June 11/12 2024
We finally left the comforts of Waterfall Cottage in Northern Sydney, and waved goodbye to my brother with a promise to return at the end of the trip in August.
I am a woman that likes spreadsheets. We have an itinerary which plots our intended route and notes the daily driving distances and journey times. It also identifies possible places to stop and explore. Most importantly it identifies people and places that we intend to visit.
We were now headed towards Brisbane where we were intending to stay a few days and this involved a lovely drive up the Eastern coastline.
Our route headed North and followed the coast line on the Pacific Highway in the direction of Brisbane. The road was dual carriage way and an easy drive.
The spreadsheet foretold of a 300km drive to Taree on the first day. There was not much to see in Taree, but earlier we were rewarded with a pleasing lunch stop in Newcastle, a busy thriving town with many shops and restaurants and a lovely sea frontage.
In particular we were drawn to the long and substantial, Macquarie Pier which provided shelter to the working harbour.
As we walked along Macquarie Pier, there were historical facts displayed on boards which explained how the causeway came to be built and various other pieces of information about Newcastle. The pier itself had been built initially in 1846 to protect ships entering and leaving the harbour.
The town was a big Coal producer for the war effort and thus was a potential enemy target. By the onset of the 2nd WW, it also became the site of a military encampment and had gun emplacements positioned along its length.
One fact that astonished us was that during the 2WW, a Japanese submarine had fired shells into the town from a range of 4.8 nautical miles out at sea and had damaged some buildings. The town was defended and the submarine was targeted by Australian fire and apparently dissapeared.
I guess I knew little about how the war had been taken to the shores of Australia.
Although the harbour seemed busy enough and some larger boats were being piloted in and out, an image of the harbour in the 1800’s showed it totally full of sailing boats presumably bringing in people and goods.
Nobby’s lighthouse perched at the end of the stone pier, was constructed in 1858 and was New South Wales oldest lighthouse. It was closed to visitors when we were there but was a historic site and instrumental in preventing marine catastrophes on a treacherous coastline with multiple inlets and harbours but which were often difficult to navigate in stormy seas.
Apart from the Pier and lighthouse, Newcastle had a delightful sea front which included a beautifully restored Custom House which was now a hospitality complex and next door was a huge old railway station that was no longer in use but had been proudly restored into an old historic quarter.
Tacking lighthouse
This lighthouse was on the way to Coffs Harbour and involved a special detour. We were so pleased to have found it. It had recently been lovingly restored and signs up to the neatly tended viewing area warned us not to approach any lurking snakes. No chance of that!
Whilst we were there looking out at the amazing views in all directions, we noticed quite a lot of people with binoculars looking out to sea. They had been spotting whales as this was a regular spot for a variety of whales. These were too far away for us to see, but much to my amazement, just below the lighthouse a very large pod of playful dolphins passed by. There was a highly energetic display of fins appearing above the water as they were dipping playfully up down below us. Unfortunately none of my photos even begin to do justice to this event.
In the beach below, there was a small group of children peering into Rockpools with their teachers. The rockpool visit was somehow connected to an old book she was carrying by May Gibbs. This old book had the most delightful illustrations and I am sure I had been read this book as a child. It was called Snuggle Pot and Cuddle Pie. I was struck by the infectious enthusiasm of the young teachers and I determined to read up more about May Gibbs when I got home!
Coffs Harbour
This small town drew our attention because it too had a walkway, at the end of which was a tiny island which we could climb up. After driving long distances we are always pleased to find somewhere beautiful to stretch our legs.
Before walking to the island we found a picnic table overlooking the sea to have lunch.
This was a busy place with lots of small boats, some of which were offering whaling tours. There was also a fleet of fishing boats neatly moored in their own section of the Harbour. Also there young people entering the water nearby to dive and some national Park rangers installing some artwork which firmly identified and located a number of aboriginal groups who occupied the area. The artwork had been long in the making and had involved aboriginal people in its conception.
The views from the top of the hill back over the harbour were amazing.
We had intended to stop near Coffs Harbour for the night. It was tempting because it was a hot sunny afternoon. However, with time available we opted to drive up into the table lands away from the coast to visit Armidale, the place of my mother’s upbringing. It had evaded the spreadsheet but it was a big temptation.
The drive was amazing, winding up through the mountains. The grass was really green until we reached the upper levels and the gum trees were incredibly tall with bleached looking white trunks. They had a sort of haunted look as live trees were mingling side by side with dead trees with naked branches reaching up haphazardly.
After a couple of hours driving with very few people or settlements at all, we reached the outskirts of town after sunset. We booked into a Show Ground campsite for the night and determined to potter around for a few hours the following day.
However we were slightly dismayed to find that the night time temperatures up in Armidale were plunging to minus 1. Luckily we have an electric blanket in the van even if there is no other actual heating when stationery.
