We left Sydney on yet another rainy day – so NOT what we had expected there! On the way out, we dropped by Bondi beach, a place both of us have heard of all our lives. We expected a huge, endless stretch of sand but found in reality something resembling Broadstairs or Bloemendaal. It was just a typical seaside town with a half-mile of beach which happens to be close to Sydney. So much for the famous Australia beach life, thought.120Km from the city there is a region called the Blue Mountains and we headed there, hoping it would change our luck. The area is so-called because of the blue haze created by the huge forests of Eucalypt trees (apparently there are over 100 types of them and they are all gum trees) but we weren't able to see much of that in the mist and clouds. However, after a night in a damp and 'yuk' motel - run by some North-England Brits who instantly told us about the location and quality of ladybars in Bangkok when we mentioned going to Thailand - we did manage to get a view
of the amazing Three Sisters rock formations and a beautiful valley from a lovely lookout. The hazy sky gave us the urge to move on and get away from Sydney.By luck rather than anything else, we ended up at Port Stephens after a day's driving. It's a beautiful area with a collection of little towns around the bay area, and we found a perfect spot to settle down for a couple of
days – the Wanderer's Retreat in Boat Harbour. It's a place with a half-dozen wooden huts in a Eucalypt forest, so you're surrounded by greenery and shaded from the now-burning sunshine. The sounds all around are Kookaburras (which cackle almost like monkeys!), cicadas, cockateels and various other birds, and the sound of the ocean laps in the background, a 5-minute walk away.
Yesterday was an amazing experience as we headed for the unique sand-dunes along Stockton Beach, which run for 35 km and are around 1km wide. Neither of us have been walking in a desert before so this gave a tiny taste of it. The sand was incredibly white and we were taken in by the formations and shapes the wind carves across the dunes, and we tramped up and down the sudden steep slopes that trick your eyes. Of course, sea in the distance in one direction and the green forest in the other gave the assurance that the sand would come to an end soon – a bit different to a real desert...The beach itself was incredible – this was what we were expecting at Bondi.
It went on and on for miles, almost no people on it, clean and crisp sand with no coral or stones in the water. We rushed out to meet the crashing waves and felt like 7 year-olds as we thrashed around in the perfect sea. More people were surfing than swimming, and we wondered what these people do for jobs that enables them to surf at 3pm on a Wednesday afternoon.
That evening, we had another Koala experience. This one was perched in a tree above the Wanderer's Retreat office and we were advised to keep to one side – sure enough just as we arrived, he peed and pooed – a narrow escape... He was just about awake and looked us in the eye – it seemed to us he was saying “what are you rushing around for? Take it easy...” It was just lovely to see him in the wild and apparently there are plenty around this area. They have many warning signs on the road to beware of hitting the Koalas, and a tally of how many road fatalities there are. I can't imagine how awful it would be to crash into one, they are so defenceless and do no harm to anyone.Today we wandered along One Mile Beach early in the morning and then on to Nelson's Bay and Dutchman's Bay, all of them beautiful, under-populated and white-sanded beaches. We're quickly realising that Australia's charms lie by the sea and not inland.
