Heading into our second half of the holiday, it is also becoming obvious that as we approach Sydney, we are heading into the most densely populated part of the country. Although we always seem to stumble upon some type of wilderness, we must admit we have had some longings for the remoteness of the outback again!
From Urunga, we headed down the coast a little way, as Stuart was keen to explore the ruins of the Trial Bay Gaol near the town of South West Rocks. We found a beautiful little campground set back in the forest behind the beach in Hat Head National Park. A sunny afternoon (yes - it stops raining occasionally!) was spent exploring the rocky headland near our camp. Stuart commented it was a great spot to cast in a line as he is itching to do so, but given he’s still got his cast on, I’d probably have to do the actual fishing bit! As with many other campsites, we were checked out by the local wildlife – a kookaburra trying to steal dinner off the stove, big monitor lizards wandering through camp and a mother and baby possum repeatedly trying to pinch food from the kitchen (until we chased them up a tree!)
The Trail Bay Gaol was really interesting. It was originally built as a prison, specifically to have the prisoners construct a groyne out into the bay to provide a safe haven for shipping between Sydney and Brisbane in the early years of settlement. Hundreds of lives had been lost at sea as a result of shipwrecks during the storms along the coast. The gaol was built out of local rock, quarried onsite. The stonework is really impressive, and given it’s position on the headland, it stands up to the full brunt of all the storms that hit the coast!
The groyne project turned out to be a complete failure, being washed away each year, almost as quickly as it was being built! The gaol was eventually shut down, but was brought back into use during the war years, as an internment camp for German men residing in Australia at the time. The Trail Bay Gaol was set aside for professionals, such as doctors, accountants and academics, and compared to other internment camps, they were actually given quite of bit of freedom to move in and out of the prison, spending time fishing and growing their own vegetables. They even held regular theatre performances and circulated a regular magazine within the prison walls.
Having skipped Coffs Harbour altogether, we made a short stop in Port Macquarie to see the coastline and have the car serviced. The caravan park has it’s own resident koalas, which we heard growling in the trees above us every night, but we couldn’t spot the little buggers anywhere during the day! The groyne at the mouth of the river is also interesting, as the local council allow people and travellers to graffiti the rocks. Some of the graffiti is pretty amazing and quite artistic!
I stumbled across a pamphlet for yoga classes run by a teacher who had trained with yoga masters in the US and taught in Byron Bay for the past 10 years. I jumped at the chance to return to a proper class again! To my delight the class was held in the Flynn Beach Surf Club. I enjoyed a good stretch whilst overlooking a magnificent rugged coastline at sunset with fresh air straight off the ocean filling my lungs! I miss my yoga classes, but I feel renewed with inspiration for my own practice again.
We ended up camped on the edge of a sub-alpine sphagnum bog called Polblue Swamp. It was a great spot to enjoy a nightly campfire! We had checked out a couple of other campsite options, with Stuart having great fun towing the camper down a rough and muddy track. The campsite at the end was beautiful, but given the condition of the track and that more rain was forecast, Stuart decided that we should head out to a more easily accessible campsite – we didn’t want to get rained in and stuck!
At the Polblue campsite Stuart found an echidna buried in the grass only 30m from our campsite. We also saw a HUGE wombat! He was massive, but we weren’t quick enough to get a photograph. It’s always so special to see wild animals in their natural habitat. I luckily got to see a second wombat on a short walk, along with a skulk of foxes. Yes - they are feral pest animals that prey on our native animals and they should be destroyed... but the little ones are so cute, so I’m including a photo anyway!
Unfortunately, Polblue was also the spot Stuart decided to injure himself again! After a day out exploring and 4WDing, we were approached at camp by a man who asked if we could give him a hand changing a staked tyre on his 4WD. He had a few issues with his hands and couldn’t manage it himself. We obviously said yes, but in typical Stuart fashion, he just got stuck in without thinking too much about it and managed to strain a couple of muscles in his back – given he was trying to do it all himself and one-handed (his left hand is still in the cast!). We got the tyre changed and the guy back on the road, but given the cool conditions that night, by the next morning, Stuart could barely move and was in quite a bit of pain!
STUART’S HINT – when you get new tyres fitted, make sure you re-tension the wheel nuts if they have used a rattlegun to put them on! Stuart had to stand and gently bounce on the wheel brace to loosen the wheel nuts on the guy’s 4WD! They were done up so tight!
Once again, we have found a nice little cabin and have holed up for a couple of nights to let Stuart’s back recuperate. He’s spent the last couple of days laying flat on his back, reading and relaxing. Thankfully, his back seems to be sorting itself out! It could have been a lot worse!
Hope everyone is well! Love to all!
Mish & Stu
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