Its been a while so its time for a trip report. Sorry that I have been slack. This year we decided to travel South to Nelson Bay, just north of Newcastle, and then back past our home to a place called Coolum which is in the vicinity of Noosa in Queensland. The trip was nearly cancelled on a number of occasions due to the bushfires that have been ravaging the Australian continent. I must say in my nearly 50 years on this planet I have never seen so much devastation where trees are stripped of the bark and 10 foot road signs are simply melted. We established 2 criteria before deciding to go; 1. We wouldn't be putting ourselves or the kids in danger 2. We wouldn't be placing ourselves in a situation becoming a burden on the emergency services. Once we were sure this criteria was met we headed off.
Setting up the boys and I wanted to take our bikes plus a kayak........ $400 later Loaded up.... Its a great setup really, 3 large Mountain bikes and a medium size canoe First nights stay looked good on the internet and was indeed very lovely but unfortunately turned out to be a run down park full of drunken backpackers who decided that drinking, swearing and walking around peoples campsites looking for stuff was the way to go. The young English lad I found in my campsite at 2am indicated to me that he was both a street fighter and boxer......It turns out there is NOTHING worse at the age of 22 getting your arse handed to you by a bloke almost 30 years your senior who is tired, cranky and has been handing idiots their arses for 30 years.......anyway As I said the location is attractive The sites large and green but other than that the place is a disgusting dump. Couldn't pack up and leave quick enough....... Up early and on to Nelson Bay.........more to come
Travelling South we made a couple of stops in some of the smaller towns to pick up some items to top up the fridge. Quck stop for a meat pie And then coming off the freeway to head into Nelson Bay we had a minor disaster. Check the Pin 2nd top left for the heat that melted the pin and shut down the car Seeing a couple of dash lights come up on the Prado I managed to get to the park entrance before the 4wd went into full limp mode shutting everything down. After $200USD at an Auto Electrician the next day it turns out the battery management system I installed had died.....MELTING the pin in the connection to the caravan. For that amount I got to have my fridge, air compressor and dual battery system disconnected for the rest of the trip......Great........anyway. Bit smoky and hazy Booking in we were greeted by smoke haze that has travelled hundreds of kilometres and it made for an eery experience. We call them Bushfire moons or in this case a bushfire sunset The young bloke also got his chance to use his new swag with the van...very excited The park is lovely with brand new luxury amenities and large slab sites. It also has its own beach and interesting rock formations.
Great to see you back in action again Jason. As always a bunch of really great pictures to share with us, some of whom, including myself, are drooling and wishing we were there to take in all that great scenery you enjoy. By chance do you ever do any camping in or near Coff's Harbor? One of my favorite coastal towns and stops between Sydney and the Gold Coast. Thanks again for contributing as you do. So glad you and your family were not set back by the fires and now the heavy rains and flooding..................... Happy trails to you and the family, Terry.................(aka BankShot)
Hey Jason, dead of winter here so seeing your pics has got me itching to go camping! Yup we've come across a arse or two while camping, this review site helps me avoid them as much as possible! LOL Hope things quiet down with the weather, stay safe and enjoy your travels and family. Mike
So during the War Newcastle was shelled by Japanese submarines that stood offshore and lobbed shells into the town. As a result areas including Nelson Bay had radar stations, gun emplacements and fortifications added to defend against these attacks. One of these emplacements is at a place called Tomaree and is part of a bike ride I took with my sons. The location is beautiful and you can climb out to the emplacement. Once there the boys got an impromptu history lesson The outlook is quite spectacular as you look out to the Pacific. And upon return to the park a wander out to the private beach and its rock formations All done so back on the road to Sawtell..... somewhere @BankShot Terry asked about
Sawtell is a lovely coastal town near Coffs Harbour between Sydney and the Gold Coast. We have returned here year after year as the park is well appointed and the area has a small coastal village feel with beautiful beaches and a great Main Street. Got our usual setup....huge sites Got the Solar out! A short walk down to one of the awesome beaches The Main Street is quite lovely It includes a restored 1920's Movie theatre where I took the boys to see Star Wars. Followed by a bit of dinner at one of Sawtell's quirky diners Basically a few days of swimming and relaxing before heading up to Coolum near Noosa for the period over Christmas.
So basically we returned home.......cleaned the van, did some washing spent a night in our own beds and then headed off the next morning for a few nights over Christmas on the Sunshine Coast. Tewantin Park has actually gone down a bit in my estimations as there were a number of issues again relating to backpackers but no attitude adjustments by myself this time. Staying at our usual location of Tewantin, near Noosa, we travelled each day to family who live at the lovely seaside location of Coolum, basically a laid back surfing village, that is now really really a holiday destination. Walks on the beach too much food, too much beer (If that's at all possible) and lots of swimming. great local beach Including a day at the blow up water park.......Somebody call Greenpeace or at least wet me down with towels until they can roll me back into the ocean to rejoin the herd...... Followed by back home and back to work Thanks for checking out my report...... Coming Soon............. Sunshine Coast Mountain Bike Festival April 2020 Brisbane to Cairns EPIC Great Barrier Reef & Daintree Rainforest adventure July 2020
Jason, another excellent trip report. Thanks for sharing your encounter with the "English lad" made me smile. I thought encounters like those only happened in the States, it just goes to show how small this world is and jerks are everywhere.
Hey guys check out this progressive dinner party that starts on the beach near Noosa and ends in the outback with 4 wheel drives, caravans and motorhomes. I reckon we would all be straight on to this one @BankShot @Paythebill @mdcamping @NYDutch @Onemoretrail http://beachtoreach.com.au And for some amazing sights and music I am actually planning to do this one in 2021 https://www.bigredbash.com.au/bigredbash/index Watch some of the videos and check out the photos lads
I'll say one thing Jason, you Aussies sure know how to throw a party, And you do eat mighty good also, not to mention being able to chug down enormous amounts of liquid we Yanks call "beea"... No Doubt we will be seeing some great pics from the Big Red Bash......... Party on, Terry.............(aka BankShot)
Camping in the Land of Oz sure sounds like a lot of fun. After eating my way to Longreach and partying in Birdsville, I may never get back home. Well I can always dream, eh? Enjoy the bash, Jason.
