Trains & Leaches

Hello everyone, here's some highlights and information on the last part of our adventure.

Day 6

Steve headed down for a spot of fishing early in the morning and Mitch followed as soon as he woke up.  It was worth the effort as they caught our first fish, a nice whiting that was lovely eating.

We tried to go swimming today, but there were way too many blue bottles so we gave it a miss.  We did venture out for some more fishing late afternoon giving the Land Cruiser its first ride on the beach. This time it was Maggie who was rewarded with a strange puffer-type fish.

It wasn't a keeper and she was happy to throw it back.  Besides, fish can't live in bug catchers.

By the end of Day 6, Stewart declared he was ready to go back to our 'normal' house now.  Oh dear, a looong way to go yet Stewie!

Day 7

We woke this morning to find Maggie and Stewart's scooters had been stolen during the night - lots of tears, particularly as Maggie only wants a Barbie scooter and we couldn't guarantee we would be able to get another one.  Quite common apparently on the weekends - young kids getting their kicks. So apart from needing to buy new scooters, we need to improve our security and buy a few chains to secure the bikes etc during the night.  Far too trusting we are!

Before going shopping, we headed off for a day of exploring some areas south of Lennox Head we hadn't visited before.  From South Ballina we caught the Burns Point vehicle ferry to South Ballina Beach - not much there except for beach (Duh!) and a couple of caravan parks.  As it's right near the mouth of the Richmond River, the water was quite murky due to all the rain.

From there we drove towards Evans Head via Broadwater National Park.  Now that was something else - a totally wild piece of the coast.  The part we went to is only accessible at low tide, otherwise you have to slide down steep sand dunes - which we did anyway as evidenced by Maggie's dirty bottom (due to all the minerals in the sand)!

Evans Head was the next stop for lunch which was eaten in the car because of the constant drizzle. This is a great little fishing town with some lovely beaches and a river for fishing.  Not as 'cosmopolitan' as Lennox Head, but still well worth a visit.

From here, back to Ballina to buy new scooters etc.  But of course, once we arrived back at the van park (with new scooters) the old ones had been found.  Apparently they were left somewhere near the park by the thieves and returned.  So then we had to convince Stewart that he couldn't have the new one, which he had grown fond of very quickly.  More tears.

The day finished for Steve and I with a fabulous feed of yabbies...have a look at these Wendy.

And that's only part of the catch.  Unfortunately, we weren't the ones who caught them.  Our neighbours in the park managed to catch a pile of them along with some bass fish.  We were very jealous, but glad they shared them with us (we taught them how to cook them).  Steve and I have now made it our mission to learn more about freshwater fishing.  We're pretty good with the salt water variety, but not so much with freshwater and there are going to be loads of opportunities to practice during the trip.

Day 8 - Lennox Head to Tenterfield

Today it was finally time to leave Lennox Head and start travelling.  The general route for the day was Lennox Head, Lismore, Casino then Tenterfield.  Here's the map:

(Click on the map and it will enlarge to give you a better idea).

After driving straight through Lismore (Steve and I have both spent time there in the past), we headed for Casino to see the Mini Railway Museum - thought that might cure a homesick little boy.  It was a heap of fun and we got to ride on two miniature 'steamies' through some wetlands, stopping at a small museum on the way.  Here's train 1:

And number two...

It was heaven for Stewie and as soon as we arrived at Tenterfield, his trains came out for another play on a spare concrete slab.  Barbie joined in the party too.

Day 9 - Tenterfield to Bald Rock National Park

We spent the morning exploring Tenterfield.  Ironically another railway museum was right on the doorstop of the caravan park so that's where we started.  It ended up taking us a few hours to cover this one as it is actually the old Tenterfield station, no longer in service, and has been maintained in all its former glory.  There were lots of carriages we could climb in and out of, the old ticket office, tool sheds, machinery sheds, tracks we could actually walk on and the highlight - a real turntable.  It was fantastic and the kids (despite the drizzle) wanted to explore every last inch of the place. Here's some shots...the breakdown crane...

...the turntable...

...making a phone call, with bug catcher (it went all over the station...just in case)...

...and lot's of machines for Stewart to dream about.

After a great start to the morning, we had a quick look around Tenterfield including the infamous Tenterfield Saddler (which was closed).

After lunch we headed towards Bald Rock National Park, just outside of the town, stopping on the way at Thunderbolt's Hideout.  Thunderbolt was a bushranger in the 1850's who used to be active in the area during his heyday.  This is granite rock country with some spectacular boulders, including his hideout, a couple of large boulders that provide a cave-like hiding spot:

Mitch was terrified Thunderbolt might make a reappearance, but we assured him otherwise.  However, what did make an appearance soon after leaving the hideout and heading towards the nearby WWII tank traps, was leaches.  They were thick and everyone, especially Steve and Mitch, got devoured.  We decided to walk to the tank traps along an obviously not regularly used path (now we know why) and it took twice as long as necessary as we had to keep stopping and pulling off the leaches.  Mitch complained the most, stopped the most and so got the most leaches.  Here's what his feet looked like (this one's for you Hannah)...

At the end of the track we saw the tank traps - a couple of logs stuck in the ground - and realised if we'd driven an kilometre up the road we could have seen them without walking through the bush!  Needless to say we were very happy about that, but at least we could walk back to the car without going back along the 'leach track'.  Here's the tank traps in case you're interested...

Arriving at our camp site for the night at Bald Rock National Park made up for the leaches.  There was only one other 'hoto motor' (that's Motorhome in Stewart speak) in the park so we basically had the place to ourselves.  Our camp site was beautiful including our very own fire place, plenty of firewood and a 'thunderbox'.  The kids got a lesson on building fires from Dad...

That's it for now - plenty more to come.  Please say hello below in the comments area. Love to all.

Sam

We're off and running!

Hello everyone, here's a bit of news from the first few days of our adventure.

Day 1

D-Day (Departure Day) finally arrived last Sunday and we woke to a tsunami warning - not sure if it was a good or bad omen.  Probably no omen at all and it certainly wasn't going to stop us!  We set off (late) Sunday afternoon arriving at Lennox Head just in time to set up before dark.  We were all very excited about our first night, particularly Mitch, Maggie and Stewart who got to sleep in (actually 'on') their sleeping bags for the first time.

Here's a map showing where we travelled on Day 1:

Day 2 & 3

It rained, and rained, and rained.  But that has just meant we've had the opportunity to iron out a few more kinks in our caravanning techniques.  A little bit of rain (more like bucket loads) doesn't phase us and there has been lots of activities to keep us all occupied.  Most of these have been inside - drawing, homework, reading, playing games, watching movies and trains.

 

Doing Homework

 

Reading (in our sleeping bags)

 Playing trains

However we also managed a couple of outdoor activities when there were breaks in the rain - riding scooters and bikes, a quick swim at the beach and of course, playing light sabers...

Maggie has had a great time catching frogs in her bug catcher - there are heaps of them all around the van park, particularly beside the lake. On Monday night there were about 12 frogs bedded down together and by the morning they were getting a bit on the nose, so she kindly released them. 

 

 Frogs, frogs and more frogs!

 
On Tuesday (the wettest day) we got a visit from my brother Robert, who's building a skate park at Brunswick Heads, and had been washed out the last few days.  He was quickly grabbed by the kids to play a few board games. We all enjoyed seeing him.

While the rain was pouring down on Tuesday, Steve was busy trying to minimise water coming into the bed ends so put up a few extra tarps.  There were also a few running repairs to be done, so he got absolutely soaked.  We suspect this aspect of caravanning will be ongoing as new situations and weather conditions confront us.  It certainly makes for an interesting adventure.

Day 4


Sunshine at last! It was great to be able to get everything dry and open up the van.

We got out and about to make the most of it.  First stop for the day was Byron Bay Farmers Market for a few supplies, plus the kids enjoyed freshly crushed sugar cane juice. Yum!

The main part of Byron Bay hasn't changed since we were here 10 years ago except you have to pay for parking even to go to the beach now!  It is still a busy tourist place and you can hear accents from every part of the world.  Cool man!!!

From the markets, it was off to the Cape Byron Lighthouse.  There were plenty of dolphins in the water and we walked right to the most easterly point of the Australian Mainland.

 

  

From Byron Bay we trekked back towards Ballina to visit the Thursday Plantation, a tea tree plantation where they grow and process tea tree oil.  Of particular interest was the maze in the shape of the Southern Cross.  Of course we all got lost here but it was a lot of fun trying to find each other and our way out.

 

In the Tea Tree Maze

There was also lots of interesting sculptures around the plantation including these ones of Muslim women coming out of the plantation...

 

...or was it actually Star Wars figures (Mitch thinks so)...

  

The final part of the plantation was a rainforest with lots of native plants and foods growing, not to mention the mosquitos! We were nearly eaten alive.  They should have included a sample of their insect repellant at the start of the trail - it was very uncomfortable by the end.

The day finished with a swim in Lake Ainsworth (the beach was closed due to high winds and wild conditions).

That's it for now.  Please say hello below in the comments area. Love to all.

Sam