Today is a driving day for us as we are heading up the coast. We have been doing some calculations and note that we have about 2500 km yet to cover to get to Cairns by Dec. 14. We are heading to Brisbane but will not make it in one day and don’t want to be rushing like that if possible. So we have picked the town of Bonny Hills since it is beside the ocean with a nice beach and is about 500 km from Katoomba.
We have to drive back towards Sydney on the coast from the Blue Mountains before turning north on the coastal highway. However, our goal is to drive and get settled by mid afternoon so we can enjoy the ocean and beach on such a beautiful sunny day.
One of the notables for me was the highway section outside of Sydney where it must be a major hub, or someone spent time in California studying their highways and decided the spaghetti look of under and overpasses was fun to make. This is really the first area we have encountered where there are at least 4 or 5 levels of highway interchanges happening.
Much of the drive north, even though it is a coastal highway, is done far enough inland so there are no ocean views. In fact the terrain is really much like northern Ontario without the lakes. Just hills and trees with not much else.
We arrived to the campsite before 3 and got set up with lots of time to head to the beach. The beach is about 3 minute walk outside the gate of the campsite and we walked down to have a look. What a nice beach, but it is windy and therefore some waves (not huge ones) but we were surprised to see no one swimming. There is a section of the beach that has life guards but again no one was swimming so we wondered why? No matter we returned to the camper and got changed since we were going swimming even if no one else was.
By the time we returned there were several others in the water so we felt a bit safer. I chatted with one of the lifeguards and he explained that the water was chilly today so not a lot of swimmers. We went into the water with me muttering to Wes, “If it is too cold I am not going to be in here long.” It was beautiful – not as warm as a swimming pool but definitely warmer than the lakes back home. We had lots of fun in the waves. However, the sand in the water was constantly shifting and the wave action created pockets or holes. Walking into the water was like walking blindfolded on a roller coaster. You might only be knee deep and by taking one step forward be up to your waist, then the next step back to knee deep. Try walking in that while being pushed around with the waves...it was fun.
We finished swimming (being concerned about too much sun and not enough sun screen) and headed back to relax at the camper. Beside us is the start of a party and we learned that it was a company staff party – their Christmas party. We found that quit funny as they were sitting around with drinks and swimming in the pool. I know, why party with a pool when there is an ocean minutes away…I don’t know the answer but I asked that to myself too! And then to call it a Christmas party!
Even though we have done about 5 ½ hours of driving today we have had so much free time to enjoy the area we are very contented. Tomorrow the plan involves driving the Water Falls route that will require us to drive inland a ways and by the time we finish it will be another 5 hours of driving…but we are told the water falls are worth the drive.
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