Brisbane
I got up in the morning and decided to get into Brisbane today, I'm a bit homesick. Got into Brisbane, early afternoon, popped around to see my sis, brother-in-law and nephews. They were happy to see me and me them. So, I'm now staying on the southside of Briz for a couple of months then who knows what will happen.
Rathdowney
I went in to Casino and bought some flowers, then I drove through Kyogle to Woodenbong then Urbenville. I arrived around lunchtime, gave the flowers to nana and had lunch with her, an aunt and a cousin. I spent a few hours visiting, then I headed north to Rathdowney. I drove over the border into my home state. I stopped at the rest area around 5pm and set up for the night.
Casino
After a very cool morning, it warmed up a lot. I had a look around Grafton and couldn't get over how much the place has changed. Continuing on, I stopped and had lunch at Ballina, again a lot of change has occurred since the last time I was here. I kept going and had a look at through Lismore, same again, much has changed. I decided to stop and check out Casino Village, billed as Australia's premier R.V. destination. Very nice and well appointed. Tomorrow, I'm heading to Urbenville to visit my grandmother for her birthday.
Halfway Creek
I got up to a very cool morning, got ready and headed north, taking the scenic route to Port Macquarie. I had a good look around Port Maquarie, it has really changed since the last time I was here. Port Maquarie has become a very cosmopolitan town. On the way once more I passed through Kempsey and many smaller towns. At Coffs Harbour, the Ulysses motorcycle group were having the biggest convention the group has had, motorcycles everywhere I looked. Damn I was jealous. Anyway I got to Halfway creek rest area, which funnily enough is halfway between Coffs and Grafton.
Moorland
Not far north of Raymond Terrace is Ayers Rock roadhouse. It was going to be a theme park that the Leyland Brothers, us older ones will know who they were, had started to build based on their travels but it went bellyup before they finished. I took the coast road up through Forster and Tuncurry. At Forster I did a bit of fishing, no good, then I went on to Taree, where I had a look around then continued on to Moorland rest area.
Raymond Terrace
Spent some time looking around the towns of Rathmines and Toronto. Rathmines was the R.A.A.F base for the flying boats and seaplanes from 1939-1960.The bays around this area are spectacular and seem to be reasonably calm. Up the road a bit further, I turned off for Newcastle. I didn't spend a lot of time at Newcastle as I have been here before, so I had a look around to see how much has changed, a bit but not a lot. I ended up stopping at a new motorhome park just north of Raymond Terrace. It's a great place to stop.
Onley Forest
On the road again, I continued up the coast road, I got to Gosford and headed east to travel through Terrigal, The Entrance and stopped at Norah Head to look around. Off the coast I counted 40 ships that are anchored up waiting to get loaded with coal at Newcastle. Near the lighthouse, there is a memorial to the Merchant Navy mariners who were lost during the war. The campground is around 16 km from Cooranbong, 8km dirt, but a very peaceful area.
Sydney
I caught the train to Sydney, then caught the Sydney Explorer, a hop on/hop off bus, that stops at 27 of Sydney's most famous attractions. Central station has an old world look about it and is a massive place. I visited the National Maritime Museum, Luna Park, Star City casino, Mrs Macquarie's Chair, Darling Harbour,The Rocks and of course the Harbour Bridge and Opera House. I walked from The Rocks over Sydney Harbour Bridge around Milsons Point and Luna Park, then caught the Explorer back over the bridge. I walked around the grounds of Government House, then to the Opera House. Over the course of the day, I took many photos to record what I had seen. The only disappointment for me was that I took too much time seeing everything else, that it was getting too late/dark to visit the ANZAC War Memorial/World Square. The Explorer stopped outside Central station, where I caught the train back. All up , I reckon Sydney is a big, mad, bustling city.
Penrith
I went for a drive to Penrith, along the way I stopped at Windsor and Richmond, for a look around. They are both included in the five towns that Governor Macquarie established in the Hawkesbury Valley back in 1810. Not far out of the town centre is the whitewater and regatta centre which was used for the kayak and rowing events in the 2000 Olympics. The whitewater course pumps move 14,000 litres of water a minute and is rated a grade 3 rapid. I went for a walk around the Westfield shopping centre, the place is huge.
Pitt Town
On getting to this lovely little town, which incidently was used for many scenes in A Country Practice, an old Australian soap, I stopped for a look around Sydney Olympic Park. I went around and took in the sights and venues that were built for the Olympic games. The cauldron now sits on stilts and you can stand under it like Cathy Freeman did at the opening ceremony. I passed through the western outskirts of Sydney before arriving here for a few nights.
Stanwell Park
Went further north to Wollongong and beyond. At Wollongong, I had a look around the city and a few of the tourist attractions. Continuing up the road, I passed through a number of small towns, and stopped to walk across the 665metre, over the ocean, Sea Cliff Bridge that's between Coalcliff and Clifton. The bridge was built as rock slides frequently blocked the road between these two towns. I got to Stanwell Park and drove up to watch the hang gliders and para sailers for a while
Port Kembla
Took myself for a drive up the road, did some more sightseeing and fishing, along the way. Port Kembla looks to be all about industry and the port, there was six ships being loaded or unloaded. There is a lookout named Hill 60, which is used for hang-gliding, that gives a 360 view around the area. Just out of town is Nan Tien Temple, the largest Buddhist temple in the southern hemisphere. The pagoda is eight levels high
and it has many small statues throughout the massive gardens.
Kiama
Found a great caravan park to stay at, so I'm stopping here for a few nights to rest and recreate plus use this as a base for some day trips. It's a great place to visit with lots to do and lots to see. One is the Blowhole, which is a natural feature, described by surgeon George Bass in 1797,when he explored around this area. There are a number of good cafes and shops in town. I went for a walk around the harbour, then when I got back to the caravan park, I walked to the little blowhole then to the big blowhole and back, around 7km.
Bateman's Bay
On the road again, stopping at small towns and having a fish along the way. I got in lateish and decided to spend a couple of days here to explore the region. I went back down the road about 10km to a little town called Mogo. It has a wonderful zoo, which has many albino animals, as well as other animals in its care. It also has a old time gold mine town, much like Sovereign Hill but on a smaller scale, just of the main road. On the main road it has many varied stores, including an organic grocer and sourdough bakery, to spend time browsing around. I had a drive around the bay and did some more sightseeing and fishing.
Bermagui
Left the dam rest area and drove north to Bega, yep where they make the cheese, then I headed east to the coast and followed it north again. I stopped here at Bermagui, decided to stop for the night, and went fishing for a while. Not sure what I caught but I saw a big shadow, maybe a stingray, about 15 feet from the shore before the line snapped. Oh well, sh*t happens.
Yellow Pinch Dam
Still raining when I left this morning, continuing on up the road, I stopped at Eden to have a look around the killer whale museum. Very interesting to learn that, in the 1920's, a killer whale pack and whalers worked together to hunt whales around the Port of Eden waters. The killer whale pack was led by Old Tom and when he was found dead in the southern part of Twofold Bay the killer whales weren't seen in the bay again. Old Tom's skeleton is on display in the museum.
Scrubby Creek
After a couple of days r'n'r, it was time to continue on my journey. I passed through a few small towns and I stopped at Orbost, which is in Snowy River country, and went for a ride beside the mighty river. It had been raining on and off, sometimes very heavy, since lunchtime. I decided to stop at this free rest area mid afternoon and I was the only one there 'til around five, when another bus arrived.
Lakes Entrance
It was the first Anzac Day in a long time that I had not attended a dawn service, so I had my own. I left early and stopped at a few small towns along the way, many of them had wreaths around the war memorials from the dawn services. I paid my respects. Continuing on I arrived at Lakes Entrance and booked in for a couple of days to do some exploring and fishing. There is an amazing diversity to this area. I went for a 5 km return walk to where you can overlook the Entrance. A massive volume of water passes through this channel with the tides. The fishing hasn't been that crash hot yet but hopefully it will get better.
Bunyip
Said goobye to my friends and headed east towards Melbourne. I drove through Melbourne, the traffic was really bad, compared to what I'm used to now. I stopped at a rest area about 25 km out of Warragul. Cranked up the generator for a while to get the water hot for a shower. The rest area is just off the highway, so it is a bit noisy, but hey, it's free.
