Sandy Hollow, NSW

Ratings: CP *  Surroundings ***

Spring has arrived and light dustings of yellow cover the tops of wattle trees. Sandy Hollow is a rural village with the Giant's Leap sandstone hills providing a dramatic backdrop. It lies in the Upper Hunter Valley which is home to the Wanaruah Aboriginal people, the original custodians of the area.

A view across the valley from the top of Giant's Leap after a strenuous one and a half hour climb!

   Patterns etched into ancient sandstone hills by years of weathering.

The lushness of  the Upper Hunter Valley where thoroughbred mothers and foals play, share time and thrive.

Wooden bench and table discovered among David Mahony's wonderful outdoor sculptures and mosaics in his sculpture park in Sandy Hollow.

Nelson Bay, NSW

Ratings:  CP ***  Surroundings *****

Pirate ship anchored  in Shoal Bay at sunrise!  Notorious, it is a replica fifteenth century Portuguese sailing ship built over ten years by a couple who sail up and down the east coast, surprising locals with their unannounced visits!

Quiet solitude on a perfect spring day waiting for that big bite!

Vast granular landscapes sometimes traversed by the light footprints of humans and animals.... one of the awesome masterpieces of nature. The dunes are 40 metres high and extend for 32 kilometres making them the longest moving sand dunes in the Australia and possibly in the southern hemisphere. These are the Stockton Bight Sand Dunes, part of the Worimi Conservation Lands within the country of the Worimi Aboriginal nation.

Shifting silence.......

A ferry ride across the clear waters of Port Stephens on a sunny day.  Leaving from Nelson Bay, we crossed Port Stephens where we were accompanied by dolphins, travelled up Myall River and reached the quaint village of Tea Gardens where I had lunch before returning during the afternoon. The ferry is 85 years old and has been converted from a war time tug boat to a ferry with chairs taken from an old cinema and benches which were originally pews taken from an old church.

Ancient Aboriginal fish traps in Myall River no longer used for trapping fish but now home to oysters aplenty.

Forster, NSW

Ratings:  CP **  Surroundings ***

View from the one kilometre long bridge which links Forster and Tuncurry situated opposite each other at the entrance to Wallis Lake. The bridge replaced a punt service in 1959. This Great Lakes region consists of a three lake system: Wallis Lake, Smiths Lake and Myall Lakes and the area is home to the Worimi people. Forster used to be called Minimbah meaning 'home of teacher' and Tuncurry means 'plenty fish' or 'good fishing place' in the Worimi Aboriginal language. Forster was renamed after William Forster in 1875.

Yachts and cabin cruisers anchored in the pristine waters of Wallis Lake at Forster boat harbour.

Time to share morning coffee on the banks of a Wallis Lake inlet. Ancient mangroves grow along the banks of Wallis Island providing a never ending food supply for the herons, egrets, varieties of wild duck and white bellied fish eagles....an ever changing vista.

My lavender 'garden' which now accompanies us on our travels! A lone shell is a reminder of Rainbow Beach.

Bonny Hills, NSW

Ratings: CP *****  Surroundings *****

Misty spray along Rainbow Beach seen from rock pools below the caravan park.

Solitary surfer at sunrise.

Looking down on dolphins playing on swells of the Pacific Ocean.....a view from the caravan park.

A graceful surfer in harmony with nature.

The Tacking Point Lighthouse at Port Macquarie is Australia's third oldest lighthouse built in 1879 to warn ships of the rocks near the shore. It was converted to automatic operation in 1919. Tacking Point was so named by Matthew Flinders in 1802. The heritage lighthouse has recently been restored based on its original design and is a popular viewing point during whale migrations .

Sapphire Beach, NSW

Ratings: CP ***  Surroundings ***

  

Tawny Frogmouth pair in trees behind the caravan

Split Solitary Island, one of the three solitary islands which can be seen from Sapphire Beach which is 10km north of Coffs Harbour. This area forms part of the Solitary Islands Marine Park which extends over 75 km of coast and is 71000 hectares in size.

Tight line, Gillian! Fishing in a gully before the storm.

Meandering behind the veil of glittering waters of Crystal Shower Falls in Dorrigo National Park, The park is a sub tropical rainforest where an elevated boardwalk allowed us to experience the mid levels of the rainforest and a Skywalk took us above the forest canopy to view the world below.

 Behind veiled shimmerngs of Crystal Shower Falls.

Coffs Harbour from Muttonbird Island which is home to a large colony of wedge tailed shearwaters. They travel thousands of kilometres from south east Asia in August and dig or repair their burrows in the soft soil of the island ready for laying eggs after they have paired and mated. Burrows are used year after year by the same pair.
This area is home to the Gumbaynggir people who form one of the largest coastal Aboriginal nations in New South Wales. An interesting document about their history has been compiled by Liz Thomas at Coffs Harbour City Library.
Captain John Korff is recognised as the European discoverer of Coffs Harbour in about 1847. He sheltered there when he was trying to reach the Bellingen River and was first to submit a report on the suitability of the harbour when he returned to Sydney. Settlement by Europeans occurred from the 1870s and clearing, fencing and disease had a devastating impact on the Aboriginal people resulting in them becoming dependent on the Europeans for food and shelter.

Evans Head, NSW

Ratings: CP **** Surroundings ****

A view of Evans River mouth. We saw families of dolphins and migrating whales from this lookout.

Fishing at low tide looking across the river to the lookout on the hill.

Chinamans Beach where these beautiful rock and pools of marine life were exposed during low tide. It is bounded by the Bundjalung National Park named for the Bundjalung people,  the original custodians of northern coastal areas of New South Wales.

Fishing boats have returned to their moorings with catches of flathead, snapper and squid which will be sold at the cooperative on the harbour.

We were privileged to see this family of Ospreys... Dad keeps a lookout while hungry nestlings wait for Mum to produce the meal.  Ospreys are listed as vulnerable and the removal of old trees and human disturbance has disrupted nesting. Another danger is that young ospreys become tangled in nets. Members of the local community have built platforms where Ospreys can build and use their nests year after year.

Northern Rivers region communities are environmentally active and among many other activities to try and prevent environmental degradation, they have banded together to prevent coal seam gas mining in the region.

Pastel softness as the sun goes down....a view along the main beach.

Lennox Head, NSW

Ratings: CP *** Surroundings ***

Lennox Head, a quaint town in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales where the white sands of Seven Mile Beach invite the energetic and sedentary types, and surfers brave the good waves and sharks.
I met up with a dear friend and shared time with her travelling through the quaint rural town of Bangalow and then to the best market I have ever visited. It's a monthly market held in The Channon which is a valley town. The market is outdoors and spread over fields....fresh produce, plants, food, music, quirky clothes and heaps more!

The views from the lighthouse at Byron Bay, built in 1901 at the most easterly point of the Australian mainland, are spectacular. We had the thrill of watching some whales on their journey back to the plankton rich Antarctic waters.

One of the migrating whales.

Nimbin Rocks on our way to the rural town of Nimbin.

The main street in Nimbin, known for the prominence of its environmental initiatives as well as for its cannabis counterculture.....interesting day!

Watching a sunset from our caravan site at Lake Ainsworth.   It is a freshwater dunal lake with water strained brown by the swamp paperbark trees, a type of tea tree said to have healing properties.