Marvellous Monto

The small town of Monto prided itself as the ‘Gateway to Cania Gorge’. But on the overcast Saturday afternoon that we arrived in it, it truly looked like everyone had packed up and left town, about 30 or 40 years ago. This place was like a museum piece, it was amazing! Driving around a little we did find a huge number of cars at the RSL – so there were living people.

When we came back through on a slightly sunnier Monday morning, there were lots of people about and Monto was clearly inhabited, but still so much of it was so incredibly old-school.

Cania Gorge

From Fraser Island we were keen to head inland to Carnarvon Gorge, but on further consultation with a map we realised it was actually over 500km away. This was one of the rude shocks we have received in terms of relearning to read a map through a Western Australian’s eyes, rather than Tasmanian or Victorian eyes!


So we settled on the far closer Cania Gorge, which apparently has a similar sandstone cliff landscape to Carnarvon Gorge. And it was lovely, camping right in the gorge, although the drought had obviously hit this area badly, and everything was so dry.




Had some nice walks around the Gorge and also got the tinnie into the Cania Dam in pursuit of unfamiliar fish like saratoga and bass. Despite the water level being so incredibly low, 8% of capacity we were told, the fishing was not a huge success. You’d think the fish would be more concentrated in less water, but it doesn’t seem to work like that. Tim’s not so happy relationship with freshwater fishing continues!

And now to the North

It feels like an important juncture in our trip at the moment – we’ve finally left NSW and are heading north, soon to be REALLY north. Not sure exactly when the REAL north kicks in, but it has been fascinating watching everything become gradually more tropical. Like seeing our first banana trees or cane fields, or the pandanus and subtropical rainforest.

It has been seven months since we left home, and we have another three and a half months to go. We probably got a little more waylaid in NSW than we originally intended, but we were having so much fun surfing. And NSW in general was such a pleasant surprise. I think we were expecting just constant suburbia, but instead found a beautiful coastline, iconic surfing spots, and seriously friendly people with time for a chat and lots of tips and information and help.

And it has been good to take it slow and to travel such short distances between places in NSW, we really spent very little time in the car most days. That is all going to have to change now that we are in Queensland. Its funny, when we first got to Tassie (and then to Vic & NSW) we realised we had to stop reading maps in Western Australian terms - looking at two places on a map and thinking they must be many hours apart rather than 30 minutes. But now that we are back in Queensland we are going to have to go back to our WA map reading ways – the distances are back to WA style distances. We’ve already been caught out a few times completely underestimating a journey.

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A few weeks ago the Sydney Morning Herald had a special feature on ‘The Big Lap’ focusing mainly on the retirees/ grey nomads constantly travelling around Australia. But they also had a short piece by a thirty something woman who was doing a 12 month around Australia trip with her partner. And so many things in the article could have been us writing, like this bit:

Since we set out from our home town, we have slowly but surely been unwinding. Already the life and daily grind we left back home seem a distant memory and each day is full of new experiences and discoveries. Cliched as it might sound, we are also finding more time for simple pleasures, such as sitting under a gum tree and bird-watching (often with our trusty field guide in hand) or losing a few hours with a good book. The rest of the time we are busy doing the things we love. Our car and caravan are like mobile sport shops and activities such as surfing, bushwalking, snorkelling, cycling, exploring new towns and picnicking often fill our days. It’s wonderfully refreshing. We have vowed never to work too hard again. Living is too much fun.

Yep, this is us! We even have the bird book and use it quite a lot. After more than six months of this journey we are now thoroughly unwound and chilled out. At this stage we are not sure how we will ever manage to live in a city again, or ever work in an inhumane office environment again (but humans are very adaptable aren’t they?)

Surprisingly, the Man about the Van and I have fallen into stereotypical male and female roles when it comes to setting up our home at each new destination. This was foreshadowed by the elderly couple who sold us the caravan…. At the time, we laughed a little at such old-fashioned ideas. But more than a month into our journey, I must confess that we have, despite all expectations, slipped rather comfortably, almost instinctively, into those well-worn gender roles.

We too have surprisingly developed more gender specific roles than ever before in our relationship. Tim now does pretty much all the driving and maintenance of the car, and Nic does pretty much all the cooking. We justify it as each working to our strengths! Although Tim still does more than half of the laundry, and Nic still does a fair amount of heavy lifting.

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So at this important juncture in our trip we can report that it is all going fantastically well. In answer to the many questions we are asked:

* We are getting on fabulously. There is no doubt that we squabble more than we used to, but hey, 24/7 together is no mean feat! In general we are surprising ourselves with having so much fun and never running out of things to talk about.

* We are eating so well, and we eat out rarely. We do miss having a griller and an oven that doesn’t involve making a campfire, but otherwise we are eating far better than we were at home before we left.

* We LOVE our camper trailer, which we say to each other most nights when we ease into our comfortable bed. And having the decent sized shelter from the rain has also been very useful at times. By the way, a camper trailer and Toyota 4WD, preferably a troopie, is the rig de jour for the 30-something traveller around Australia! Every couple we’ve met of our age doing this trip, and there has been the grand total of 3 couples so far, have had a similar set-up.

* It is astonishing how easily our days are filled - we really don’t seem to have that much down time. Nic thought she’d be spending hours each day doing loads of yoga, playing guitar, relearning to draw, writing a journal every day, all that sort of stuff. And Tim thought he’d be fishing or surfing every single day. But we don’t have that much time where we just sit around, so all these grand plans have not come to much. Yoga is really the only habit that has developed so far.

Fabulous Fraser Island

We called in at Noosa for a quick overnight stop, and unfortunately missed any surf, which was a shame because it looked like a great spot. Decided to push on for Fraser Island, which involved a barge across the Noosa River then a couple of hours driving up Cooloola beach to another barge across to Fraser Island.

Found a quiet little spot to camp along the eastern beach (otherwise known as the beach highway!) and settled in for a few days. And really only encountered one dingo that lurked around our camp for a bit, and then stealthily took a fish while Tim was fishing close to the water. Tim came back to a knocked over bucket and a set of dingo prints leading up to the bucket and then away from it! The Parks & Wildlife hammer the ‘dingo awareness’, there are signs everywhere about not leaving food or rubbish out, how to behave if a dingo approaches, to the point where you start to feel a little paranoid that there is going to be a bloodthirsty dingo behind every bush.


Fraser Island is a pretty amazing place, had to keep reminding ourselves that we were on a big patch of sand. Especially when we were in some lush rainforest in the middle of the island. The perfectly clear creek running through with a white sandy bottom was a bit of a giveaway though. We got to the famous Lake McKenzie of the perfectly clear blue water over the white sandy bottom, and it was beautiful.




Fraser Island is also incredibly popular with backpackers and apparently hostels in Hervey Bay and Noosa put together self-drive tours of 8 or 9 backpackers in a troopie - obviously with the bench seats still in the back! - and all their gear on roofracks on the top. It was a big thing, we saw so many troopies while we were there, Elsie felt quite at home.



You could be forgiven for thinking that Toyota sponsored Fraser Island, there were that many troopies there. And Toyota did actually sponsor a big fishing expo/competition on the island that was quite clearly HUGE although luckily it was all happening well away from where we were camped and wasn’t due to start until after we left. But the blokes and their huge array of boats started arriving a few days before the competition started and on our last day there, the traffic up the beach was quite intense. There was a tricky bit of soft sand to get past a rocky headland, and there was a huge lineup of cars towing boats getting towed by another car, people watching all the fun (!), jeering at one bloke who got bogged, all with stubbies in hand. 4WD’ing as spectator sport!?!?!?

All that glitters...

And then to the Gold Coast! Not sure if we were just looking for it, or whether everything really did change when we crossed the border into Queensland. Like the woman in the car next to us at the first traffic lights we came across, all bleached blonde hair and dripping gold jewellery in a sporty little convertible.


We didn’t intend to spend long at the Gold Coast, but we had to see it and had to check out all the famous surf breaks. As it turned out, the swell had picked up substantially, and all the breaks were packed, there was a big Malibu competition on, and so Tim and I were content to watch rather than battle the crowds and (for Nic at least) the big waves.



Coolangatta was kind of chilled out compared to the rest of the Gold Coast, and we amused ourselves by looking for all the little fibro beachhouses that had somehow escaped being demolished and replaced by high rises!




We drove up to the hinterland as well, to the Lamington NP for a beautiful rainforest walk which felt like a million miles away from Surfers Paradise! The drive back down to the coast took us through the spiritual home of big box shopping. It was truly astonishing just how many shops there were, big box after big box, all large chain retailers.


From that mayhem we went to stay with Nic’s cousin Craig and Lucy, Michael and Gabriella, in the delightful quiet of the hills north of Brisbane. It was a fleeting visit but great to catch up with them and be surrounded by quiet!

Far North Coast NSW

Timing is everything when you travel innit? In so many ways we’ve timed our far north coast interlude all wrong.

1. There has been absolutely no swell – nothing. Being in a surfing mecca and the ocean being flat torments Tim no end.

2. Unbeknown to us we arrived at Broken Head (just south of Byron) just before a Queensland long weekend, which also featured a big ocean swim with 1200 entrants and a surfing competition in the area. Byron was absolutely jam packed for the entire long weekend, with the normal hordes of backpackers, as well as Qld long weekenders. There was even an enormous traffic jam coming into Byron on Sunday, which admittedly was market day. (Which were great by the way, like the best stalls of the Denmark markets multiplied by 10!)


3. On Tim’s birthday on Monday, we went for a bit of an exploration into the hinterland to the beautiful Protestor Falls in the Nightcap National Park and to Nimbin. It was the day after the two day Mardi Grass festival and the whole of Nimbin seemed to be suffering a serious hangover, it was so seedy and horrible. Giving Nimbin the benefit of the doubt, we think we got our timing wrong there as well.

4. Despite moving to Brunswick Heads for a bit more chilled-out-ness (see below) we’ve managed to time it to coincide with some major roadworks on the Pacific Highway that have been making the earth shake.


I (Nic) was last in Byron Bay about 11 years ago and it has changed a lot. I remembered the main street being charming with little weatherboard shops and a very subtropical feel. Now, the street is dominated by hideously expensive surf shops, others selling cheap Indian clothes and other ‘homeware’ shops selling South Asian crafts. I think all the small independent shops I remember have moved to Bangalow which feels a bit like Byron used to feel. Not sure what the remaining shops in Byron would do without craftspeople and sweatshops of South Asia!


There is no bush camping for a long way around here so we were forced to stay in yet another caravan park. We’ve stayed in quite a few in NSW, because so often it is the only place to camp in the places we want to be (i.e. near the surf breaks!).

Broken Head, just 8km south of Byron was surrounded by nature reserve and right on the beach, and seemed perfect for the first night. Until all the long weekenders/ocean swimmers from Queensland arrived and completely surrounded us with their elaborate tent cities. And of course we ended up right next to the loudest group who yelled along to the Angels song ‘Am I Ever Going to See Your Face Again’ (complete with the answering chorus) until late despite our pleas for just a little lowering of volume. So we packed up from there and moved a little north of Byron to the substantially more chilled out Brunswick Heads, right on the river (with Mt Warning in the background) which we’ve explored in the tinnie.


After that big long whinge, you might reasonably ask why we are perservering and why we don’t head bush again? It is all about the surf, Tim ain’t going anywhere until he gets a good surf in this surfing mecca, and we’ve heard that the swell is picking up in the next few days. And despite the timing issues, we have had fun around here - been eating some sensational food, and exploring into the hinterland, around Cape Byron and the lighthouse, and the Brunswick Heads area.


STOP PRESS: The swell finally picked up on Wednesday and Thursday and Tim finally got his surf at Byron. Despite our pre-dawn arrivals The Pass was absolutely packed, although people tell us it can be even more hassled, with over 100 surfers out there in the lineup!!

Bellingen & Dorrigo

A break in the surfin’ safari –since there was no swell forecast we headed for the hills again, going up to Bellingen and Dorrigo for a touch of rainforest.

First stop was the lovely Bellingen for a wander down the main street which was such a curious mixture of hippy shops selling Indian clothes and essential oils and some seriously designer shops occasionally selling similar Indian cotton skirts with a different label and a 1000% markup! Is it the fate of every funky alternative little town to turn ‘designer’?

Bellingen did have some great art deco buildings to look at and some very good food. We bought groceries and then treated ourselves to a great lunch and glass of rose at a restaurant also frequented by George Negus at the next table. Nic managed to not pester him and say ‘Love your work George’. It was odd though to hear such a familiar mellifluous voice right next to us.


We then headed up the steeply rainforested hill to the chilly heights of Dorrigo, along the Waterfall Way, which lived up to its name. The following day was sensational – starting early with a look at the Dorrigo National Park, and our quick stroll turned into a solid two hour walk, mainly because this rainforest was so compellingly beautiful. So lush and diverse and supporting huge numbers of birds – we were both largely silent on the walk around just soaking it all in.




Then onto the New England National Park, via a spectacular waterfall or two. Point Lookout was at about 1500m and was, funnily enough, a fabulous lookout into the surrounding mountains. We walked on a track just below Point Lookout where the dry eucalypt forest abruptly gives way to dripping rainforest and Antarctic Beech, relics of Gondwanan forest. And it felt seriously Gondwanan – we would not have been surprised to see dinosaurs in the undergrowth. It was very splendid.




From the rainforested mountains we went back to the coast, stopping at a little beachside village outside Coffs Harbour called Moonee Beach. It was beautiful and quiet and it was about the only place on the coast with surf. We ended up at the Caravan Park that night – like so many CP’s along this coast it dominates the best beachside position, and we camped with a perfect view of the ocean. And had a surf that night and the following day.

Surfin' Safari #1

Feeling very soggy we drove on to Taree and had a gander at the big oyster, inexplicably on top of a car yard!

We camped in the Crowdy Bay NP, at Diamond Head, a big busy campsite, and we just about fell over when the campsite caretaker said, ‘Well at least its nice and quiet for you’. Hate to see it when it is busy! Maybe that’s how it got the name Crowdy Head?!

We hadn’t quite managed to outrun the big band of rain, so we spent a bit of time driving around the countryside staying dry. Which included the sights of Dunbogan (sounds suspiciously like one of those nameplates people put on their holiday houses) and Laurieton. We went up the big hill that had been dominating the skyline for days to be rewarded with extensive if somewhat cloudy views! And got in a little rainforest walk.


Despite being recommended Diamond Head as a surf spot by the blokes at Seal Rocks it wasn’t any good for Tim. Nic however had a ball in the little waves!


Next stop on our slow crawl up the north NSW coast was Point Plomer, which we got to the hard way - via a car ferry from Port Macquarie and an un-maintained track, which was essentially a series of enormous pot holes. And despite still trying to outrun the rain, it came right with us, for another couple of days. It does seem churlish in these days of drought to resent the rain, but camping in it, after days and days, puts a little dampener on the mood and all our belongings.

Point Plomer a slow righthand break – south of the legendary Crescent Head – was a fun surf for us both, best on a rising tide mid afternoon and we enjoyed a couple of good sessions.

It was a really friendly campsite, maybe the rain brought us all closer together somehow. From the 17 year old couple from Adelaide on a six week journey up the coast, to the couple travelling around Australia with a 7 month old and a 22 month old – how hardcore is that! The professional net fishers were awaiting the mullet run up the coast and hung round mending nets, drinking thermoses and yarning. And then the lovely old couple next to us who spend a month every year at Point Plomer – he especially was so delightful, a gentle old fella with a twinkle in his eye, that Nic was very tempted to adopt him.

And then when the rain stopped and the sun came out (after about a week of grey) it was like a revelation, as though the world had been reborn or something equally as biblical!

From Point Plomer we called into almost every surf spot mentioned in the surfing atlas up to Nambucca Heads - none of which had any real surf due to lack of swell. But Scotts Head did have fantastic murals. And Nambucca Heads was a beautiful spot with good fishing.

Myall Lakes NP

By the time we got to the Myall Lakes National Park we were absolutely gagging to be bush camping again. It has gotten so that the slightest whiff of ‘town’ makes us want to head for the bush again as fast as Elsie will take us.

Myall Lakes was a good spot. We camped at Mungo Brush which is basically a little spit of land between a lake and the ocean. So we had fabulous lakeside views for our campsite, and a beach just over the road that we could drive onto in search of the best place to surf or fish.




So for a few days that is all that we did – surf or drive up & down the beach looking for surf, wander around the bush, row the tinnie out onto the lake in search of fish. And heard and saw the first dingoes of the trip!


We left Mungo Brush to check out the northern end of the Myall Lakes NP at a place called Seal Rocks, close to a famous surf spot called Treachery Head. Seal Rocks is a delightful spot, just a caravan park and a few houses. The Mark Warren Surfing Atlas of Australia, currently an important reference, tells us that developers have been eyeing off Seal Rocks for ages but so far it has remained pretty unspoilt.

There wasn’t a lot of surf out at Treachery and it was blowing a gale and we drove back through Seal Rocks, with the intention of leaving, I (Nic) noticed that the little sheltered surf break looked like my kind of wave (i.e. small and tame!) We ummed and ahhhed about staying/going and then decided to drive off, and then I changed my mind. So we tossed a coin, and it came up heads (to stay) three times. And I did have a great surf.

But the next morning after it had rained ALL night and the rain showed no sign of abating, we were wondering about the wisdom of staying. We waited hours for a break in the rain long enough for us to finish our packing up process.

Luckily four middle aged blokes on a surfing trip, camping right near us, took us in while we waited for the rain to ease up and gave us a cup of tea and a homemade Anzac biscuit and lots of tips about surf spots and camping spots right up the coast.

Still in the clutches of city-ness!

Coming down from the Blue Mountains we took the long route around the Hawkesbury River. We’d originally intended to stay there, but for a few reasons, including the mosquitoes in plague proportions, we decided to push on for the coast.

It was getting late, and The Entrance was nearby so off we went. Going through Gosford we kept waiting for all the built-up-ness to dwindle and for the little seaside village to emerge – but it didn’t! At this stage we were still very much getting used to just how populated and built up the NSW Coast is!


Found a funny little old caravan park stuck in the middle of suburbia but it was cheap and it suited us for a night or two, while we checked out all the famous surf spots nearby, like Avoca Beach.

We had a long surf at Soldiers Point, along with all the school holiday crowds. I (Nic) found all the lithe, tanned, 16 year old surfer chicks just a little intimidating. How DO they keep their string bikinis on whilst getting wiped out? Even in a tight rashie I end up with it around my ears, and my bathers all over the place. And they make it look so EASY while I wallow around in the whitewater, or tried to keep out of everyone’s way on the wee little waves.

We then spent a day in Newcastle, catching up with old friends of Tim’s parents. We had a lovely lakeside lunch with Bill and Jackie and Beth and Edgar which took up most of the afternoon. Edgar then showed us around Newcastle the next morning before we continued our trip north.