Road trip 2011 - part 5

Next day we headed off for Arakoon National Park, home of Trial Bay Gaol. The gaol was initially built as a Public Works enterprise to house prisoners who could build a breakwater. This went on for many years as they attempted to rebuild the breakwater that kept being washed away. Eventually they gave up and the gaol was abandoned - until WW1 when it was reopened to house enemy aliens - that is, people of German descent who might find their loyalties on the wrong side. As we explored the gaol ruins the weather worsened and we got cold and wet.


The German prisoners found ways to fill in time, becoming book illustrators and craftsmen. They also got together to build a memorial up the hill from the gaol.

There were signs saying to leave the kangaroos alone as they could be agressive. So Louka didn't try to pat them.

The camping area was huge and it took us a while to find our spot. It was a good one, though, right beside the beach. Louka quickly headed off to explore.


She also headed off on her scooter round the camping area. We couldn't see her and she lost her way. Graham made enquiries of the few other people there and eventually brought her back.

Next morning was pouring with rain. We checked the weather forecast: rain. We'd booked another night and Louka was keen to stay but it was two against one, so we decided to head home.

Road trip 2011 - part 4

I wanted to visit Bellingen, because it's supposed to be arty-crafty, and a potter whose work I used to like now lives there. But internet searching had turned up zero places to camp in Bellingen. So we went for the Bellinger River at nearby Repton. It was a pretty, peaceful-looking spot, right beside the river. In fact, I hoped the brake on the ute wouldn't fail (or be played with by 5-year-old hands) or we would have rolled right in.



While shopping for camping gear for the trip, Graham had come across a complete fishing kit, and had bought it in a fit of enthusi-asm. Finally he had a chance to try it out. Using some bacon rind as bait, he lowered the line into the river and sat and chatted to another fisherman, while I cooked dinner. The sun was setting, turning the river pink, when I announced that dinner was ready. Graham pulled in his line and cried "Aargh, I've caught a fish! Now what do I do?" Fortunately the other fisherman was able to show him how to unhook the fish, after which he threw it back into the river. No fish for dinner.

Next day we drove into Bellingen to look for pottery. We found a craft complex with a little bit of pottery, but mostly it had imported "craft". I made enquiries and found that the potter I was interested in had taken up managing a small shopping complex. Oh well. We went inland to Dorrigo National Park and Rainforest Centre. The rainforest was similar to Lamington National Park, but perhaps with fewer large trees and fewer birds visible. We did the treetop walk (not as exciting as at Lamington) to a lookout where a special camera attachment had been set up.

We set off on a circuit walk, trying to persuade Louka to stay on the path. She much prefers to be just off the path. She enjoyed clambering over the rocks below the waterfall.

But soon after that she was wading through a pile of dead leaves when she started to yell and scream "Ow! Ow! OWWW!!!!" We don't know what stung her, whether a leaf from a stinging tree or an ant or other insect. We picked her up crying and wailing, which eventually subsided to snivelling, then she fell asleep. A sleeping 5-year-old is a heavy weight to carry on a fairly steep bushwalk. We were glad when, half-an-hour later, we reached the Rainforest Centre café. We set her down in a chair and ordered lunch.


After lunch we headed up the dirt road to the other, less popular, part of Dorrigo NP: the Never Never picnic area and walks. It was cloudy and dim, with the remains of very big trees.




As we emerged from the forest on the way back, we had to stop to let some cows off the road.

Road trip 2011 - part 3

After morning tea at Bill and Viv's new house, Connie and Bob returned home while we also began our journey home.

I had remembered visiting Lamington National Park a couple of times as a child, and as it is right on the Queensland/NSW border, thought it would be a convenient place to break our journey. Not taking into account, of course, that it can only be accessed via a narrow, steep, winding road from Canungra. I'm very very glad that road is not a busy one: there are places where you'd need to back out 300m of very winding narrow road, with a steep fall on one side, if you met an oncoming vehicle. Probably just as well it wasn't a weekend.


But the rainforest was just as I remembered it: trees with huge buttresses, intertwined root-trunks of strangler figs, thick vines across the paths, birds-nest ferns high in trees. And birds - lots of not-very-shy birds. Ironically, there are posters up in the campground advising not to feed the birds as they become annoying, while about 100m up the road at OReillys Guest House they advertise daily wild bird feeding sessions. Actually, the birds are annoying, sitting on your shoulders, pecking your nose, stealing your breakfast. But it is nice to see them wandering around the campground, unafraid. There were possums and wallabies too.







Best of all, from Louka's point of view, was the treetop walk. It was constructed as a series of rather narrow suspension bridges, and at the half-way point was a ladder up a tree. It led to a small viewing platform and a further, completely vertical ladder to another tiny viewing platform high above. Louka sped up it, followed close behind by Graham. I wasn't brave enough to climb it myself. And unfortunately I took no photos.

After that short walk, it was back down the long, twisting, narrow, steep road to Canungra, then south again to the Bellinger River.

Louka the caveman

Or cave-girl, I suppose I should say.

Today Louka's class put on an "item" at the school assembly, and parents were invited to watch. I'd known something about it as a call had been put out for volunteers to sew some caveman costumes, and I'd done my part by sewing up three bright orange lycra velour outfits (and what a pain they were to sew, too).

But nothing could really prepare me for the sight of forty or so small children dressed in Fred Flintstone gear, singing about walking the dinosaur and swinging their arms caveman (or gorilla?) fashion.