Cara's journal from our trip up the coast.

12 Sep
After a week of preparations we finally set off on our great adventure. We left Wollongong about 11:30am, picked Jake (the dog) up from the kennels and set off.We arrived at Anna Bay on Port Stephens around 5:00pm after getting lost in the streets of Newcastle. Port Stephens is a very popular tourist destination north of Sydney. It is on huge bay and river system which joins the pacific ocean. Our van park was not the best but it was quite and had beautiful bird life including cockatoos, galahs and various types of parrots.

13 Sep
Joel took Jake for a walk this morning and saw 3 dolphins swimming in the river which the park we are staying in backs onto. I of course missed this while sleeping. We left the park around lunch time. Joel went go-cart racing while Jake and I cheered from the sidelines. Joel appeared to be having a great time. The owner of the track must have trusted his driving skills because towards the end of his time he let out a huge rottweiler dog who then proceeded to chase Joel and the go-cart around the track at neck breaking speeds. The owners words were "Just dont hit him!". Well when Joel finally stopped the dog got down on the ground and set about chewing the go-cart tyres. Strange dog!!!! After that we went shopping in the main town of Port Stephens, Nelson Bay. Jake was much admired in this town. We found a terrific sporting goods store and bought a new snorkle and mask for me, a badmitton set and Joel had his bike fixed for $3!!!! We played badmitton that evening until we were fighting off the mosquitoes and could not see except for the dim glow of the light from the ammenities block.

14 Sep
Another magical mystery day of driving around Port Stephens. Beautiful scenery including the longest sand dunes in the southern hemisphere - a doggies playground!

15 Sep
We left Port Stephens with a little light rain and arrived in Taree, an old country town a little in land from the coast. We did a little shopping (we basically have to shop for food every second day as our refridgerator in the trailer is so small). We then headed back out to the coast through a lot of farm land where we found a lovely caravan park at Manning Point. It is a tiny coastal community with only a corner store and combined petrol station.

16 Sep
An early morning walk on the beach and more shopping in Taree. All we seem to do is spend money.

17 Sep
We spent the day on the beach, reading, flying the kite ( a huge stunt kite that Ron - Cara's uncle bought us) and playing frisbee with the dog. Jake just loves frisbee but he got in a real mess with the dog slobber combined with all that sand. He is not the cleanest of animals. We then headed back to the park for yet more badmitton.

18 Sep>
The drive between Manning Point and Taree is over a number of small islands which are all dairy farming communities. Jake just loves the drive. He gets so excited when he sees cows - big drooling smile and wagging tail. Yet another shopping day in Taree this morning and the people here seem genuinely happy and helpful. We have found a place to have the fridge fixed in the van (it doesnt appear to be working on normal power, only on gas). We spent the evening enjoying a bbq dinner and fighting off the mosquitoes and sand flies.

19 Sep
This morning we searched for a breakfast spot to no avail. We ended up having a hamburger and a great cappucino for breakfast from a beach kiosk in Old Bar (another tiny coastal community just south of Manning Point). I chatted to the owner about the Olympics, politics and about how those things which seem important in every day life have no consequence when you are travelling. Well even if we do nothing about it there is a great business opportunity in the Old Bar - Manning Point area. It is a place of terrific views but so little in the way of good cafes or resturants.

20 Sep
We finally packed up and left Manning Point. We headed into Taree to have the fridge fixing man fix our fridge. After half setting up the van again he informed us that there is nothing wrong with the fridge (which did prove to be correct). I dont know what we were doing wrong but there is so much to learn with our new little home on wheels. As we were leaving the fridge fixing man's place the electrical connection between the car and the van came away. Joel fixed it after around an hour of swearing and hollering (just kidding) but then the electricals in the car shut down and there was no fixing it. We gave in and took it to an auto electrician who fixed it after 1 1/2 hours. Thus 5 hours later we finally left Taree and headed up the coast to Coffs Harbour ( a large, tourist haven. We headed about 10 minutes north of Coffs Harbour to Moonee Beach which is a beautiful spot on a tidal estuary. At low tide you can walk across the sand spit to the ocean. At high tide it becomes a flowing river.

21 Sep
We finally had enough of travelling with Jake today. Travelling with a large dog basically means we cant do anything together without the dog. One of us is always with the dog. We dropped Jake off at a kennel about 70 kms north of Coffs Harbour at Grafton and will pick him up in about a week. We celebrated our new found freedom by going to the movies were we saw Scary Movie. It was just as silly as advertised. While we were enjoying the movie the area experienced a freak storm with spectacular ligtning. When we got back to the park we found that one of the flys ( the tent section which covers the bed end of the van) had been torn away. Luckily our park neighbour, a lovely old German guy with a crotchity 11 year old mutt of a dog rescued it for us. After the repairs were done we drank beer and played poker until 10pm which is a very late night when you are camping and the sun goes down at 7pm.

22 Sep
We spent the morning doing boring old house work (no you cant escape it even when travelling). Laundry and house cleaning done, we then went grocery shopping (are you seeing a running theme yet?). We found a van repairer who will weld a bumper onto the van so that we can attach our mountain bikes there instead of on the back of the car. The bikes are getting in the way every time we detach or attach the van to the car. The repairer cant do the work until Monday so we will stay in Coffs Harbour for 3 more days.

23 Sep
We spent the day on Moonee Beach, enjoyed a picnic lunch, read and played on the beach all day. We had to head home early afternoon before the tide came up and left us stranded. We have made a little friend at this camp. Tasha, a seven year old girl who keeps us constant company. She even acts as alarm bell, banging on the door at 8 am if we are not already up. She is too cute for words but I wish she slept in.