We became citizens on the 26th of January, got our stuff together on the 27th and hit the road on the 28th which somehow is only 2 weeks ago.
Starting Point
Our first stop was Coffs Harbour, a lovely coastal town in the “Mid North Coast” of New South Wales. We stayed in a fancy caravan park (fancy for a caravan park that is) right near Park Beach for 5 nights to start things off relaxy style.
Before we made it to our camp site though, we had to make a pit stop at the first of many “big things” which also happens to be the first thing that was a “big thing” in Australia… the Big Banana.
After getting our fill of the big banana, we set off to setup camp. It was the week that the new school year started so we had our spot mostly to ourselves with our closest neighbors two spots down and only on two nights.
Coffs Harbour camp siteOne of the many lovely beaches in Coffs Harbour
The whole time we were in Coffs, it was hot and humid so the caravan park pool was a very welcome amenity.
Pool time at Coffs Harbour Caravan ParkPool time at Coffs Harbour Caravan Park
We took a day trip out into the hinterland, driving along “Waterfall Way” to get to Dorrigo National Park. Not too long ago Waterfall Way was devoid of waterfalls due to drought, but recent rain meant we had plenty of falls to check out. The worst part for me, as with seemingly all scenic drives in Australia is that the road was super narrow, windy, and hilly. But it was scenic as promised and we got to do a lovely hike.
The usual scary item tally to watch out for on a hike in AustraliaView from the Dorrigo lookoutThe making of (the park had a cool place that you could lock in your camera for a selfie)
We mainly spent our time in Coffs Harbour exploring the area, checking out beaches and sitting around our camp site. It was a great time even with lots and lots of bird friends and fiendish mozzies early in the morning and at dusk 🙂
The birds got used to us being around after a whileCoffs Harbour view
After taking our time at our first stop, we’ve gone a bit mad and made it through 8 more stops in the next 9 days. I’ll leave it here for now so I can actually get something posted, but I’ll write more about the other stops soon.
Since we needed to stay in Brisbane for our citizenship ceremony on Australia Day, 26 January, we decided to do a trial run of loading up Suz (our hearty 4WD) and camping. Jon and I are not exactly sure when we last went camping, but we’re pretty sure it was a long time ago and it was definitely not in the middle of summer. We decided to head back to Bribie Island where we learned to drive Suz on the beach. We went on Monday, 20 January and returned on Wednesday, 22 January.
Packing the car went pretty well. Then again, there wasn’t much room to spare and we’ll have more stuff for our 2+ month trip so we’ll see how loading up goes tomorrow! The drive out on the beach to our camp site was blissfully uneventful. We went straight to our camp site and setup camp. It was a bit earlier than the official check in time of 2 pm, but no one was at the site so we moved in. It took over an hour in the midday heat to get things sorted which left plenty of time for some afternoon relaxing.
The way into the camp siteView of our camp site looking away from the waterView of our camp site looking toward the water
We decided to use the cold showers 2 camp sites away for a rinse off just as the skies were darkening. We quickly took showers and scrambled back to our site just before a massive thunderstorm hit. I’m still not sure if it was the biggest thunderstorm I’ve been through in a while or if it was just that we were out in the wild in a tent during it, but I think it was a pretty big storm. We had the tent all sealed up with ourselves inside wondering what was happening outside as the rain poured and the wind blew. Finally it passed and we’d escaped unscathed. Phew.
Camp dinner after the storms
The next day we walked from our camp site up to an area of historical ruins from a fort established to protect Australia from attacks in WWII. It was a beautiful walk up and back along the beach and through the wetlands behind the ruins. The bugs were only super bitey for a little bit.
We had some rain showers in the afternoon, but nothing like the thunderstorm the night before. We were able to just sit under our beach umbrella and relax.
Wild life!
Our camp site was over the dunes from the beach and I knew that high tide didn’t even reach the dunes, but that didn’t stop my sleep addled mind from thinking that some waves were going to come crashing over the dunes in the middle of the night when the wave crashing noise got significantly louder. Luckily that was just my imagination. We survived and mostly loved our two nights of beach camping. Woohoo!
Unfortunately, the worst part of the trip was yet to come as I bogged Suz in deep HOT sand about 100 yards from getting back to the regular road. One guy stopped to help, but ended up not having a hook attachment to be able to pull us out so we were digging away in order to use these tracks we have to drive out, but we needed to do a lot of digging and the sand was hotter than I knew sand could get and we were both wearing flip flops and sweating buckets. Luckily another stranger stopped and this guy was able to pull us out and into the parking lot very quickly. Such a champ and now a fellow Aussie…
That’s right, yesterday, we officially became Australian citizens by attending a ceremony and getting our citizenship certificates. It was quite an elaborate ceremony at Brisbane City Hall with 592 fellow immigrants getting citizenship.
Citizenship Usie (photobomber unknown)An attempt to give a feel for the crowdThe Royal Australian Navy Band, Queensland provided musical entertainment before the ceremonyNunukul Yuggera Aboriginal Dance Troupe welcoming usFor some reason the mayor wears a lot of bling (foreground) The Australian Girls Choir performed (background)It’s official!
