Thawing out on the Coast

Travelling through a pandemic is interesting… It feels like we have been running from the virus since leaving Beijing in January. Now we are watching the news again hoping that the areas we have visited since leaving Tassie are not declared new hot spots. Already we have spent 2 weeks in NSW so we can enter Queensland and not go into quarantine. Now parts of Sydney have been deemed a hot spot but lucky for us, we didn’t go anywhere near there on our travels north. So now we are on day 14 and we have completed the declaration form to enter Queensland, hoping to cross the border tomorrow.

For the last week, we have been thawing out on the coast first visiting Jimmy’s Beach at Hawks Nest. This was a great spot and the beach did not disappoint (although it was still a little too cold to go swimming).

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Nan and Pop joined us and set up on the site next to ours. It was nice to meet up and compare notes about being on the road and out interpretations of border restrictions. We went for an afternoon walk up the Yaccaba walking track in Myall Lakes National Park. A short but steep trek up into the headland. The view was amazing and it was the first time we felt hot and sweaty.

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That night we ran out of power after parking under the trees and covering up the solar panels. This was a good lesson to learn early on. After looking around the battery, we realised that one wasn’t attached. Now connected, we have double the power. So far we have not run out again…

After Hawks Nest, we left Nan and Pop and headed to Trial Bay. We wanted to check out the old gaol and stay at the camp grounds there. The gaol was interesting. Much smaller than Port Arthur, but well preserved and shared interesting history about old prisoners and the period of time that German interns stayed during WW1.

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The camp grounds were well set up and the friendly locals came to say hello. Two mothers and their joeys were hanging with us for their evening meal.

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A short walk around the headlands and the beach showed a glimpse of how beautiful this area is. We will have to come back another time to check out the other walks.

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Nan booked us into our next stop at Corindi Beach, just north of Coffs Harbour. Another spectacular beach! A day trip to Coffs Harbour meant that we could buy a few parts to repair some damage already done to the van, including a new stabilising leg.

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A BBQ success… Mia made pizza scrolls for our lunch the next day. There were delicious and all made in the BBQ.

The next stage of the ‘Nan and Pop tour’ took us to Evans Head. You guessed it! Another amazing beach! Today mum, Mia and Oliver went for the first swim of the trip. The surf was big and a little fresh according to Oliver. Now the weather is warming up, we are looking forward to many more.

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Overall, the NSW coast has been a good choice for us. Originally, we had planned to go inland all the way to Brisbane. Now we are so glad to see a few places on the Pacific highway and spend some time with Nan and Pop before heading off on our own. There is so much to see and do in these parts, so I think we will be back another time.