We ended up staying at a Campsite called Moonee Beach Holiday Park about 10 minutes from Coffs Harbour. We became members of the Top Tourist so we get discounts from the campsites along the way. The Campsite was right by the Beach, it was so hot when we got there. We had some dinner of meatballs and pasta .... mmmmm mmmmm and then pitched our tent. It was quite hilly the area reserved for Tents, so we picked out what looked like the least hilly! We done some washing and then put it on the line, 5 secs later it poured down and there was a la'al storm. It soon cleared and we went for a walk/paddle in the water. It was so cold but lovely walking through it. We saw a stingray and some fish which was cool. We had a lovely time walking along the water and then decided to go back and sort tea out .... some chicken curry sandwiches (hey you'll start to see a theme soon!) We were sitting down to watch the rugby league and have a tooheys when a group turned up at the camp kitchen to have a BBQ! We sat as long as we could but then started to feel uncomfortable so we went back to the tent for some game of cards.
We woke a few times through night to the sound of the sea and because of the storm earlier; it was cool through night so we had a good night sleep. We woke early and decided to go for a walk along the beach before breakfast. We walked up to the top of a cliff overlooking the water. We caught a glimpse of some dolphins; they were as quick as they disappeared into the water. We sat watching and waiting for them but couldn't see them again, we just sat and watched the surfers for a while then headed back
We packed up the tent and then had breakfast. Some ladies we had spoken to the night before walked past with their Chihuahuas. They gave us their mobile number and said to contact them when we're in Canberra. They promised us a home cooked meal, very nice!! Won't be for quite a few months til we get to there though, everywheres so huge!! We were talking to a man about us driving around Australia and he said about a farmer in the centre of Australia who owns 1 million acres of farming land!!! 1 million, that’s huge!!\
Saw some wild kangaroos at the side of the road, what a couple of days for wildlife .... I feel like Bill Oddie ... ha ha I mean David Attenborough!! Ha ha
Ben's driving Gracie B today the 400km's to Reedy Creek. Hopefully we should get to Uncle Trevor’s just after 2pm today (in time for the rugby league I hope!) Looking forward to meeting up with them again and staying at their house
Well we made it to Uncle Trevor's ok. We arrived just after 2pm and were guided in by Auntie Joy over the phone, we took a bit of an un-needed detour but we made it. It's really good to see both Trevor and Joy and it was good to finally meet my cousin Melissa too. Joy and Melissa are crazy, very funny and very loud. Trevor is Mr Chill Out, the complete opposite, but we're all getting on well, it's nice spending time with them in their home. Their home is lovely a two bedroomed place on a complex. It's open plan downstairs and they have a little garden with a swimming pool over the back which is shared by everyone. It's right by the M1 to so they have access to everywhere....... oh and it's nowhere near Brisbane! Well about 90 kms away
On Sunday they took us to Byron Bay, we were a bit apprehensive as we'd been before and didn't reckon much of it. We picked up some sandwiches on the way and pulled up to the beach. We managed to find a picnic table in the shade and had our lunch, very nice with the Beach behind us. It just wasn't like we remembered it to be, which was great. Trevor and Joy had spent many holidays here and showed us all the old places where they'd been .... right by the beach, it must have been awesome as kids!
After eating our dinner Trevor drove us up the lighthouse. He dropped us off at the top then went back down to park the car. As we got dropped off we glanced down at the beautiful water and saw two spurts of water ...... blooming whales!!!! We stood for ages watching the spurts, some close to the shore then they disappeared as quickly as they came up. They where coming up from everywhere, there must have been hundreds of them, it was wicked! We continued up to the lighthouse .... slowly as we couldn't believe the whales! The view at the top was amazing, it was a bit hazy but you could still make things out. The water was a bit murky looking so we couldn't see much in the water from the top.
On the way back we called into Brunswick Heads and got "Fish" and Chips, it was actually calamari and chips, still tasty though! We sat out by the yachts in the little harbour, it was great
Trevor and Joy wanted to show us their old house from when they lived in the area, we drove on to see Joy's sister Rose and her husband Graham...... what a house, what a view!!!! From their living room you can see the ocean and the light house back at Byron Bay. The back of the house overlooked the mountains and trees, it was an amazing place, and you could hear frogs croaking away in chorus. They are such a nice couple, they made us very welcome
We came back to the house and chilled out with cheesecake and Australian Idol!\
We had a lazy morning the next day then went to Burleigh Heads for a walk along the beach and a swim in the sea. Trevor showed us where Ben's Mum and Dad stayed when they were here a few years ago. It's a nice beach, very busy today because of the school holidays.
Our last day with Trevor & Joy and we had a lazy morning. After an early lunch we set off to the Natural Bridge. It was an hours drive from the house, very windy and hilly. It's a national park with a little walk to a natural spring, although there wasn't much water in there due to the hot weather and drought they're having. We walked through the trees and it was so lovely listening to the trees and the different birds. Didn't take us long to walk round and we were back in the car for the steep drive back ! We got back the same time as Melissa and not long after that we met Ben's cousin Adam. They're such a lovely family and it's great putting a face to the name. We had Bangers and Mash courtesy of Uncle Trevor ...... just like home !!
Well we're now back on the road after saying our goodbyes. We'll hopefully make it to Hervey Bay in one run but there's a big Dust Storm which has come from Sydney and it's very windy so we'll just plod on ! Back to slumming it in a tent now, we've really been spoiled with the air conditioning and the fan in the bedroom. 10 weeks to summer here now and it's already in the 30's......... it's such hard work !
We woke a few times through night to the sound of the sea and because of the storm earlier; it was cool through night so we had a good night sleep. We woke early and decided to go for a walk along the beach before breakfast. We walked up to the top of a cliff overlooking the water. We caught a glimpse of some dolphins; they were as quick as they disappeared into the water. We sat watching and waiting for them but couldn't see them again, we just sat and watched the surfers for a while then headed back
We packed up the tent and then had breakfast. Some ladies we had spoken to the night before walked past with their Chihuahuas. They gave us their mobile number and said to contact them when we're in Canberra. They promised us a home cooked meal, very nice!! Won't be for quite a few months til we get to there though, everywheres so huge!! We were talking to a man about us driving around Australia and he said about a farmer in the centre of Australia who owns 1 million acres of farming land!!! 1 million, that’s huge!!\
Saw some wild kangaroos at the side of the road, what a couple of days for wildlife .... I feel like Bill Oddie ... ha ha I mean David Attenborough!! Ha ha
Ben's driving Gracie B today the 400km's to Reedy Creek. Hopefully we should get to Uncle Trevor’s just after 2pm today (in time for the rugby league I hope!) Looking forward to meeting up with them again and staying at their house
Well we made it to Uncle Trevor's ok. We arrived just after 2pm and were guided in by Auntie Joy over the phone, we took a bit of an un-needed detour but we made it. It's really good to see both Trevor and Joy and it was good to finally meet my cousin Melissa too. Joy and Melissa are crazy, very funny and very loud. Trevor is Mr Chill Out, the complete opposite, but we're all getting on well, it's nice spending time with them in their home. Their home is lovely a two bedroomed place on a complex. It's open plan downstairs and they have a little garden with a swimming pool over the back which is shared by everyone. It's right by the M1 to so they have access to everywhere....... oh and it's nowhere near Brisbane! Well about 90 kms away
On Sunday they took us to Byron Bay, we were a bit apprehensive as we'd been before and didn't reckon much of it. We picked up some sandwiches on the way and pulled up to the beach. We managed to find a picnic table in the shade and had our lunch, very nice with the Beach behind us. It just wasn't like we remembered it to be, which was great. Trevor and Joy had spent many holidays here and showed us all the old places where they'd been .... right by the beach, it must have been awesome as kids!
After eating our dinner Trevor drove us up the lighthouse. He dropped us off at the top then went back down to park the car. As we got dropped off we glanced down at the beautiful water and saw two spurts of water ...... blooming whales!!!! We stood for ages watching the spurts, some close to the shore then they disappeared as quickly as they came up. They where coming up from everywhere, there must have been hundreds of them, it was wicked! We continued up to the lighthouse .... slowly as we couldn't believe the whales! The view at the top was amazing, it was a bit hazy but you could still make things out. The water was a bit murky looking so we couldn't see much in the water from the top.
On the way back we called into Brunswick Heads and got "Fish" and Chips, it was actually calamari and chips, still tasty though! We sat out by the yachts in the little harbour, it was great
Trevor and Joy wanted to show us their old house from when they lived in the area, we drove on to see Joy's sister Rose and her husband Graham...... what a house, what a view!!!! From their living room you can see the ocean and the light house back at Byron Bay. The back of the house overlooked the mountains and trees, it was an amazing place, and you could hear frogs croaking away in chorus. They are such a nice couple, they made us very welcome
We came back to the house and chilled out with cheesecake and Australian Idol!\
We had a lazy morning the next day then went to Burleigh Heads for a walk along the beach and a swim in the sea. Trevor showed us where Ben's Mum and Dad stayed when they were here a few years ago. It's a nice beach, very busy today because of the school holidays.
Our last day with Trevor & Joy and we had a lazy morning. After an early lunch we set off to the Natural Bridge. It was an hours drive from the house, very windy and hilly. It's a national park with a little walk to a natural spring, although there wasn't much water in there due to the hot weather and drought they're having. We walked through the trees and it was so lovely listening to the trees and the different birds. Didn't take us long to walk round and we were back in the car for the steep drive back ! We got back the same time as Melissa and not long after that we met Ben's cousin Adam. They're such a lovely family and it's great putting a face to the name. We had Bangers and Mash courtesy of Uncle Trevor ...... just like home !!
Well we're now back on the road after saying our goodbyes. We'll hopefully make it to Hervey Bay in one run but there's a big Dust Storm which has come from Sydney and it's very windy so we'll just plod on ! Back to slumming it in a tent now, we've really been spoiled with the air conditioning and the fan in the bedroom. 10 weeks to summer here now and it's already in the 30's......... it's such hard work !
.................
We made it to Hervey Bay without getting swallowed up by the dust, it was wierd! The night in the tent went well, it was actually quite cold which was nice. We've booked to go Whale watching tomorrow. Hopefully see some humpbacks! We're staying at the campsite for three nights, we stayed here last time too!
Better go, we've got a busy afternoon at the beach planned so can't be late, sorry ! Back to it !
Love to everyone
Claire and Ben x x x x x
