Heading back to Melbourne.....

Wi-fi in Australian campsites was either non-non-existent or poor quality which is why I'm completing the blog on Xmas eve back in the UK!

2^nd and 3rd December – Stockton (near Newcastle).

Newcastle is a huge coal mining area on the coast and Stockton is opposite on a narrow peninsula.  We stayed in Stockton, which was very quiet, and got the ferry across to Newcastle for a day.  Malc tried to get his pensioner’s discount on the ferry but failed as he wasn’t an Ozzie pensioner (quite rightly…but it didn’t stop him trying on many occasions!).   The ticket guy refused and  said “if you Pommies can afford to travel half way around the world you can afford $2.50” – good answer!

Newcastle had a great Art Deco sea swimming pool as well as a lovely beach and Malc thought he might do a bit of life saving while he was there…..

Sea water swimming pool in Newcastle

4^th – 7^th December - Shoal Bay, Port Stephens.

Port Stephens was one of our favourite places so we stayed for a few days.  It was a fantastic bay and had a huge sand dune nearby where Malc went sand boarding…..I was too much of a wimp!

Campsite across the road from the beach

Fingle bay oysters.....park the van at a nice view point, glass of wine from the fridge....perfect!

"Dune bashing" and sand boarding...

8^th Hunter Valley and Sandy Hollow.

This was our hottest day at 34 degrees and the first time we used the air conditioning in the van.  We travelled through the hunter valley wine region and did some wine tasting and then stopped between the valley and the Blue Mountains for the night.

9^th & 10^th Katoomba, Blue Mountains

Whilst the Hunter valley was the hottest day, the temperature plummeted as we drove to the Blue Mountains and overnight it was 7 degrees and the heating was put on for the night!

Sadly, the rain caused low cloud and we couldn’t even see across the street let alone the beautiful mountains and canyons.  We saw a glimpse of what it was like the next day as we started to travel down from the mountains.

The famous Three Sisters

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11^th Shoal Haven Heads.

We spent a night here on a campsite between the river and the ocean (7 mile beach).

The river

7 mile beach

12^th & 13^th Broulee; 14^th December: Snowy River.

Two days at the beach to warm up before heading of through the famous Snowy river and a spot of free camping by the riverside.

Snowy river camping

15^th & 16^th Cowes, Phillip Island.

Phillip Island was a great place to stop.  The Island has places named after the Isle of Wight….the weather was better though!  We spent the first evening watching the little penguin parade where about 3000 penguins all come out of the water at the same time to head for their nests.  No photos allowed though – sorry!

Cowes

We also visited the Koala conservation park and got to see a few up close from the boardwalks that have been put up through the forest.  They eat so many tree leaves that they literally eat themselves out of a home and have to be moved to conservation areas.

17^th Mornington Peninsula.

The last night before heading home was on the Mornington peninsula - 60km south of Melbourne.  We both wished we had left more time to spend a few days here.

Then we returned the van to Herb and Eileen and spent a night with them before going home…..until the next time!

Herb and Eileen Baptist - great friends 

To Sydney and beyond....

Eden is the “whale” centre of the SE coast of Oz.  A large bay encourages an assortment of whales and their calves on their migration south in the spring.  It was too rough to go to sea proper but we did take a trip in the bay and were lucky enough to see several humpback whales and calves.  Unfortunately they didn’t oblige with breaching or tail slapping but nonetheless it’s always fascinating to see these huge gentle creatures up close.

During much of the 19^th and 20^th centuries Eden Bay was the centre for whale hunting.  This was done by men (usually 6-8) in small boats after whales were “spotted” from the headland.  They would spear the whales and hope they died before overturning the small boats!  Interestingly, for many years the hunters were assisted by a small team of killer whales. These assistants herded their larger cousins into the bay where they would be harpooned by the men.  Their reward was the lips and tongues of the humpbacks.  This was no “one off” and the same procedure went on for nearly thirty years before the last killer whale died.  “Old Tom’s” skeleton was preserved and can be seen in the museum in Eden.  Eden is a small quiet town with hardly any restaurants.  However, we found the Fishermen’s Social Club.  Like so many social clubs in Australia (RSL – The OZ equivalent of the British legion, SLC – Surf Life Saving clubs and Bowls/Sports clubs) these clubs are usually in prime spots – especially the SLCs for obvious reasons! - and are well appointed and wealthy – primarily due to their gaming licences – which allow them to operate Tab (a form of electronic bingo) and slot machines- “pokies”.  They are nearly all open to non-members on a temporary basis and offer great value food and drink.  The Fisherman’s club was a prime example and we ate fresh fish and chips whilst watching whales in the bay at sunset.

21^st & 22^nd Lake Wallaga.  Lake Wallaga is open to the ocean at one end but we were camped on the lakeside – calm and serene.  In the morning a local old man was picking something from the lake bed next to us.  When we enquired he showed us oysters that he had collected.  He lived off the land – growing his own fruit and veg and eating fish and seafood from the lake and sea.

23^rd & 24^th Pebbly Beach in Bateman Marine Park. This is a national park site with basic facilities (toilets and cold showers).  It is next to a lovely beach – which is totally pebble free!!) and bay.  We were surrounded by natural wildlife including a huge variety of birds, bats, kangaroos and goannas (giant lizards).  The kangaroos come out to feed on the vegetation each evening and it isn’t unusual to have one or two hopping past you as you enjoy coffee after dinner – cooked of course on the (free) barbecue stations provided.

Mum wanted this joey to get out and walk....

....so he did fir a little while!

Just checking out the cooking.....

Experts in the camp kitchen!....

25^th Green Patch in Booderee National Park.  This site – another NP one – had been recommended by our neighbours at Pebbly.  This is one of several campsites in the park – which covers a huge area.  Green patch itself is 6k from the park entrance.  Green patch beach sits on the stunning Jervis Bay.  The sea here is warm – even in spring and the sand so pristine white and soft that it squeaked as you walked on it.

26^th Kiama – Surf Beach. A little further north lies the small town of Kiama.  Our camp this time was overlooking surf beach.  It was overcast but warm.  We spent some time walking the beach and watching the surf competition that was on that day.

27^th & 28^th Botany Bay Sydney.  We had intended to stop off at Coledale – a small village about 80k south of Sydney – at a campsite on the beach.  However, the weather – and the forecast – was dull so we decided to change our itinerary – a great advantage of a camper – and spent a couple of days in Sydney.  We picked a campsite on Botany Bay – south of the city and about 2k from the Airport.  We realised it was the same site that we had stayed on 5 years before!  Nothing had changed.  Then we realised why – they had a planning application in to build 52 apartments on the site.  At an average price of c. $A250k (£200k) no wonder they hadn’t bothered!

We checked out what to do in Sydney as we had visited there twice before.  As always, Malc checked Trip Advisor for ideas.  He saw that the best quality restaurant was “The Quay”.  This is probably the most renown and best located restaurant in the city, set as it is between the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House with views across the harbour.  Having seen that it was booked for dinner for 6 months in advance, Malc, thinking he was safe, foolishly promised to take me there for lunch the following day “if they had a table”………We travelled in on the bus and phoned – only to find that they had one spare table on the terrace!!!  Smelling salts required for Malcolm…………..

Expensive as it was, the experience was amazing with superb different cuisine beautifully presented and served in one of the world’s most picturesque locations.  Looks like baked beans for the rest of the trip!

Signature dessert - 8 textured chocolate..

29^th,30^th & 1^st December Blue Lagoon Holiday Park Bateau Bay.  The great thing about Australia is that an hour or so’s drive from any large city takes you to idyllic places – seaside or mountain – apparently in the middle of nowhere.  We took the coast road north about 150k to stop at Blue Lagoon holiday park at Bateau Bay.  This is a nice beach front park with pools and spas.  A short walk takes you to the Sports Club (Bowls) with nice bistro.  This was complimented by a guy selling fresh prawns and oysters in the camp.  Not cheap but very tasty.  

A "superb fairy wren" - very cute!