Day 4 around Uralla
An easy day but saw much
- from city buildings to beautiful rolling countryside to staggering rugged
scenery. All within a short drive of Uralla and Armidale. No time to spend in Uralla itself, but we shall be back.
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| Gostwyck Chapel |
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| 200 beautiful English elm trees line the road to the chapel |
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| Captain Thunderbolt |
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| Some lovely architecture in Armidale |
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| St Peters Anglican cathedral, Armidale |
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| Took a while to pass through this herd |
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| Old sheds dot the landscape |
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| So many birds - many very hard to capture |
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| Walks around Dangar Falls provided some gorgeous vistas |
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| Scarlet Robin |
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| Dangar Gorge |
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| Old dray |
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| In some places change is slow coming! |
Day 5 Uralla to Casino
A drive through diverse countryside today. A brief stop in Glen
Innes Info centre and we gathered information for our onward journey. Love Info
centre staff, they always have more knowledge than what can be found online. So
instead of Maccas for coffee we were recommended a cafe at the Standing Stones
on the edge of town. What a gem!
Travelling from the Tablelands through farmland and into the
Gibraltar NP. Unfortunately, the weather was very wet as we drove through the
rain forest - perhaps that's why it's a rain forest! It is the second largest
in Australia after the Daintree. We will just have to return.
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| Raising the Irish flag ready for some early St Pat's Day celebrations |
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| Cafe at the Standing Stones |
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| Lovely collections on all the walls to do with Celtic connections |
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| Making a feature of the security windows |
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| King Arthur he is not! |
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| The Standing Stones |
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| It was one thing coming across the cows yesterday on a local farm unsealed road. Here we are on the Gwydir Hwy! |
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| We managed to at least see the Boundary Falls in the NP |
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| On a clear day ..... |
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| The lookout was in former timber cutting country. Here are the remains of one of the last red cedar trees cut, the holes still visible for the platforms |
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| Not just cows slowed our progress. Lots of road works. |
After lunch in a familiar park in Grafton, we continued to Casino
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| See Park in Grafton has a channel running through it. Lots of water birds and other creatures .... |
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| ..... water dragon |
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| .... A species more commonly found in city supermarkets! |
Day 6 around Casino
I had no
expectations for this town. However, I have to say it's been a disappointment.
As have been some other regional towns we have travelled through, it is run down, but it is
to the point of promoting activities in the town which are simply unattainable
- a 'scenic walk' around part of the town is not possible because the
footbridge across the Richmond River is closed (looks pretty permanent to me);
the Jabiru Geneebeinga Wetlands beautifully presented on the local tourism website, are
inaccessible, unkempt and totally overgrown. How can a town survive if what is
promoted for visitors disappoints? On a brighter note, we saw some lovely
buildings, met some friendly locals and we move on tomorrow.
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| We usually expect country towns to have lovely bank buildings - perhaps something to do with money! |
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| Formerly the Commercial Bank. Look closely, while I was photographing the building .... |
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| ..... this lady was waving with her gorgeous dog. We had quite a chat about all things local. |
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| The outside is not one of the finest pubs but the brochure suggested "A tour of the internal premises is a must." So here it is. |
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| Of course there are also some lovely old homes |
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| Last night we saw the bats leaving their roosts. Check closely - would not want to live in this house! |
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| Of course public buildings are also usually worth a look. This is the Courthouse! |
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| Locals keeping their hall in good nick I suppose. |
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| The Richmond River is running swiftly after recent rains |
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| Rotary did not rate a mention in the historic walk, but this roundabout was rather striking. |
Not sure whether this is
a recommendation for visiting Casino or not.
The galahs, on the other
hand sit quietly as they gather.
Day 7 Casino to Tweed Heads
Left Casino in sunshine
but soon encountered rain as we passed through the ranges and down to
Murwillumbah. Mt Warning was not completely obscured, but very misty. After
checking in and doing some washing we headed to the info centre. Well what a
surprise! Just in passing while discussing driving to the beach we were
informed the World Surfing League (WSL) had started today and that Mick Fanning and Kelly Slater were
due in the water! We were off. So sorry if you are not interested in surfing
but this was our afternoon well spent at Snapper Rocks.
Day 8 around Tweed Heads
A sunny day forecast we
headed for Springbrook National Park. Based in NSW we soon realised that we
were very much ahead of the pack, Queensland being one hour behind. However,
that may have been to our disadvantage as we arrived at a lookout promising
spectacular views and it was totally clouded in. Later in the day looking back
up to where we had come from it would have been clear. I'll let the pictures to
the talking
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| Cook Island offshore from Fingal Head |
Day 9 around Tweed Heads
A beautiful sunny day
spent lazing along the beach fronts from Kirra to Greenmount and on to Snapper
Rocks again to watch progress in the WSL.
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| Michael February knocked out Matt Wilkinson |
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| Matt Wilkinson |
Day 10 around Tweed Heads
Another lovely day.
Headed for the Mount Cougal area of Springbrook NP. Took the walk to the site
of the old saw mill then headed for Currumbin Beach. Later found a spot for
lunch at North Kirra and headed off to the WSL again. Very exciting competition
today.
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| Arriving at Mt Cougal NP |
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| Taking a selfie at the top of the falls! |
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| The old saw mill |
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| On a windy day what better way to have fun |
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| Some terns on the sand estuary of Currumbin Creek |
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| More superb surfing action |
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| Mick's farewell surf |
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| Zoning out |
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| Owen Wright |
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| A touching moment between two terrific Aussie surfers |
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| and again in the water |
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| Joel Parkinson after being knocked out by rookie US surfer Griffin Colapinto |
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| The Brazilian surfers have a flamboyant style. de Souza knocked out Aussie Wade Carmichael |
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| Another Aussie newcomer beaten by French Polynesian Michel Bourez |
Day 11 Tweed Heads to Yamba
One last look up at the WSL - it had
been moved from Snapper Rocks to Kirra! Surf was huge. We left in the rain but
were soon driving into sunny weather. We stopped at Byron Bay to see the
lighthouse. Beautiful views of course. Then we continued on Tourist Drive 30
down the coast passing through Suffolk Park, Lennox Head, Ballina and Evans
Head.
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| Most easterly point of Australia's mainland |
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| Cook Point at Cape Byron |
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| Cape Byron lighthouse |
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| Looking down to Tallows Beach from Cape Byron |
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| From the lookout at Lennox Head, looking north |
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| Looking south from Lennox Head |
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| Coming into Ballina this house caught my eye |
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| Leaving Ballina ..... where else! |
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| Lunch at the lookout at Evans Head where this pair of ospreys were minding their own business high on a tower |
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| A lone surfer at Evans Head taking advantage of swells courtesy cyclone Nora. |
Day 12 around Yamba
We had plans to walk
around Yamba today - two walks to choose from, but it was shaping up to be a
warm day so changed our plans. After stocking up at the supermarket out of
town, we pulled in to the wharf where there were lots of colourful fishing
boats. Had a chat with a chap fishing from the groyne and he showed me his
trevally freshly caught. Then we headed for the ferry but instead of simply
taking the boat across to Iluka on the other side of the Clarence River, we
opted for a cruise up river. So much maritime history we learned today. A very
relaxing day
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| Beautiful coloured nets on fishing boats in the Clarence River |
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| Good size fish |
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| The ferry boat arriving |
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| The sign at the prawn farm |
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| The new bridge under construction across the Clarence |
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| The old bridge will remain for local traffic |
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| A boater's paradise |
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| Surfing in to one of Yamba's lovely beaches |
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| Yamba lighthouse |
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| We are blessed with such a gorgeous coastline. This view is looking across the river mouth to beaches near Iluka |
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| You may have guessed I enjoy photographing birds |
Not a bad spot for
dinner
Day 13 Yamba to Port Macquarie
Leaving Yamba we headed
for Maclean (a stop for another time) and followed Tourist Drive 22 through
Lawrence to Grafton. Following the mighty Clarence River through canefields,
this was a much more pleasant route to Grafton than the Pacific Highway. Lucky for
us that also caused us to avoid the worst of the road works on this section of the Pacific Highway. We
stopped in at Woolgoolga for morning coffee and lucked on to a surf carnival.
So we watched the boats for a while. Then headed for Nambucca Heads for lunch.
Our last two nights we will spend at Port Macquarie.
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| This lovely Cafe at Woolgoolga was busy. |
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| Possibly part of the reason was this Woolgoolga surf carnival |
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| Coming in can be tricky. This boat (and others) turned sideways coming in on the waves |
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| Then disaster - two boats collided. We could hear the crack from where we were high up on the beach. Fortunately no one was hurt |
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| View from the Rotary lookout at Nambucca Heads looking south towards Scotts Head and SW Rocks |
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| Our waterfront cabin in Port Macquarie |
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| A walk to our dinner spot |
Day 14 around Port Macquarie
Another beautiful day
dawned. We went to Sea Acres Rainforest Park just along the coast towards the
Point Hacking lighthouse. We asked for a guide and we were off. I can highly
recommend doing this walk (for a charge) with a guide which is included in the
entry price. If you are not a National Parks member, parking is at an
additional cost. We learned so much abut this precious eco-system. Then it was
time for a dip so we popped down to Shelley Beach just next door. After a walk around the headland as far as the point (overlooking the nude beach –
no pics!) we headed for the lighthouse. More beautiful coastline as far as the
eye can see in both directions. What a great end to a very relaxing trip. We
stayed in cheap motel accommodation for the most part, an Air BnB in Tweed
Heads and an NRMA caravan park cabin in Port Macquarie. All up we averaged $110
per night for accommodation, self catered for breakfast and lunch and dined out
relatively cheaply. Will be interesting to tally it all up when we get home.
Hope you have enjoyed our travels as much as we have.
Day 15 Port Macquarie to home
Home not so sweet home!
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| Back to reality |
