Nelsons Bay - March 8

Summary: M&M’s go over and above the call of duty, landscape discussion, first impressions of Pt Macquarie.

What a great family. For our last night, M&M’s family from Canberra came to Sydney for the weekend. Alex had a great time playing with the kids (as illustrated in yesterday’s entry). More kids = more fun. We had dinner and chatted until rather later in the evening. Both of the M&M parents value sleeping in on weekend, but I said I was planning to leave relatively early because I was hoping to get to Nelson Bay en route to Port Macquarie. Unbeknownst to me (until I woke up), they got up early to make palachinki (Bulgarian crepes). Oh, and they packed a lunch for us. They did not just make a sandwich, but cleaned and cut a cantaloupe. Wow. They are kind of shy or their photo would be featured. Needless to say, I did not want to leave. But we had to and noon would not have been any easier, although the M&M’s could have slept in (had I known their plans).

So, with our departure from Sydney, we are leaving the last “familiar” of Australia, although it all seems pretty familiar and quite normal now. That is, I had been to Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide/Barossa, and Perth/ southwestern Australia before this trip. Now that I have left Sydney, all the rest will be new to me until my last two days (back in Cairns and overnight near Sydney Airport).

Sydney is not only a beautiful harbor and a top class city on every level, it is surrounded by amazing nature. To the East, there are the Blue Mountains. To the south is the Grand Pacific Drive, yet another spectacular ocean road with cliffs and curves that I would have taken had my route not swerved inland to hit Canberra (and had I not just taken the Great Ocean Road before Melbourne). As I drove north, I saw still more beautiful mountains and rivers. I was less complimentary of the Australian Alps, but these mountains looked like some of the best of the Appalachians. Comparable to I-24 from Nashville to Chattanooga (Tennessee), I-77 north of Wytheville (Virginia), or most of West Virginia (including the New River Gorge), the drive from Sydney to Newcastle was pretty on its own. No one amazing view, just a succession of peaks and valleys. We passed the Hunter Valley (much as we’ve skipped Yarra Valley, Gippsland wineries, and the wine region around Geelong in Victoria). I mention this primarily for the Muse’s benefit, in case she thinks I’ve hit every wine region in Australia.

It also occurred to me on the drive that we have gone from the cool south to getting into the tropics. There was a lightening storm our last night in Sydney and now it is back over 30 degrees and humid in northern NSW. Just like an old friend, it is time for heat and humidity to resume their role on this trip. The scenery north of Newcastle looks much more like Cairns – fairly dense deeper green forest with palms and other jungle trees taking a bigger share. The coastal mountain range makes for a beautiful backdrop of the drive – a little lower than the Australian Alps and the mountains between Sydney and Newcastle, but attractive for sure. There are also “fauna overpasses” over the highway for little forest dwellers to cross the freeway. Too small for a kangaroo or even a wallaby, they look more appropriate for a koala (if they were that active) or echidna (marsupial porcupine). Anyhow, it is kind of odd to see an enclosed cage-like walkway strung across the roads like a power line.

Just past Newcastle, we took the turnoff for Nelsons Bay. Nelsons Bay is the port town and Port Stephens is the bay. Oh well, we park on driveways and drive on parkways, so that inversion of titles is OK. Near Nelsons Bay is a series of huge dunes perfect for sand boarding. I was not sure if Alex would like it, but he did. We took a high-riding troop transport type vehicle over the dunes (some water had pooled from last night's rain, in case you notice it on the photos) to a big slope. The view straight down might scare one of our loyal readers, so I have no photos of that. Still, the slope across the way gives you the idea - about a 20-30 meter drop sitting on a wheel-less skate board. Alex sat on my lap and sand got everywhere on both of us, but it was a rush. Then you walk back up the dune and do it again. We could have stayed as long as we wanted, but time was not on our side as nap time and lunch time were bearing down on us. As a result, we kept it brief but it was very fun.

So we arrived at our timeshare property – the Wyndham Flynns Beach in Port Macquarie. Nice place, about a block off a really nice. Cool unit with the sleeping capacity for about 6 so Alex not only has his own bed, he has his own room. We drove around the area and downtown. The town seems nice enough – beach town in small town Australia. There is a Starbucks, which is kind of funny given that Perth, Darwin, and Cairns don’t have one. We got actual cook-able groceries since we have a kitchen. Mmm – pasta.

Next: rainforest walk and beach time