BYRON BAY TO SYDNEY
Day 55 - Sunday 8th November 2015
YAMBA
We slept surprisingly late considering we were by a main road. We slowly pulled ourselves together and joined the Pacific Highway south to a town called Yamba which is next to a famous surf point called Angourie. This part of the highway was only two lanes and crossed beautiful countryside, rivers and banana plantations. It was a pretty drive to start the day. Yamba wasn't that far and after checking out the lighthouse on the headland we made breakfast by the beach. We had bought some weird looking long stringy mushrooms that needed eating so we made chilli and garlic mushroom scrambled eggs with beans. It was awesome, the foundations for a perfect Sunday.
We drove about ten mins down the coast to Angorie point, which is now an official surfing reserve. I'm not sure what that means exactly. I walked along a massive slab of rock that pretty much is the beach and watched the waves rolling over the rocky point. Three guys were in the water giving it a go, however the wind was up, the swell was small and it didn't look like they were having much luck. We decided to wander around the village of Yamba and find a Coles to buy cookies. I think we are starting to get a Coles cookie addiction, we were even singing about them on route. Weird...
At the check out buying cookies and various other things we both forgot what a courgette was called in Australia, eventually after a considerable amount of time we found it in the A-Z of fruit and veg. Bloody Zucchini.
We hit the road again aiming for Coffs Harbour about two hours south. As it was soon to be evening we pulled up at a Diggers Beach just out of town to cook dinner. To my surprise a head high wave was breaking out in front of the van. There was still a few hours of light, so I paddled out for an hour. The wind had dropped and the waves clean. I managed to catch a few really steep fast rides in the short time I had then skipped my way up the beach back to Helen. This was partly because I was happy with the session and partly because the water was colder down here and I needed to keep the blood flowing to my toes.
We decided to try our luck at sleeping here as it is a nice spot. We whipped up a chicken Tika Masala, cracked open some tinnies, and watched the setting sun turn the sky an array of colours.
Day 56 - Monday 9th November 2015
COFFS HARBOUR
I was awoken by the sound of various surfers checking the waves. It only seemed right to drag myself up and check with them. There was a small wave breaking n the middle of the beach with a couple of guys already on it. There was no wind and it was crystal clean. Helen decided to join me and we trotted down the sand. As the water was a bit cooler down here and the lack lustre waves in the shallows were not much good for Helen, she decided to swap the board for bed. I stayed out for a couple of hours. Every now and then when the sets rolled through, head high waves would break out back creating fun rides into the shallows.
After my morning fix I joined Helen and Vanwell for breakfast. An old boy who had just finished his early morning dog walk wandered past and said casually "You young people, you have a great life in your vans, but it's not as good as ours, we get to do this every day!". Today was extra special as we had bought some pancake mix. We sat in the morning sun and made four of the fattest Nutella and banana pancakes you have ever seen. Suitably sick we slowly packed up and went to check out the near by town of Coffs Harbour, known for its 'Big Banana'.
The centre of the town consisted mainly of a shopping street set back away from the coast. With much of the same shops you find in most towns along the coast. We decided to give it a miss and headed for the beach. Unfortunately the winds had got up swirling the fine white sands into mini tornados. Nice to look at but not worth lying down and getting comfy. We opted for a coffee in the surf lifesaving club that overlooked the beach. We found a spot on the cliffs overlooking the sea for lunch, unfortunately it was also where a gang of seagulls came for their lunch too...
As there was not much going on here we decided we would aim for the small town of Crescent Head. Whilst floating about in Halong Bay in Vietnam we met a bunch of Aussie ladies on a girls holiday. They gave us a big list of things to do and see as we made our way south from Cairns. They mentioned a little campsite called Delicate Nobby (fantastic name) just south of Crescent Head in a national park by the beach. They all go there with their families and friends every summer taking up probably half the site, and told us we HAD to go there if we were passing through. We turned off the main road down a bumpy gravel track and eventually found their special campsite. However it had another sign at the entrance, Waves Campground. We soon found out it had changed hands and was being tarted up a bit. The manager happened to be a lad called Kit from St Ives in Cornwall. It looked like he had his work cut out for him, he was juggling the running of the site, logging the various unstable trees, sorting out the new logo, and printed materials. He looked knackered but seemed really excited with the challenge. We decided to splash out $20 for a powered site so we could charge up the laptop and watch some movies.
We wondered down to the beach for a sunset surf however as we passed reception Kit yelled keep your eyes peeled for sharks, dusk and dawn are feeding times. The water was empty and the waves were pretty rubbish, certainly not worth being shark bait for, so we dozed and read in the evening sun.
For dinner we cooked up some chicken curry leftovers however our gas ran out mid way through so we relocated to a fairy light lit camp kitchen complete with gas BBQ and cracked open some tinnies.
Day 57 - Tuesday 10th November 2015
CRESCENT HEAD
I awoke round seven and crept off for a morning surf. The waves were small but the lack of wind made them crystal clean and the bright sun on the water made it crystal clear. Not only was it nice looking at the sun light dancing on the sandy bottom beneath me but it also made it easy to keep an eye out for anything that might fancy me for breakfast. Although a tad scary it was nice to have the beach and waves all to myself. I had my pick of the good waves and caught a fair few rides. I trotted back up the beach and straight into the campsites hot power shower. It was probably the best shower I have ever had the pleasure to stand in. It was so good I decided to completely ignore the three minute per guest rule and I enjoyed my moment of bliss for about 15mins FUCK THE SYSTEM!
I found Helen dozing, but soon spurred on by the thought of bacon we were in the camp kitchen cooking up a greasy bacon and egg delight. After brekkie we drove further down the track to the point in the hope of finding a clean wave tucked in by the headland. Unfortunately the swell was still too small to set off the point breaks so we headed back up the beach to a more exposed corner and went for another surf. Helen was straight up to her feet which was awesome and I caught a few little ones in the shallows, it was pretty small and weak but still fun. After about an hour we retreated up the beach to towel island and fell asleep. Lunch was a cheese and ham sandwich back with Vanwell and a couple of tinnies for good measure. As the swell was avoiding us we left the boards back at camp and just spent the afternoon and evening reading and dozing on the sand. The beach was practically deserted and the vast white sand stretched off for miles down to the wooded headland to the south.
Dinner was probably the best yet unhealthiest burgers ever created. Bread, beef, onions, cheese and egg were balanced together in a precarious tower. Unfortunately the tomato sauce was a step to far lubricating the layers. One bite caused a catastrophic explosion of egg, meat and onions all over hand, face and plate. It made London's famous chain Dirty Burger look gourmet in comparison.
Day 58 - Wednesday 11th November 2015
CRESCENT HEAD
I awoke early for another morning fix. The waves were a tad bigger and again I had the beach and waves to myself. I spent an hour slinging around on little turquoise ramps then re ignited my three minute shower rebellion, taking a good 15mins to even climb out of my wetsuit top and shorts.
We had a bowl of cereal with Vanwell then said our goodbyes to Kit who tried to tempt us to stay with an offer to help him with the camp revamp in exchange for free accommodation and a bit of cash. The offer was tempting however some interview offers had started coming in for next week in Sydney so we had to get going. If anyone is reading this and wants to work / live in a beautiful beachside campsite near Crescent Head, get in touch with Kit at Waves Campsite, formally Delicate Nobby's. We stopped at the bakery in Crescent Head on recommendation from the Aussie ladies and did a bit of life admin as there was no signal or wifi at the campsite. It was nice being off grid for a couple of days.
We accidentally took an unsealed road south through rolling country side and had to get a small ferry across a river before the roads returned to normal. We had arrived at the edge of a town called Port Macquarie which we had decided would be our destination to get a lot of chores done, washing, gas bottle refill etc.
The laundrette was pretty cool as far as laundrettes go, the lights were upside down laundry baskets which I thought was a nice touch. It also was next toor to a bakery which claimed to have won Australia's best pie in 2014 and 2015. Wether this was true or not they were bloody good.
After getting our chores done we checked one of the local surf beaches. Small wind battered swell was coming in every now and then. It didn't look very inspiring so we went for a walk down by the harbour. The man made estuary that connects the harbour to the sea is lined with massive boulders. These have over the years been painted on by various people displaying all kinds of messages. Some are painted to mark an engagement, some are dedicated to lost loved ones, and some are dedicated to family holidays. It looked like some families add to their rock each year they visit.
After a wander along the rocks we had a quick catch up with our old friend wine then befriended some painted koala sculptures before leaving town in search of a good place to stop for the night.
We found a pub carpark just out of town that was happy for travellers to stay for a night or two. Our plan was to get dinner in the pub however the chap in the bottle shop next to the pub informed us it closed at 8:30pm on a Wednesday. Silly us. We bought a couple of beers, made some food on our stove and had an early night.
Day 59 - Thursday 12th November 2015
SEAL ROCKS
We woke early and hit the road. Helen had a Skype interview with a job agency guy scheduled for midday, so our plan was to get to Boomerang beach and squeeze a surf in before. Unfortunately the swell again was not on our side and after checking a few beaches we opted for a lazy breakfast in the sun. We prepared Vanwell to host his first interview and Helen went about making sure she looked professional and presentable from the waist up.
When midday came around I left them to it, made a coffee and sat by the beach reading. It was very peaceful. I started chatting to an old boy who started telling me how beautiful it is round Seal Rocks, just under an hour south of here. He even gave us a tip about quiet spots to camp. My fried Alex who works in Sydney had also mentioned what a nice part of the country it was.
An hour or so later Helen emerged from Vanwell, it seemed to have gone well and the next stage was to get down to Sydney to meet some companies. As the surf wasn't up to much we decided to make the drive over to Seal Rocks. It really was as beautiful as everyone said. Upon arriving rugged empty beaches kept appearing between the little rocky headlands and the tiny village was very quaint and pretty. It had a quiet Cornish village feel to it. We drove down a small unsealed track that at times got a bit precarious as Vanwell struggled in the loose surface. We parked up in a little hidden carpark and followed a small path through the wilderness that popped out on to Lighthouse Beach. Homemade tuna wraps were on the menu and we sat and watched the surf. It was actually pretty big here but no one was out and it looked like there was a strong current moving around the rocks on the point. I started to get a bit hard to be around, as this was probably our last day of being on the road for a while and I wanted to get a final surf in. Unfortunately I didn't want to risk the point on my own with no knowledge of the break and no one to ask.
We decided to walk up to the lighthouse on the headland at the far end of the bay. The views were fantastic. We sat on the headland for a while watching the ocean. A pretty good clean wave was breaking below us in the corner of the beach. It was looking better than a lot of the waves I had surfed so far, however again there was nobody there. Which always makes me a tad nervous. We eventually walked back down the woodland track to the car but just as we reached Vanwell a car with a board in the back passed us headed for the lighthouse. I quickly jogged back to the lighthouse and found a chap standing on the headland checking the surf. He had surfed here many times but didn't fancy talking it on alone, plus the guys he was supposed to be meeting seemed to have got lost some where. We decided that we would look out for each other. He drove me back to Vanwell where I got helen and we headed down to the beach. As we walked over the dunes a 4x4 bombed up the beach. They were the friends of our new companion that had managed to get lost. The waves were actually quite big and after watching the break for a bit I advised H not to go in as it was quite a big wave.
The waves were over head maybe head and a half on the drop which was a great change to so,me of the waves I have surfed recently. They were quite hard to paddle into but once on the face they were amazing. The wave wasn't particularly fast which gave time to cruise around a bit before the sand bank in the shallows tripped up the rest of the wave causing the whole wave to break and a deep breath to be taken. After about an hour and a few nice rides we decided to paddle in, the sun was low and it was almost feeding time for us and the Sharks. Just before catching a wave in leaving me on my own out back the chap I was surfing with mentioned about a shark attack just up the coast from here that had happen the day before, he also went on to talk about how his daughter had been bitten recently by a little shark in the shallows. This was enough for me to change my view on waiting for a good last wave to catch in. I very quickly started to paddle to shore and caught a sketchy little wave on route.
We decided that as we needed to get to Sydney fairly sharpish we would use the last hour or so of light to get on to the main highway to Sydney and stopped at a truckers rest stop that was creatively named and built to resemble Ayers rock. It was pretty shit and we both kinda wished we had stayed where we were. However as it was okay to stay here it did mean we didn't have to be stealthy and so we bought some chocolate and watched a film before bed.
Day 60 - Friday 13th November 2015
ARRIVING IN SYDNEY
After watching the sun rise over a plastic Ayers Rock and a free hot shower in the services down the road we felt ready to take on Sydney.
The countryside surrounding the highway started to give way to leafy suburbs and retail parks. Soon we were off the highway navigating our way through the sprawl to find Freshwater, a beachside suburb in the Northern Beaches region. We had been tipped off by Nacho that this was where he and Stefi successfully lived in their van for 3 months, whilst holding down full time jobs. We parked up, keen to attract as little attention as possible. After checking out the surf (obviously) and finding it was rubbish (typical). As I had luckily wangled three interviews for Monday and Helen had a meeting panned for Tuesday we needed to make ourselves look a tad more presentable. Sydney is known to be pretty laid back but there is a limit. We walked along Manly beach to the ferry stop, had a quick drink by the jetty to kill twenty mins.
Soon we were out in the middle of the harbour and for the second time in our trip the Opera House came into view. We have now seen it from the water and the sky. The sky was moody and its iconic sails loomed over us, it's jagged white outline making a striking contrast against the darkening clouds. To the right was the famous Harbour Bridge which rose up out of the city and over the water. Helen decided to do some research and scooted off to some fashionable shops whilst I went on an interview shirt and smartish jeans hunt. Uniqlo answered my call and within no time I was sorted.
I found H a few hours later. Research and shopping done we headed back to the ferry. It was nice being back in a big city again however the fact we could hop on a thirty minute ferry and be lazing on the northern beaches was brilliant.
In the evening we took the ferry back and went for a great Thai meal just down the road from the beach in Freshwater. Apparently it's hard to get a bad Asian meal in Sydney, but it still wasn't as good as the real deal. We had a quick wander on the beach then slipped quietly into the van and a deep sleep.