The coast road through Macksville

After a day of doing nothing on Sunday (well, what else are Sunday’s for?) we are now a bit further up the NSW coast at a place called Macksville. 

Yesterday was not a day for doing anything much anyway as we had pretty heavy rain and gale force winds, making anything outdoors challenging! I went to MacDonalds to use their free wi-fi as I needed to upload a lot of photos and download some post Sarah had sent us so, I bought a cup of coffee and settled myself down in the corner in amongst Sunday lunchtime kids parties and people treating themselves to MacDonalds for Sunday lunch (!?!). After about an hour and a half I gave up having downloaded almost nothing as the connection was so slow – don’t bother using MacDonalds free wi-fi, it’s just not worth the bother! They did give me a free Sunday paper with my coffee though so it wasn’t all bad. The rest of the day was spent in Pauline’s very comfortable cabin reading, with a short spell when the sun came out of going to the beach to walk round the headland. Well, the sun came out, went in, it rained and then it was dry, so it was very much a case of dodging the showers, but we did manage to watch some surfers and a pod of dolphins diving through the waves and inter-reacting with the surfers before heading on round the bay. (To us they really seemed to be surfing too, just enjoying themselves leaping in and out of the waves.) Didn’t manage to get any photos though, they were too quick for me.

Jackie and Pauline watching the surf at The Gap

Today we’ve left Port Macquarie after three nights stay to move on up the coast, but first it was a visit to the library to use their free wi-fi to do all the things I wanted to do on Sunday. A much quicker connection meant we were on our way by 10:45, all up to date. Our first stop was Hat Head, which we felt we had to visit just for the name (as well as to send a picture to our friend John Hat) and as we arrived at 

‘The Gap’ the ocean was in ‘fierce mode’ following the high winds and storm from yesterday, so it was magnificent just to stand and watch the huge breakers crashing into the rocks on the headland, a great lunch stop, with Jackie and I doing a brisk walk over Karogoro Point to get better views over the headland. On the way out we saw quite a few kangaroos hiding in the undergrowth and openly in fields. We’ve seen quite a few of them now and I hate to say it, but we’re getting a bit blasé over them now! Still haven’t seen a Koala in the wild yet though.

Smoky Cape Lighthouse

A bit further up the coast was South West Rocks and Smoky Cape lighthouse, which we’d been recommended to visit. Smoky Cape lighthouse had Captain Cook’s Lookout by it so, of course, we had to visit that! An inscription on a block nearby said:

“Sunday 13^th May 1770: At noon we were by observation in the latitude of 30deg 43 S and longitude 206deg 45 W the northern most part of which bore from us N13deg W and a point 

and the view from the top

of headland on which were fires that caused a great quantity of smoke which occasioned my giving it the name of SMOKY CAPE bore S.W. distant 4 leagues it is moderately high land”

Great shot Pauline!

Tonight we are in a campsite called Nambucca River Holiday Park, which is a really nice place next to the river with an excellent kitchen, BBQ area, swimming pool and a pitch and putt course. It was still light so we had a game while we watched an excellent sunset, followed by a great dinner and the last of this batch of apple crumble and custard!

Sunset pitch and putt

The campsite pool at night

View from Captain Cook Lookout at Nambucca Head

Late note: Today (Tuesday) we’re a bit further up the coast at Nambucca Head, next to the river at its entry to the sea, with its preserved wetlands and a wooden bridge stretching right out to the sea through the edge of the mangrove swamps.

The bridge to the mangrove swamp and, in the distance, the Tasman Sea