Coffs Harbour Bubbles

We’ve spent the last five days in Coffs Harbour, so that Luke could do his advanced dive course ahead of scuba adventures in Turkey.  He spent three days out on the water exploring Split and South Solitary Islands.  I joined him on the final day and we had a lot of fun.  South Solitary is home to a large posse of Grey Nurse Sharks, and on his first dive there Luke saw about 30 of them.   I was lucky as well and saw about 10 on my dive.  We got within a couple of meters and had a really good look.  The islands are a unique place where the southward flowing warm water East Australia Current (EAC dude) meets the cooler upwellings from the Tasman Sea.  That means it’s a crazy meeting point for all sorts of tropical and temperate species – grey nurses and nemos, just as one example.  On my second dive we saw a whole lot of cool things – turtles, eagle rays, lots of fish and a giant cuttlefish (about a meter long – amazing).

The dive shop is affiliated with a backpacker’s, so we’ve given Troopy a rest for the last few nights.  But that little luxury is over and we’re back in the truck tonight.  There is supposedly some bad weather blowing in, so fingers crossed we find some sheltered spots to hide out (and maybe get a few waves).


Picture below is of Luke and I before our dive (can you tell who's who?) and I've uploaded some of the better underwater shots to flikr (kindly shared with us by the Banana Coast Dive DM Nicki, since my camera is still with Olympus for repairs - unfortunately, none of the sharks).  South Solitary Is Diving Photos

Inland Loop - Part 2

The inland loop is complete and what an amazing 10 days we had.  From Narrabri (where Inland Loop Part 1 was written) we spent a day or so touring around the district.  The first stop was Sawn Rocks - one of the best examples of organ piping in Aust (see photos).  We then trekked to the summit of Mt Kaputar (~1500m, of which Troopy climbed about 1480m - thanks Troops!).  From this point you are supposed to be able to see 10% of NSW.  I'm not 100% sure about that stat, but the view was certainly expansive.  From there we went on the hunt for Blue Billed Ducks, and were fortunate enough to find one at Old Quilpoly Dam.

After outdoors adventures, we turned to some "cultural" activities and found our latest big thing - the big guitar in Tamworth (see photo on the big things page).  That was about the extent of our inland culture and after a quick stop to fix out gas bottle we trucked on to Armidale, where we caught up with a friend for lunch (thanks Paul!).

A fitting end to the inland loop was a trip down the escarpment to the coast, taking in three national parks - New England (amazing waterfalls), Cathedral Rocks (lots of granite boulders) and Dorrigo (beautiful rainforest).  The latter is part of the Gondwana Rainforests World Heritage Site that extends from Lamington NP in the Gold Coast hinterland down to Dorrigo NP.

We are now at Crescent Head on the NSW mid-coast.  We spent about 3 hours in the surf today getting some fabulous waves and mixing it up with the long boarders (there is a comp starting here in a day or two and the offshore swell is picking up to 15 foot!!!).

The photo below is at the summit of Kaputar and the following link is to some shots from the inland loop - make sure you click on each thumbnail, becuase Luke has stitched together some great panoramas.  I hope they give you some idea of the amazing landscapes we experienced.  Inland Loop Photos

Inland Loop - Part 1

We are about half way through our inland loop in central western NSW.  We left Sydney and drove out through the Blue Mtns down to the Capertee Valley (on the north western edge of Wollemi National Park).  The drive past the coal fired power stations around Lithgow sparked an indignant debate in the car about the energy future of Australia - well maybe debate isn't the right word, since we're both on the same side, but I am sure some politician's (and former client's) ears were burning!! 

From Capertee, we headed up to the Warrumbungles - what an amazing place, probably the highlight of the trip so far!!  We spent three days and did two walks to take in the scenery of the park from various vantage points and were amazed at the spectacularness of it.  Luke took some great shots, including a few panoramic ones, which I'll upload soon.  We then headed down to Narrabri through the Pilliga Scrub.  We stuck mostly to the nature reserve parts and visited some great Aboriginal sites and did some more walking and nature appreciating.  There was also some more debating about the coal seam gas issue (and probably some more ears were burning!!).

Our bird list is growing, with some good twitching in Capertee (Luke's favourite bird spot so far) and the Warrumbungles. 

We have also experienced the low light of the trip out here, with temperatures plummeting overnight.  The worst was three consecutive nights at -3oC, -2.9oC and -4oC, and that's inside the car!!

Now we're off to Kaputar NP and then a few spots around Tamworth, including the Big Guitar!

Old Haunts

From Canberra we have travelled over well known territory from the south coast of NSW up to Sydney where we are now.  We hunted far and wide for a good surf break, but the 6+ foot swell and 20-30 knot winds threw a spanner in those works.  We've had a few paddling dominated sessions and a fun play on some beachies at Gerroa (somewhat spolit by some bastard stealing my thongs from the beach - who does that, and more to the point, who wears a strangers thongs!!).

We are now toodling around Sydney, catching up with friends and visiting old favourites (Doy Tao King St tonight).  We are hoping for a surf at Cronulla and Bondi before we leave the big city behind for our western NSW loop.  Hopefully the cold front that's pushing through won't be too unkind.

Some photos from Tarra Bulga NP in Vic are now on flikr - thanks again Anna for pointing us in that direction.  Tarra Bulga NP photos  Also, some new Aussie icons.  Haven't been to any big things in a while.

The Nation's Capital

We have made it to Canberra and the life of a nomad is so busy that we're only just getting around to updating the blog!!  Since last time we have had a lovely time traveling through eastern Victoria, had a brief stop on the far southcoast of NSW and have climbed the largest hill in the country.  The synopsis is as follows:

• Checked out the Rip Curl pro surf comp at Bell's and decided we would die just trying to paddle out (!!)
• Cracked it at the tourists and easter holiday crowds on the Great Ocean Rd
• Had yummy fish and chips in Queenscliffe (reputed to be the best in the country - we are now committed to confirming this)
• Took Troopy on the Queenscliffe to Sorento ferry
• Admired the Mountain Ash (E. regans for the botanically enclined) in Tarra Bulga NP.  These are the largest flowering plants in the world reaching heights of up to 110 m (see the photo of a baby at 75 m below).
• Hung out with Southern Brown Bandicoots and Ground Parrots in Croajingolong (sp???) NP in eastern Vic
• Had some good and some average surfing experiences
• Took the long way up to Mt Kosciouzko (sp???)
• Hung out with friends in Canberra

Planning on some touristy things in the Nation's Capital today and tomorrow and then hitting the coast for some dedicated surfing time.  Will sort out some photos and post on flikr soon (my camera has crapped itself, so relying on Luke for the shots at the moment.