Stotts Island Nature Reserve rest stop. Amazingly as we drive in after dark we spot what looks like a chicken roosting in a tree, lit up in the headlights. On closer inspection, i.e. a second drive round the turning circle... IT IS a chicken in a tree, or more accurately a cockerel! And the delights of another rather stinky composting toilet - this time sited up a long ramp in a wooden pavilion complete with local natural history facts!

day 75 Sep 7 Wed Aus Zoo

We are at Australia Zoo today! It is the one thing we could not possibly have left Australia without doing! The girls have talked about Steve O and Bindi  for weeks and have speculated for days about which day we will arrive here and whether we catch a glimpse of anyone they have seen on TV. So we are here in Beerwah - and the girls are almost emotional when we enter and immediately see the bronze memorial statue to Steve and his family located just inside the admission gate.

Initially a small family business, the expansion of Australia Zoo has seen the Irwin family employing hundreds of energetic people with a variety of skills and they do an amazing job- just enough staff to ensure smooth running - but not so many that it becomes an impersonal experience. The keepers are friendly and have time to talk and spend with everyone. They also seem to be involved in more than one area which means that we encounter familiar faces throughout the day. Jeremy in particular was a big hit with the girls and we saw him with his baby alligator wandering around the park, in the crocoseum for the croc show and as we left - saying goodbye to each and every visitor as they left the zoo - complete with cockatoo!

 

 The exhibits and enclosures not only allow us to see and experience the animals up close, but also seem to be luxurious, spacious, stimulating and fun for the animals to live and play in. The public areas are beautifully landscaped with wide sweeping paths, spotlessly clean and well maintained and everything is beautifully presented. Even the sand is raked and picture perfect. It is an amazing place.

One of the main attractions is of course the saltwater crocs, and this model shows the potential of growth and size. Based on the dimensions of a real crocodile that could still exist today if conditions were absolutely perfect. But since Saltwater Crocodiles were hunted to the brink of extinction by the 1970's it is now a rarity to see really large crocs in the wild. 8.23 metres long and weighs 930kgs. Crikey!

 

The latest exhibit at the Zoo is the Africa section - It was, we learn,  a dream of Steve's to open a safari type park and this latest edition is a great addition. The girls listen to the elephant keeper talk, which like all the others we hear today has atleast 50% conservation and environmental messages. At the end they queue up and feed the elephants - which they have always loved doing when we visit Colchester Zoo at home with Granny Chicken - and there is much fond talk of our days there together as we move to the next enclosure. The Crocoseum!

The Crocoseum is the fulfillment of another of Steve Irwin's lifelong dreams. Steve wanted to provide the visitors to Australia Zoo with the opportunity to see crocodiles in clear water ponds. This idea was to help educate the public by showing them how crocodiles live and behave in the wild.

Crocodiles use the murkiness of the water in their territory to camouflage from their prey. By using clear water, the dangers  lurking just below the surface of a seemingly serene billabong  can be clearly shown.

Steve's dream was to be able to use an intricate system of channels and gates to allow him to house several male Saltwater Crocodiles alongside each other in private enclosures, and bring them individually out into the centre of the Crocoseum for our crocodile shows.

It has given Australia Zoo the perfect arena to display some of the most beautiful animals not just crocs, but animals such as our snakes and one of the most amazing free-flight bird shows. Today we are in for a surprise because the latest TV advert is being filmed and so Wes is here! I appreciate this will mean nothing to most of the readers of this blog - but if you are an Australia Zoo fanatic then it is a big deal! Lots of excitement! It also means that we see a lot more of the crocs and a lot more action. Interesting to note that the camera man had a keeper attached to his back pocket at all times to pull and push him out of the way as Wes tries to get the best shots for the TV campaign!

 

We also see echidnas in the flesh - Echidnas have slender snouts and long, flicking tongues and one of only 2 egg laying mammals (the other is a platypus). They also has distinctive sharp quills along their back and sides for protection against predators. When threatened, the echidna will curl inwards, leaving only their sharp spines exposed - they also flatten themselves to become a spiny pancake if picked up and the girls enjoyed a quick stroke before moving on to Kangaroo Heaven!

We enter the Roo enclosure, which is a wide open area of parkland and suddenly spots hundreds of kangaroos - just doing their thing. We buy our food from a vending machine - how bizarre and then we hand-feed  gorgeous Red Kangaroos and Grey Kangaroos as they roam their open-range enclosure.  

If you look closely there is a joey hanging out of the pouch - only one back leg and a bit of tail visible - and it was quite a big baby to fit in the pouch - but she was a very relaxed Mummy with a very stretchy pouch - and baby joey disappeared into it so fast we didnt see it happen!

Kangaroos are the largest marsupial surviving on earth today. They are well known for their style of movement; hopping on their hind legs whilst using their large, muscular tail for balance. Kangaroos use their tail like an extra leg when they are manoeuvring around, or standing still. Kangaroos are one of the only animals that are not able to move backwards easily, and this is why they are used on the Australian national emblem. And my goodness they can move fast when they are spooked!

 

We could have spent hours here in the peaceful surroundings and at times we were felt almost like we had our little section of open area to ourselves. Another great day was had by all and having been almost at the front of the queue at opening time we are almost the last to leave.