January 2008 – Page 2 – Simon & Caroline's World Tour 07/08

Chillaxing is dangerous!

No I’m not talking about some dangerous new sport you’ve never heard of, I’m talking about chilling out and relaxing – it’s bad for you! We spent today chillaxing by the pool at our campsite. It all started off well, we had the pool to ourselves and so Si thought we should try out the pool slide, after all there was nothing to say it was just for kids! The first few slides were fine, perhaps even fun but then just as I was about to sit down for another go, I slipped and foolishly put my hand out to save myself. The result? One very sore, very bruised, very swollen thumb! 🙁
Despite the fact that I had just demonstrated the perils of the slide, Si carried on enjoying it for the rest of the day, running up the hill like an excited kid with a big grin on his face to go down the slide over and over again. (Si – I had my share of scraped elbows and banged knees due to tight corners and a shallow pool, me thinks the slide was built for smaller kids than I, but there was too much fun to be had!)

Getting all fruity

Well, it turned out to be a little wet for us to climb Mount Warning (i.e. we’re scared of a bit of mud), so instead we ended up in Tropical Fruit World. As we were repeatedly told, they grow over 500 varieties of tropical fruit (I didn’t know there were that many types of any fruit), and after a quick tour via tractor, boat and minature steam train, we were treated to a fruit tasting show by the fastest talking human alive. Suffice it to say, most of the valuable information has now been forgotten, but Papaya (also incorrectly known as Paw Paw) is very good for you in so many ways, grapefruit interferes with many medicines, white sapota is a good relaxant, and black sapota tastes a bit like chocolate.There’s also Jakfruit, the largest tree born fruit with an unusual taste of bananas, chewing gum and cream. Overall the message was eat more fruit, and with a conveniently positioned fruit store just outside, we stocked up.
The Captain Cook memorial at Point Danger marks the boundary between New South Wales and Queensland, and at the moment a different timezone However, it’s not that easy to work it out, with just a line in the ground with QLD and NSW on each side, and people frantically adjusting clocks as they walk over it.
Point Danger is also an excellent viewpoint to see the tourist mecca that is the Gold Coast, a sprawl of high rises and theme parks with a touch of Vegas style that Tweed Heads marks the start of. We’re already looking forward to booking a few nights in a hotel to soak it all up, not that we’re tired of camping!

Moobar!

It’s the little rest stops that make the journey, and with signs proclaiming “udderly fantastic coffee” at the Moo Moo Cafe, there just isn’t a reason to not stop. So we emptied our bladders (udders?), had a coffee and sat next to cows wandering through banana plantations, which I think is actually an experiment to make banana milkshake.
Moobar is in the Tweed Valley, and whilst there are some similarities to the original – green hills, trees, river – that’s as far as it goes, as I don’t remember seeing banana trees near Peebles! The centre point of the valley is Mount Warning, named along with Point Danger by Captain Cook when he ran aground, I think I would have named them Point Stupidrocks and Mount Dammit.
Mount Warning is a huge volcanic plug, and can be climbed by walking 9km through rainforest (yes, with leeches, I’m a sucker for punishment), with a scramble to the top. Unfortunately/fortunately we arrived a little too late to do it today, but there’s always tomorrow!
Finally, the tropical Sesame Street that is our trip was brought to you today by the bite of a huge ant to Simon, and the sighting of a tiny (think 5p coin) green frog.

Go East!

The Pet shop boys told us to Go West but we thought we’d do the opposite and Go East. To the most Easterly point on mainland Australia in fact. Never mind good old Captain Cook, it feels a bit like we’re following in good old Cat’s footsteps (how come she seems to do everything first? – Captain Cat has a bit of a ring to it don’t you think?)
Looking at our rough schedule we had pencilled in about 3 days for Byron bay but after 3 hours we’d had enough. I’m sure once upon a time it was a chilled out, alternative haven but today it was just a hot, sweaty bustle of people and noise and traffic. Most of which, I have to say was fellow campervanners! The only thing to hint at it’s aspiring alternativeness these days is the aroma of incense everywhere you go. Like I say we headed off pretty quickly and have settled for the night in a very quiet, chilled out town called Brunswick Heads – maybe we’re getting old!
P.S. No that is not some trendy belt Si is sporting in the pic, it is in fact a bum bag!! Hee hee, Si’s got a bum bag…. (I did promise I wouldn’t tease too much when he threatened not to carry anything for me- but I couldn’t resist! Sorry Si 🙂

Swimming in tea

Our morning began with what we thought would be a short stroll through yet another rain forest. I have come to the conclusion that they should be renamed mossie forests as despite layering on the mossie repellant I still got eaten alive by the darn beasts! I know we go on about them a lot but they really are the bain of our lives! I’m sure you feel great sympathy for our plight.
Anyway our short stroll turned into a long hike (it included a 4km detour along the beach to avoid a return trip into the mossie forest) and by the end of it we were hot and bothered and itchy! So where better for our next stop than Lennox Head which promised a teatree lake with medicinal healing properties.
It may well be medicinal but it is very disconcerting to find yourself swimming in what effectively looks like brown tea. Having been spoilt by swimming in crystal clear waters I really did not like being unable to see what I was swimming in (to give you some idea today’s photo is of Si’s foot!) Who knew what might be swimming below me or what I might be about to stand on (Si assured me there were no crocs but can he really be sure?) And I especially did not like the brown tea like dirt left on me when I emerged from the water. AND I was still itchy afterwards! Nope I’m sorry but the ‘medicinal’ teatree lake is not for me! I think I’ll stick to beaches – at least you can see the sharks coming! 🙂

Leeches or beaches?

Ok, so walking barefoot around the wet campsite probably wasn’t the wisest thing to do, especially considering the fact we were only about 5km from those leech warning signs from yesterday. However, there’s nothing quite like a leech attached to your ankle to wake you up, really give you the willies, make you scream like a little girl then never be able to look at wet grass the same again. Before you wonder, no I didn’t cut it off my leg (the knife wasn’t handy at the time), several determined flicks finally detached it from it’s dinner, and a photo of it on my leg would’ve been good, but even I sometimes have other things on my mind.
With that excitement over, the route continued north and back to the beaches, taking us through miles of forest and grazing land, and even though we’ve only scratched inland a little, it starts to make you realise how big a country Australia is. En route was the little village of Maclean, an oasis of Scotland next to the huge Clarence River. Each lamppost had a tartan painted on it and the butchers sold square sausage, now that’s something Caroline just can’t pass by!

Time for a little change

All this beach life hasn’t left us eager to find the next stretch of golden sands, so the detour this time is a bit larger than normal and taken us inland to explore the mountains and rainforests. The road weaved up the mountain into the approaching rain until we were in the cloud itself, and couldn’t see further than the next bend. Passing waterfalls in full flow (it is called the Waterfall Way after all), we arrived at the Dorrigo Rainforest, and it definitely had both components in abundance. The walkway out into the canopy promised views over the valley, but the cloud had other ideas. Heeding the warning of leeches at the walk entrance, sandals and shorts were changed to shoes and trousers in an attempt to keep yet another animal from taking our blood. (Fortunately there was only one little critter and it was confused by a sock, but did start heading down into my shoe before a quick flick!).
So tonight we’re at a slightly different campsite than normal, a field at the top of the hill in the rain, which was not expected this morning as we woke to blistering sunshine, but it’s good to have a change, and we’ll appreciate that beach more when our route takes us back. We’ve also learnt that pop-top canvas isn’t waterproof, and neither is the seal when it’s shut. The bolts have been tightened, so hopefully that trickling water I can hear as I type is on the outside…

Hat head

Sometimes you just have to visit somewhere because it’s got a funny name, and Australia is certainly providing that, today was Hat Head National Park, a little rocky outcrop that didn’t look like a hat to me, but as always my hat was on, so I had a hat head. The drive to the park was the best bit, turning off the highway, the road wound through lush flat green land, with a huge river to one side, it was like driving through the Cotswolds. As abruptly, the landscape changed back to the more familiar sand dunes and endless stretches of beaches!
To get a better look at said beaches, the lighthouse at Cape Smoky (named by Captain Cook as he passed in 1770, because the forest was on fire – there’s no magic to this naming malarkey!) provided excellent views, along with our first sighting of a wild kangaroo!

Port Macquarie

As the name suggests, Port Macquarie is located on the ocean and at the mouth of a river. Which means that it is well known for it’s water sports. So there was nothing else for it but to put yesterday’s misadventure behind us and get back out there onto the water, this time in the form of a double kayak. We were suitably attired this time and Si was sans wallet (well, it was actually in the waterproof bag provided by Mel this time around! – Si) so we were ready and willing to get wet. We had some teamwork and leadership issues to start with but were soon paddling away and exploring the river and its channels, safe in the knowledge that the boatshed was downstream and the current would carry us back when our hour was up. What we hadn’t bargained for was the massive waves that seemed to suddenly appear as if from nowhere and which made the journey back rather interesting. Our wee kayak was rapidly filling with water and it looked like we might capsize at any moment. Nerves ran high, hearts pounded and if ever there was a need for team work this was it! Luckily we eventually made it back safe and sound to dry land with only slightly damp bottoms to betray our adventure.
The guidebook describes the town as a place of punishment for convicts, in particular the hardened criminals from Britain, and if you look closely at the picture you can see that Si is growing some facial hair in an attempt to fit in!

Darn Boats!

The morning greeted us with a fine day for messing about on the river, so that’s what we did. Motoring out around the islands and past the oyster farms was a treat, topped off by spotting a couple of dolphins frolicking in the bay. Mooring the damn thing was a different matter. Approaching our selected beach, I cut the engine and hoped to drift to the shore, but the tidal current had other ideas and we drifted towards another boat. With not a thought for the clothes I was wearing, or the wallet in my pocket, I jumped into the water of unknown depth and fell backwards. With only my pride dented, shorts and content wet, the boat was on the shore. Pity it kept drifting off in the current.
The next stop was much more like it, easily moored up, pelicans nearby and a rope swing over the water, my faith in boating was semi-restored.
Finally, and I don’t mean to go on about the mozzies, but they seem to be attracted to repellent and are literally biting through clothes to get to the skin, I mean what are we meant to do?