Adventures with Tug’n Joey

  Saturday 24th Friends from Lismore who had been holidaying in the area were stopping for breakfast in Laurieton so we joined them for a coffee.  We were fortunate to get in a walk to the end of the breakwall before the wet weather set in. After a drive to explore the area we returned to camp where we each spent the afternoon relaxing in individual ways...reading, fishing, birding etc. Sunday 25th Today we headed inland for a total change of environment. As we headed away from the coast the weather cleared, before changing again as we climbed the range to Apsley Falls. It was taxing for Michael as the fog became thicker and  the road windier. When we reached the top it was as though someone had flicked a switch and it was instantly clear and sunny although somewhat cooler than on the coast. Definitely time to get the thick doona out! Once we found a site large enough to accommodate both our set ups, Michael had a well-deserved rest while the three off us set off to explo...

 Thursday 22nd Trial Bay  gaol was built to house the prisoner labour force that was assigned to construct the breakwater. It operated as a prison from 1889 to 1903. In 1915 it was re-opened to house German internees, mostly men, who were rounded up when World War 1 began.  This morning we completed the circular walk from campground up past the German Monument to Little Beach Picnic Area and back along the beach. The German Monument was constructed by the internees in memory of those who had died at the camp. At the end on WW1 it was blown up by persons  unknown before being  reconstructed in  22nd After lunch Michael and I explored the remains of the gaol which is now a tourist attraction. Much of the fittings were removed for scrap but it is still easy to imagine the Spartan life lead by the prisoners, and to a lesser extent the WW1 internees. By all reports they built a thriving community for themselves but on a cold winters day it would have been very b...

Wednesday 21st Another short hop ahead of us today to Trial Bay so we stopped in to explore Macksville. It is a pretty little town on the Nambucca River. Now that the highway bypasses it, it has a much quieter, more relaxed vibe. After a coffee we wandered the back lanes which had many murals, some still works in progress. Some of them had a very ‘penang’ feel to them. The lake in the centre of town is also undergoing a refurbishment and what a first glance seemed to be many white ibis, actually turned out to be combined with a large number of Royal Spoonbills. By the time we had settled in to our site at Trial Bay, we had heard from Al and Helen not to expect them until about 4, so we caught up with Lorraine and Neil for an afternoon cuppa. They were staying at the lovely Arakoon House. Al and Helen arrived about 5 minutes after we got home so the rest of the day was spent exploring the beach and catching up. We had a well protected campsite and amazingly the van in the background, al...

  Sunday 18th We farewelled John and Rebecca with a mutual agreement to revisit again soon. I had a good start on my bird list with a total of 38 species. Todays trip was another short hop to Sawtell which we were happy to do without a stop. Once settled in to our site we did our usual explore of the park and surrounds, which is adjacent to where Bonville Creek flows in to the ocean. A great sandy place for kids to play and we reminisced about the last time we stayed here about 20 years ago. That time we were in an on-site van in heavy rain and the van had several leaks, one strategically placed over the bed...hopefully we will not see a repeat. On our walk we saw a couple of interesting birds, one of which was a Black-faced Monarch and the other I couldn’t identify! As we returned from our beach walk we ran in to a couple of my birding colleagues from Ballina who had been here for a kayaking weekend. We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and recovering from the last couple o...

Friday 16th October We were fortunate to leave Lismore in glorious weather, which continued all the way to Brooms Head where we were to meet up with John and Rebecca, for the weekend. Although we wouldn’t normally take a break on such a short (1 1/2 hours) hop we caught up with them at a rest stop so figured a morning cuppa was called for. To quote John’s philosophy ‘its not about the destination but the journey to get there’ (should sound familiar to some). We were welcomed to our waterfront site by glorious sunshine and a gentle breeze, and just a hint of ‘essence of seaweed’. As it was low tide there were plenty of birds foraging on the sand and with little effort I had a dozen birds on my list. After lunch John and Rebecca retired to watch Game of Thrones while Michael and I explored the area around the campground. We ran into one of Michael’s Byron swimming group, who has a house here. He gave us a few ideas for some exploration during our visit. The Norfolk pines were planted by ...