Casino to Kiama

On the Sunday after Easter we were still in Casino but this was the day that Greg and Chris were leaving to return to Narrabri, in NSW.  We were leaving the van in their front yard and coming back to Brisbane for the day to celebrate Bonnie’s (Vic’s Mum) 80^th birthday, so after another emotional goodbye, we left Greg and Chris to their packing and headed up the

Our birthday girl - Bonnie
not a bad ol' stick for 80!!

highway back to beautiful, sunny Queensland.  We had a fantastic time partying with the whole extended family and Bonnie thoroughly enjoyed her day but it was also a great chance for Vic and I to say goodbye to everyone.  

Happiness written all over her face - happy birthday mum!

Our extended family celebrating Bonnie's birthday

Many of the family members hadn’t seen Vic since she left hospital and they all seemed impressed with her recovery.  This was undoubtedly the hardest goodbye yet and leaving Bonnie, Tom, Cara, Glen, Allie and their little family was the most emotional yet.  

  
 Cheeky boy, Lakyn, up the ladder 


 

Aunty Cara with 2 week old Frankie Grace

The Madens - Rod, Frankie, Vicki, Cara Jay, Allie, Lakyn and Glen

The trip back to Neil and Jan’s (on the Gold Coast) was a very quiet journey.  As usual, Neil and Jan made us very welcome at their home and we had an enjoyable evening, before saying yet another goodbye the following morning, and making our way back to Casino to collect the van.  

Farewell Casino free camp

This was it… Monday 27.4.14, three months to the day later than we had planned to leave, and now we were on the road and heading south.  All the farewells were done and we were content that, before we left, we’d had the opportunity to spend time with some of our great friends.  By the time we’d hooked up the van and left Casino, it was mid-afternoon.  We had a good run down to Grafton, where we took a short break, and then to Dinjerra Road Rest Area, which is not far south. 

Dinjerra Rd rest area

As we arrived at this spot the traffic was backing up due to a truck crash, further on, which had blocked the highway, and as we set up for the night, we had an audience of stationary truck drivers.  They sat there for over 3 hours before the road was reopened.  I’m sure many would have logged it as their rest stop.  Due to the fact that this is the main route from Sydney to Brisbane, it was fairly noisy overnight, but still a good spot to park up with plenty of room, toilets and undercover picnic tables.  

Nambucca Heads

After getting away the next morning, we passed through Coffs Harbour and onto Nambucca Heads for morning tea at the Anzac Park.  This was a lovely spot right on the river and after kicking back here for a while we rejoined the highway and made it into Port Macquarie at about lunchtime.  

Sundowner Caravan Park at Port Macquarie

We booked into the Sundowner Caravan Park, a beautiful park by the river and the ocean, where I’d stayed with my Mum and Dad back in 1964 when we travelled in an EH Holden Premier towing (ironically!) an Olympic Caravan.

 

Cheers Paul, wish you were here too!

Later that day, a long-time friend of ours, Jenny, a fellow Jeeper we hadn’t seen since 2005, joined us.  She was travelling from her home in Sydney to visit her parents in Brisbane where Paul, her husband, will join her in a couple of weeks.

Jenny pitched her tent on our site along side the van before we went and sat on the break wall to watch a pod of dolphins playing in the river then settling into a night of reminiscing and catchup.  The next morning was grey and overcast, so after Jenny got away, Vic and I took a leisurely stroll along the boardwalk into town and enjoyed coffee overlooking the river.  I also found my dream car!

Airstream Australia's
vehicle

Vic and I have always had a soft spot for ‘The Port’, and have always enjoyed our visits.  Apart from being here with my parents 50 years ago, Vic and I visited with Cara and Glen back in 1993 and then we were back here when we travelled after renewing our vows on our 25^th wedding anniversary in 2005.

Port has some beautiful sunsets

The next morning was glorious and after a slow start we drove out of Port Macquarie and rejoined Highway 1 and headed south.  Taree is Miran and Ann’s old stomping grounds, so we were compelled to take the off ramp and have a quick look around before returning to the highway again, then taking the Forster/Tuncurry turnoff.  In Forster, we pulled into a beachside park and took a stroll along the beach to a fabulous little café called ‘Beach Bums’.  

Two beach bums at Beach Bums

$3 buy

We sat here and enjoyed coffee with a really nice fish and chips meal.  As we walked lunch off, we found an Op Shop so had to check it out… as you do! We got a pair of very cool vintage towels (for the car) and Vic found an anodized teapot that she couldn’t live without.

After leaving here we travelled back to the highway via the Myall Lakes, which wasn’t the quickest route, but certainly a very pretty drive.  As we travelled, Vic was checking on Wikicamps, looking for an overnight stop and came across the little town of Karuah.  Anyone who has travelled the Brisbane to Sydney road before bypasses, will remember Karuah.  I always loved driving into this place with the approach taking you across the Karuah River via (you guessed it!) the Karuah Bridge.  This is a steel truss bridge opened in 1957 (trivially… the first one of it’s kind built in Australia using high tensile bolts rather than rivets!!) as part of the State Government’s program to replace ferry crossings. 

View of the Karuah Bridge from our afternoon drinks spot just outside our van

Karuah

There is a roadside stop on the highway, which has been closed, however, the local council has opened up two parks (one on each side of the road) to free camping, in an effort to bring some tourist dollars to town.  Local businesses have suffered since the town was bypassed in 2004.  The areas are well appointed with clean toilets, bbq’s, bins, plenty of undercover picnic tables, good phone and TV reception and a short stroll to shops and services.  Vic and I enjoyed

Oyster farmers returning from their's day work

a quiet happy hour overlooking the river watching the oyster farmers return from their day’s work.

Since Vic and I are travelling a bit later than originally planned, we have made the decision to get ourselves to Kiama before slowing up. We’ve travelled the coast road between Brisbane and Sydney many times and will certainly return here at some stage in the future.

As we left Karuah the next morning, I wasn’t looking forward to the days driving. This was the day we would travel through Sydney’s outskirts and make our way to Kiama.  I feel I’m still getting used to towing the new van and…well… I just don’t like Sydney!  Vic did a fabulous job of keeping me in the correct lane and navigating us onto the right freeways to get us around Sydney with a minimum of fuss, but I certainly did enjoy the coffee we had just before taking the turnoff, which would lead us into Kiama.

Beautiful Kiama waterfront

Starting to get a little chilly here 

We checked into the Surf Beach Caravan Park and after setting up, Vic and I took a stroll over to the beach.  Kiama is a really nice town on a beautiful part of the east coast and we were really looking forward to checking it out. 

Until next time… Happy travels!