Friday, 17 April 2015

Trip 04; Day 08; Alstonville, Lismore & Casino

Thursday 16/04/2015
Nice sleeping weather overnight not too much dew.
Woke up had breakfast and remembered how to put the van down. Hooked up, not using levellers we only have to travel 100kms. Left at 09:15 said goodbye to Iluka and headed North. We got to Alstonville. Walked around the showgrounds looking for the caretaker. Amy is so happy the Gold Coast Caravan club is also staying here. It's a nice showgrounds, clean toilets and plenty of room. We have parked behind the Leisure centre facing North. Amanda is getting better at her backing in. We punched in Casino on the GPS and of course the quickest way is through back blocks country roads and winding hills. We thought we were lost until all of a sudden we were back on the Blaxland Highway. Casino is bigger than what we thought and has a spectacular church. We then headed to Lismore and parked in the Town Centre. We grabbed pies from a bakery and walked around. Lismore is huge it has a Masters &  Bunnings next door to each other. Amy & Les visited the Music Shop. Les was taking a photo of the kids against the pole outside the Hotel where QEII stayed on her visit in 1954. The pole has markings showing the flood levels. A lady walking a dog asked to walk behind Les. He said no it's OK you can pass through between Les & the kids. She said no you may be holding a weapon. I guess Lismore is closer to Nimbin than we thought. We carefully watched her move off and finished taking the photo. Came back to Alstonville where we walked around. Amy & Amanda had a great time looking in them all. The retro shop had lovely stuff and the shop next door. Went to Coles to pick up supplies. In the van we had afternoon tea. After dinner Ryan read through his Journal from our Trip in 2012. It is interesting to see what things he recorded. Cooling down as we head to Bed. Home tomorrow.

Wednesday, 15 April 2015

Trip 04; Day 07; Yamba Farmers Market

Wednesday 15/04/2015
No rain overnight!!. The kookaburras have replaced the noisy children. Nathan (the owner of the caravan park) informed us that the birds observe daylight saving and were waking everyone one up a 03:00 until the clocks were wound forward last year. Now NSW has gone back to EST the birds have decided to wake us up at 05:00. We drove into Yamba where Amy & Amanda looked at the Framers market & Ryan & Les walked to the end of the southern wall. There were plenty of whiting at whiting beach but Ryan had given up by then. Amanda bought the following home made; date loaf, jam drops, pumpkin scones, lady finger bananas ("lil bitch finger bananas" says Ryan) We then drove to Angourie and up to the lookout. An ambulance arrived behind us, we parked and went down to the beach at the Point. The ambulance were performing CPR on a gentleman. We decided not to walk over to the headland and went instead to the Blue & Green Pools. A Westpac Rescue helicopter landed on the beach and they continued working on the gentleman. The helicopter then landed on the headland. We explored the Green Pool and Blue Pool. The helicopter then landed on the beach again and the gentleman was transported to the Gold Coast Hospital. http://www.dailyexaminer.com.au/news/52-year-old-man-rescued-at-angourie-point/2607927/
We then drove around Palmer Island and looked at the Big4 Caravan Park and meandered back to Iluka. This afternoon was a siesta after eating all the home made goods from the Market. We then decided as a family to have Mullet & Chips from the Co-op. It was great. Casualties today, Ryan slipped whilst perving on a girl in a bikini at the Green Pool. He will recover from his scraped knee. Amy again fell up the rocks and hurt her toe. Amanda just required encouragement to to climb up & down rocks. Les had disappeared somewhere else whilst this was happening. Probably looking at rock pools & fish trapped in them. On the way out from the Green/Blue pools it was nice to see a gentleman holding a towel up for his lady friend to have a nude shower at the car park beach shower. He was doing a good job of hiding the important bits. This is our last night here and we have thoroughly enjoyed staying here.

Tuesday, 14 April 2015

Trip 04; Day 06; Iluka Main Beach

Tuesday 14/04/2015
Light Rain overnight. Woke up with a peaceful caravan park with sparse grey nomads here and there. No screaming kids this morning - that's for you Cindy & Peta. Decided to drive to Main Beach and let Ryan try surf fishing into a breezy southerly wind. He tried a couple spots whilst Amy & Amanda walked along the beach. He then tried fishing at the end of Maradowie Rd, then Arris Island. Amy took photos of the Pelican she was stalking. Amanda Amy & Ryan went to the IGA and Les enjoyed a nice home ground coffee and enjoyed the quiet. Amy bought a carimba. Yes you will have to ask her what this musical instrument is & how to play it!! After lunch we just lazed around the van. Amanda & Les went for a walk along Beach Rd to the North Wall and then climbed up onto Moriarty's Wall and headed to the Marine Rescue. We woke Ryan up and Les & Ryan tried fishing at the Iluka Marina which was sheltered from the wind. They then tried the Beach at the Western End of Moriarty;s Wall. At dark they gave up. The bread Amanda had lent them got smashed by a wave so now there is no bread for Toast in the morning. The seagulls and Pelicans thanks us for the feed.

Monday, 13 April 2015

Trip 04; Day 05 Iluka Foreshore Walk

Monday 13/04/2015
Rained overnight. Very windy this morning but sunny. We decided to do the Foreshore Walk from the Pontoon Boat Mooring to the Rowing Shed. The walk was sheltered from the wind. It was an easy pleasant stroll along a pathway. Along the way there were people pumping for yabbies and lots of kids on bikes. At the end of the walk is the Riverside Caravan Park. We continued on down to the Iluka-Yamba Ferry Terminal. We then headed back to the Bakery at the corner of Young St & Charles St. The food was great. We then explored downtown Iluka. Ryan & Les had finished 2 laps whilst Amy & Amanda were still in the first shop. They headed off to the Bait & Tackle store. They picked up extra tackle to catch the elusive Mangrove Jack at Moriarty's wall. Ryan & Les left the girls and headed back to the van to prepare for the afternoon high tide. Finally the girls turned up  & we ate lunch. At 2pm we all went down to the Marine Rescue were Amanda & Amy dropped the boys off before heading for a look at the Golf Club Restaurant. Ryan picked up 5 small Bream fishing on the river side of the rocks & Les picked up a small Whiting & Bream fishing in the wash coming through the rocks and back over the sand bank. Amy & Amanda came back and after checking out the Bowls Club & Golf Club - the Chinese Banquet at the Golf Club is the winner. We finished fishing 1 hour after high tide and showered and dressed up for dinner. The long drive (5 minutes) to the Golf Course saw many rabbits on the side of the road. We thoroughly enjoyed dinner and were unable to completely finish the meal The spring rolls, dim-sim, beef & black bean, lemon chicken & sweet & sour pork was fantastic & delicious. We also enjoyed the apprentice chef running around with his chop sticks following his Mum. We are now in the van like beached whales!!! No plans for tomorrow - maybe a rest day and walk along the beach to Iluka Bluff.

Sunday, 12 April 2015

Trip 04; Day 04; Road Trip McLean and Brooms Head

Sunday 12/04/2015
Woke up at 07:30 it was nice sleeping weather overnight. The wind has dropped down and it is a sunny day. We had a quick breakfast. Amanda put on 2 loads @ $6 a load, hung them on the line and we were off. We went straight to McLean. It's a lot different when there is no Scottish festival on like the last time we were here in 2012. We walked around town but most things were closed. We then headed off to Brooms Head. It's a nice drive and at the end is the caravan park on the beach. It was "chock a block" with holiday makers. We drove up to the lookout with nice views south and of the point. The "snack shack" was doing a roaring trade so we said goodbye to Brooms Head and headed back to McLean. The $6.50 McLean Hotel lunch special was too irresistible. It was chips, salad and rump (tasted more like rib). Everyone had a clean plate.  We then drove up to the lookout passing the "Stone Cottage" and Pinnacle Rock. The lookout has great views to Iluka, Yamba and down to Brooms Head. I am sure many a McLean child was conceived at this lookout - it probably has a better hit rate than Mt Gravatt! We headed back to Iluka to collect the washing and for Les & Ryan to go fishing. The first couple of spots were not biting but they had fun with whiting, bream, wrasse and a striped fish at the Marine Rescue. Amy & Amanda watched a movie "The Pursuit of Happiness" and selected photos for the blog which we will upload when we find suitable OPTUS coverage The weather today was fantastic.

Saturday, 11 April 2015

Trip 04; Day 03; Bundjalung National Park Walk to Iluka Bluff

Saturday 11/04/2015
Got up a bit later this morning 07:30. Amanda & Les are tired after a 02:00 dunny run (gees we getting older with k-mart bladders). Quick breakfast couple of loo stops for Les (subway jalapenos!!!)
Amanda prepared lunch, Les got the umbrella & rain ponchos and we set off on the "World Heritage Rainforest Walk" from the Caravan Park. It's a 2.5km one way easy walk through the last remaining coastal littoral rainforest to Iluka bluff. We took a leisurely 45 minutes to get to the car park at the Bluff. We went up to the lookout with views back to Yamba. We dropped down to the tidal pools below the lookout where the incoming tide was flushing mullet and whiting into the pools. This looks like a great place to explore at low tide for little (and big) kids. We ate a nice lunch at the picnic tables. This is a popular spot the car park was getting full. There is a surf life saver on duty and lots of people swimming between the flags on Bluff Beach. We then set off home. Amy managed to lead us off until she twisted her gammy ankle on a tree root. We then limped our way back to the caravan park, Les saw snails over taking us. Gandalf ( you ask Ryan why we call him this) Ryan ran off ahead to protect us from Orcs. We dropped Amy off in the van to rest her foot. Ryan, Amanda & Les went for a drive - looked in the Charter Shop where Les is sure Amanda & Amy will visit again this week.
Back to the IGA to be sprayed by passito. A can had been dropped, rolled under the wall of shelves and managed to spray Les's legs!!! A nice lady stood next to the spilled drink to prevent anyone slipping (damn that would have paid the house off).  Came back to the van and updated the blog to find out OPTUS has really crappy coverage in Iluka.

Trip 04; Day 02; Road Trip to Yamba

Friday 10/04/2015
Ryan  & Les were up early to go fishing at 06:00. They tried fishing near the Marine Rescue beach - no luck. After a quick breakfast we headed off to Yamba. A nice drive over a couple of bridges and then we did a drive by of Treelands St and looked at the shopping centre. We then drove further into Yamba and went up to the lighthouse at Clarence Head. Had a quick look around and then down to the beach below the lighthouse where Amy & Ryan enjoyed the sea spray coming off the rocks. The waves were pushed by an onshore wind causing the incoming tide to crash on the rocks and blow sea spray onto the shore. We then got a sneaky angle park next to the Caravan Park and set off. We had a look around all the shops - Ryan was on the hunt for a pair of sunglasses for schoolies!!!
Back to Coles to get supplies. Lunch at $5 meal deal at subway (Ryan ate 2). Les filled up at Caltex and Amanda Ryan & Amy checked out Wayne's World (last time we were in Wayne's World was at Gunnedah). On the way back we checked out the roads going into Bundjalung National Park. Came home and Ryan tried fishing next to the co-op. We were visited by an elderly chap listening to jazz on his ipad. Ryan & Les walked back and collected Amanda & Amy to get a fish & chip dinner from the co-op. Ocean Mullet & Chips for $5.50. Les had the fish cake and chips - he recommends the Mullet. We then walked We all jumped in showers back after dinner and finished off the Apple Pie from the IGA. We all had showers (first for this trip!!) Ryan is too tall for the shower rose. Les went later on and found Ryan had used all the cold water up.

Trip 04; Day 01; Brisbane to Iluka NSW

Thursday 09/04/205.
Bit rusty connecting the van to the car. We were held up by Urban Utilities working on the sewerage line behind the house. Packing the van and getting it down from the carport to the driveway was fun Ryan was in charge of the remote!! We forgot the caravan mirrors and then found out the LHS mirror holder's nut & bolt had rusted. Les & Ryan performed surgery with the hacksaw and the mirror was electrical taped in. The mirror is pointing at the ground at 60km/ph but at 110km/ph its in the right spot. We hit the road at 11am an hour later than planned. Drive down was good not much traffic a couple of road works in NSW. We stopped at the Wardell rest area (south bound) for lunch (Les's favourite cold pepperoni pizza). We arrived at Iluka and stopped at the Information Board and removed the caravan levellers. We arrived at 14:37 and had travelled about 280km's.
Amanda was a bit rusty reversing the van into our level grassy site. But that's OK Ryan, Amy & Les managed to maneuver the van into the correct spot!! We have lots of little children around us on bikes - yay. Apparently they go home Friday. We are on a corner block and the van is facing North/South. It took a while to get the gear out of the caravan boot (water & grey) and remember to chock the wheels. Ryan started off slow (under orders) and then ignored them and raised the roof pretty quick. The weather is cloudy & windy. The vans up, Les has made a coffee and we are setting up the inside of the van. We drove around the township and found the IGA, Sedgers Reef & some fishing spots. Amanda made hot dogs without the buns (ate them on slices of bread). We followed up with IGA apple pie & custard (except for Les).  Little kids passed out after the feral stage and all was quiet after 20:00. We weren't long after. We are staying at the Clarence Head Caravan Park 29°24'43.4"S 153°21'26.2"E