Moonee Beach Coffs Harbour.

Had a wonderful day out with Martin and Sandy in the Dorrigo National Park...

We did a 3 hour 'walk' through the rain forest....up hill and down dale (to me it felt more uphill!) which certainly helped us all to sleep well that night...

But the effort was worth ...because it took us through beautiful rain forest to the Crystal Showers...a waterfall which you can walk behind...

and then on to Crystal Falls....

Sandy on one of our 'catch ur breath stops'

We spotted some of the forest's wildlife on our trek including a red belly black, a pademelon and the elusive Lyrebird which I managed to get a reasonable photo of below...

Getting good 'shots' photography wise is not easy in rain forest on a sunny day, as there are too many contrasts of bright light and shadow ...never the less the experience was indeed magic.

Not far from the National park, on the way out to Dangar falls grows a unique species of tree...

Its called the Lavatree....I managed to get a good pic of it!

Here's a pic of the two brothers Hans and Martin...guess which one is the oldest!!!

Marty is an Arranger/Producer/Engineer of music as well as a /Songwriter/Singer ...in other words a man of many talents!

We went down to the beach at Coffs and did a 'photo shoot'...to give him a few pics he can use on the albums he creates... Here is a sample!

Here he is 'on fire' at work...making sparks fly!

Tuesday...21st October (which by the way was my daughter Rachel's Birthday...Happy Birthday again Rachel!!!)...mid afternoon the sky turned from blue to grey to black in a matter of an hour...the temperature dropped rapidly, and it became darker and darker....checked the radar before turning all the computers off...

Ran out and put tarps over Suzy...there was nowhere we could put her under cover...

Then all hell broke loose!...thunder and lightening, rain, small hail stones which became increasingly larger in size as they pelted from the sky....the size of golf balls (and that's no exaggeration!)....they were like comets!....the noise on the roof was deafening...and as they hit they ricocheted and hit something else...

The elderly lady across the road got bruised on different parts of her body trying to lay towels across her grand daughters car...bits of trees were being ripped off by the sheer force and size of the hail stones..

Came in handy as ice blocks for your drink!

Or a 'Sorbet'!...

After the storm it was time to assess the damage...Poor Suzy copped it bad...Dents all over her and not just little ones...The loaded roof rack at least 'saved' the roof.

We've counted 21 dents all up.

Guess it was just a case of being in the right place at the wrong time!...

Other cars and a caravan parked in the street copped the full blast as their owners weren't at home to move them or protect them in anyway....

So yet another experience to add to the adventure on our journey!

Scone To Coffs Harbour

From Scone we travelled to Gloucester, again via another scenic route through the Barrington Tops National Park ....

Beautiful rivers and creeks flow from high above in the cloud line...this river is at Moonan Flat.

Graceful Weeping Willows line the rivers and creeks...

Then its a steady and long climb upwards with Wild flowers lining the road...

The 'balls' on these leaves are wasp galls...

As we drove 'heavenward' ...the clouds came down to meet us!

You can camp at various campgrounds throughout the Park....but wouldn't recommend it this time of year....it was only 11 deg when we stopped and boiled the billy for some 2 minute noodles for lunch, which Hans was happy to share with the wildlife...but being vegetatian this little lady took one whiff and turned up her nose!!!

This route took us through to Wauchope for the night where it was raining...

From Wauchope we again went inland and took a 4wd track through the Werrikimbe National Park... I am certainly getting the hang of this 4w driving! and enjoying the remote places we can get into...Check out how dirty I can get Suzy!...I don't go round the puddles and mud, I go through them, but then most of it gets washed off again when you go through another river...

Came out of this track in Walcha with Tia falls along the way...

Took a secondary road through to Uralla and then Armidale.Woke up the next morning and it was 5degs! and fog all around...It lifted as the morning progressed and took a side road to see Baker Creek falls...

'Bouncing' in a paddock all on her own as we drove out from there, was a 'little lost lamb'...she followed the car along the fence line so it was a perfect photo opportunity....

Poor thing...but we guessed the mother or the farmer would find her eventually...

We visited many falls and Gorges that day....You could say the area is Gorgeous!

Here is another one....Ebor Falls

Won't put a photograph of each one on here ...but if you ever get the opportunity do travel the road called Waterfalls Way....the falls are worth seeing...cause here unlike Far North Queensland they have waterfalls that flow all year round...

Flowers of the day for the dash...Everlasting Daisies

Did yet another of road trip whilst on this leg through New England National Park and another chance to 4w drive... pit stop refuel from the spare tank above...

At the end of this track was a road to Point Lookout...Wow...it was back into the cloud line and a point that looks out eastwards to the multitude of coastal ranges as far as the eye can see...

The trees here are draped with mosses and lichens dripping with moisture...old mans beard, sphagnum, and the occasional rainforest orchid...

Its like another world....

Coming down out of the altitude and winding our way back to sea level we made our way through Dorrigo and Bellingen...was magic with the lush green grass,the huge oak, beech, maples, poplars, european and american conifers...Various stone fruit trees in full blossom like peaches, cherries, plums....

Spotted this vine hanging in a tree in Bellingen...its a Flame of the Forest Passionfruit...comes from New Guinea...

We are currently staying with Hans's brother Martin and wife Sandy and kids Joel and Kady...(Ry the eldest having just moved up to Brisbane to attend university) in Coffs Harbour....

Sydney

Sydney : Rydalmere, and staying for awhile with Hans's parents and brother seen in action in the previous blog post.It has been good to catch up with them, as living so far away, it doesn't happen often...

First night turned into an impromptu 'party' with lots of old dutch music being played and sung to... Even got Hans's dad who will be 80 next month up on the floor!

Visited 'The Dutch Shop' in Smithfield where we had lovely dutch coffee and croquetten...Yum!



I could've gone a little 'crazy' in the shop attached but kept my 'urges' under control...with all the produce etc available that I haven't seen since my childhood..chocolate hail, drop (salt licorice), antbijtkoek (honey loaf) applestroop (apple syrup) to name but a few!




Opportunity to empty and clean Suzy whilst off the road...Hans's dad decided to give us a helping hand with his broom!

Tuesday 14th October...Sad farewells again this morning as we continue our journey...Crossing the Blue Mountains North Westerly to Singleton ..170kms from Sydney...and unfortunately its rained all the way ..but you get that!...and then further north through the Hunter Valley...didn't see many grapevines (you had to leave our route for that) but did see huge 'holes' in the ground where they mine coal big time...mine sites everywhere! and signs assuring us as we drive through that its water vapour coming out of those chimney stacks...

Tonight we are in Scone...Do you pronounce that Scoune or Scoone????...Weird thing is that this place has nothing to do with Scones...this is a Horse Breeding Town at the foot of the Barrington Ranges which we hope cross (4wd track) weather permitting tommorrow...

Bathurst to Sydney

Bathurst town was gearing up for the yearly V8 races Mt Panorama next weekend...

We decided to take a 4wd track through to Hill End and Sofala and then onto Lithgow...

The bridle track we drove is one of the first 'roads' created in 1850 to open up a way between Bathurst and Sofala...Australias first Gold Mining Town...



'Dire' warning sign at the beginning of the 'road'...




And the 'road' was indeed challenging!...parts were narrow 'single lanes' where if you were unlucky enough to meet oncoming traffic, it would've been just about impossible to manouvre backwards or forwards to allow the other to pass... (the right of the photo above is the 'road')


The rain that had fallen in the days previous made the 'road surface' a bit 'soupy' also...

Time for a roadside cuppa!

St Pauls Church at Hill End.

Loved the sign on the gate entrance...

The street that makes up Hill End town had glorious trees with green blossoms...

A 'modified' sign along the 'road'

The 'road' was built by hand by convicts and has stood the test of time...as can be seen by their workmanship in the photo below...

A Red Belly Black seen along the road...

The 'road' took us through to Lithgow where we stayed the night.

The next day it was back into the 'rat race' on our way through to Sydney visiting Katoomba in the Blue Mountains and the famous 3 Sisters...The place was swarming with tourists from every nation...Understandable as it is yet another wonder of Mother Nature...

Landed on Hans's parents doorstep unannounced to surprise them and surprised they were!

Hans's brother Dan has represented Australia in skateboarding for many years and now competes in the Masters Division coming 5th in the World last year..

He is also into street luge and demonstrated how to use it on the street outside...This is him coming down from the next street up and around the corner, downhill all the way!


So of course I had to have a go!...


It was awesome!...loved it!... not a bad effort for a dinosaur!....