Into Victoria

My journey south takes me a little away from the coast until I reach the town of Orbost.  The road takes me through stands of Eucalypt forests, some small and stringy, some large and quite old.  I also see lots of dead trees but am not sure if the cause is from bush fires or the long drought that the south has experienced over the recent years.

At the moment there have been heavy falls in the centre of NSW, according to the news, as much as 300mm over the course of just 2 days.  Lots of flooding because of it, but the farmers are finally smiling again.  The area around Orbost is also cattle country, many cows feeding happily on the fresh green growth of grass.

From Orbost I drive back to the coast again, wanting to check "Lakes Entrance", a location that looks inviting on the map.  When I get there it looks as if half of Melbourne has come to spend the Christmas holidays there, in fact, it reminds me very much of the town of Foster / Tuncurry where I stayed on my way south from Queensland. Lots of shops lots of families, lots of young people enjoying being close to the water.

Lakes Entrance seen from above

I decide to check a few campgrounds, find them all full to the brim despite the  extravagant pricing and as a consequence decide to drive a little further to Bairnsdale, quite a large town with even an Aldi Store for my groceries.

There has been a cool breeze blowing from the ocean, the night there turns out quite cold, around 14 degrees, I wonder what they get in the winter...
I re-fuel in the morning as I want to take a look at the ski fields of Victoria, in particular Mount Hotham.  A good decision!  More about Mt. Hotham... A wonderful drive along great mountain scenes.  The road that has started like most other highways, gets to be tight turns and bends, constantly going uphill.

Rolling Foothills along my way

I drive through colourful valleys along the side of a mountain, gradually reaching ever higher ground providing outstanding views of the land below.  Orange posts mark the right edge of the highway and I can only imagine what the land looks like during the winter months, after all, the mountain is about 1860m above sea level.

 

Views from the top of Mount Hotham

The way down is even more winding than the road up, many sections very steep, advisory speed signs saying 30km/h as a safe speed.  Most of the way down I am in 3rd gear and in very steep sections I have to change down to second.  This is a 6-speed gearbox and its really important to keep the rig in low gear otherwise there will be brake burnout.

Arriving at the town of Bright I realise that this is yet another favourite destination for Melbournians.  It is also quite hot this side of the mountains, so after checking multiple campsites, finding all of them fully booked, I finally travel on to the small town of Myrtleford where I stop for a powered site so I can use my aircon to keep me cool in this heat, the temperature now in the high 30s.

Down the South Coast from Sydney

Yes, I know that its about time I say something about my trip again, so here I go:

Sydney brought a few up and downs, some great, others as yet undecided developments.  My medical check turned out ok and am now planning to return to Sydney early March for a small operation when the weather will be a bit cooler.  In the meantime its "on the road again" for me.

I leave Sydney on Boxing Day (26 December) and follow the coastline south.  When I leave its heavily overcast and raining most of the way, the forecast has also promised some more of the same for the Sydney area.  Its also quite cool but ok for driving.  Traffic, initially very light gets heavier as I get further south, about 20km north of the town of Berry it is bumper-to-bumper and crawling pace.

I pull out in Berry and drive down to the Sports Ground where I will spend a night under drizzling skies.  It continues most of the night and I am happy to report that I had a really good night's sleep.

Rolling Hills with Milk Cows

There is a light drizzle of rain when I leave but slowly the sky brightens with bits of blue visible.  Quite amazing how different a landscape starts to look when there is more light, the dark cover of clouds slowly giving way to a more favourable outlook.  Its rolling hills all the way, green pastures, lots of milk producing cows for the cheese industry in these parts. 

Part of the waterfront at Narooma

A few kilometres just north of Narooma I find a great rest area a little away from the Princes Highway where I will spend yet another night.  I meet four young French people, Anna & Benjamin and Licia & Olivier, traveling in two Campervans, now on their way north to get a look at the New Years Celebrations with fireworks in Sydney.  I very much enjoyed talking with them about their traveling plans and it looks that we may meet up again when I get to Tasmania.

Even as I thought I had escaped the rainy weather, as it gets dark, rain sets in again.  Just as well I don't need to be outside, so instead I solve another Sudoku puzzle, read and listen to nice music.  An early night.

One of the beaches at Eden

Mineral deposits with black sand-like appearance.

By morning the rain has stopped, again, as I drive south it begins to clear to mostly blue sky.  Again I see rolling hills of green pasture, looking ever so much nicer under sunlight.  At Pambula I re-fuel and drive on to Eden where I stop for the day.

Port Stephens Area

As I travel further south the sky is turning into ever darker shades of grey with a very low cloud base.  The highway is wet, my rear window getting dirtier by the minute due to the airflow vortex at the back of my vehicle.  When I turn toward the coast again the rain eases and finally stops while I check out a number of possible campgrounds, finally stopping at Soldiers Point for the night.  Soon the rain sets in again while I cook a hot Lamb Curry and solve a few Sudoku Puzzles, an actiity I have recently been introduced to, one that I really love, having become 'addicted' in a way...

The following morning there is still a drizzle, so I look for a possible alternative location on my maps, decide to retrace my steps and to drive around the bay of Port Stephens.  To get there I need to drive right around the bay, a distance according to my GPS, about 85km.  When I get back to the highway, driving north again, the rain increases but as I turn toward the coast again, skies start to clear, bits of blue sky that increase in size the closer I get to 'Hawks Nest'.  I take this as a good omen, check into the caravan park by the beach and 'erect' my home-on-wheels.

Rain clouds threatening Hawks Nest

Great surf, heavy clouds on the other side of the Bay.

Wind-swept white sand dunes at Hawks Nest

Hawks Nest has beautiful beaches with white sand on one side and a lake on the opposite side.  Very nice, I must say, with a great surf running, very popular with many people on surfboards out on the water.

Eastcoast of New South Wales

Driving south following the coastline (more or less) reveals a land that is green once again, after all the heavy rainfalls over the last few weeks everything looks almost like a european landscape, cattle grazing in the midst of fresh grass as far as I can see.

Quite a few of the low-lying areas are still covered in water, the rivers on my way, all full to the top, flowing majestically through this seemingly totally flat country.

The weatherman is reporting extreme heat inland so the decision to come and follow the coast has been a good one, a constant cool breeze from the ocean sure keeps the temperature down to a level of comfort.  

The heavy dowpour I experienced while I stopped at Lake Moogerah has certainly helped to clean the roof of my Motorhome.  Yes, the new Telescopic ladder I bought has been used for just that, namely the inspection of my Solar Panels on the roof, noticing that they did not require any cleaning, the heavy rain had certainly removed all traces of bull dust also going by the name of "Pillbara Pink" by the locals.

The Pacific Highway turns a little away from the coast after I leave Evans Head, the next larger Town on the road is Grafton, where I stop briefly to buy groceries at Aldi, then follow the highway further south, again turning toward the ocean where I put in my next stop-over at "Red Rock" for the night.

Coastline near Red Rock

The following morning I continue south, drive through Coffs Harbour, then take the turn-off to Sawtell where I check into the caravan park.  I take out my bike and go for a cruise, discovering a cute mainstreet with a number of shops and restaurants with tables out on the foot path.

The following day takes me only a short distance further south, past Nambucca Heads, Macksville until the turn-off to Grassy Head, where I find a quaint caravan park, separated from the beach by an overgrown sand dune, I can hear the waves but am sheltered from the strong winds.  I like it so much, I spend 3 days and nights.  There is also a bit of cooking to catch up on so my meat will not go off in the fridge.

Grassy Head Camping

When I leave again, I follow the highway south to Kew, where I turn toward the ocean again and find a nice spot to stay, up high looking across the beach and the ocean.  Very nice with a great beach, its called "Bonny Hills".

 Volcanic rocks at Bonny Hills Beach

 

 

Interesting rocks with colourful lichen growing probable high mineral content.

The following morning I continue south to Tuncurry / Forster where I spend another 3 nights. [more info on The Great Lakes area]

Bangalow

I had spoken on the phone with my once co-traveler, Bronny, who has a house at Bangalow and she invited me to come and catch up on the latest, happy for me to leave my Motorhome in her driveway and plug into her power.

My "Home" in Bronny's driveway

View across Bangalow

Bangalow, just west of Byron Bay, away from the coast, is not very far from Burleigh Heads so I drive south to take another look at Bangalow which I had visited last year in June for the first time.

The township is located in a valley with hills rising either side, Bronny's house high on the side of a hill, overlooking the valley.  Subtropical, lush and green, the town itself clean and sparkling, emanating good positive energy.

Orchids in Bronny's garden

A great town full of friendly people, excellent restaurants and plenty of parking.  I liked it so much, I decided to stay 3 nights, also cooking a couple of meals to share with my host.  It was good to catch up as we had not seen each other since July when she drove south along the westcoast of Western Australia and finally across the Nullarbor and back home to Bangalow.  She has to go into Hospital for a minor op, but is cheerful and happy as always.

Naturally, I take a drive to Byron Bay, up to the Lighthouse on the most easterly point in Australia. [More about Byron Bay]

Byron Bay Lighthouse

Lake Ainsworth, just north of Lennox Head

Today I drive south yet again, through Lennox Heads, Lake Ainsworth with its water stained tea-coloured by tannin from teatrees, then on to Ballina, finally stopping for the night at Evans Head.  On the beach once again with a cool breeze but blue sky.  I have checked a couple of campgrounds on my way south this morning, discovering nice places for future reference.