So New South Wales is a bit chilly this time of year. I knew my bikini days were pretty much over the moment we crossed the NSW border. Well, that was after our 2 days in Byron Bay. That was awesome, but I always think of Byron being in Queensland even though it’s officially just inside NSW and we did spend most of the time on the beach.
But seriously after that, as we continued south, the average daytime temperature has been around 16 degrees and night times have dropped down to as low as 2degrees! (with feels like temperatures below 0). Our conclusion? More blankets & more clothes! We have invested in a very retro large blanket for the bed and I got myself another hoody ($15 bargain in Cotton On where proceeds go towards supporting the farmers). We are now sleeping with socks on, hoodies and even woolly hats with our hoods up to keep out the chill.
But despite this, we have seen so many benefits to travelling in the winter. We knew we were eventually going to hit the cold weather as we continue our journey South and we still wouldn’t have it any other way. We still admit we would prefer this over the really sweaty nights in the van. Here’s why;
No sweaty nights means you don’t have to shower as much. The longest we have gone so far is 5 days (we use wet wipes in between). On average we find a shower every 3/4 days. Yuck, I know!
Winter means almost no flies or mosquitos to worry about as it’s too cold for them. HOWEVER, it does appear to be the nesting season and in the last week, I have been swooped by magpies three times! If it’s not geckos landing on my head or finding frogs in my toilet, I am now getting attacked by birds! Not sure what I have done in a past life to deserve it but back to the positives…
Winter travelling usually means off-peak seasons (apart from when we were up north which is the more popular time to go outside of the cyclone season). This means you rarely need to book excursions or campsites in advance or worry about getting to free camps early enough to get a spot. It’s great for us who haven’t really planned much at all and like to ‘go with the flow’. You sometimes find yourself being the only one at the camp or with only 1 or 2 neighbours at this time of year. Usually, you will find excursions and campsites cheaper too which is always a winner.
And finally, as the van is pretty much a refrigerator, we don’t have to buy ice as much to keep our food cold. Bingo.
So with this in mind, we are trying not to complain about the cold too much. I’ve accepted that the winter clothes are now out, shorts and t-shirts are tucked away for now and the tans will start to fade. But after almost 5 months of pretty perfect summer days with cool nights during our trip, it’s only fair we experience some of our adventures in the colder weather too.
So when we got into NSW which was 2 weeks ago now, we wanted to get to Sydney fairly quickly as our friends who we know from the UK (now living in Manly) were soon to be heading back to the UK to get married. We were able to stop off at Coffs Harbour and Dorrigo National Park for a couple of nights on the way. We were told about Dorrigo NP from a local guy we met at a free camp. He told us about this walk you could take through the rainforest and we jumped at the idea. It was a 7km, hilly route which certainly got the legs working hard again, but it was so worth it. We passed so many incredible trees, with trunks the width of our van, and roots which wrapped around the trees forever.
About halfway around we got to a beautiful waterful where we stopped to get a couple of shots and then took the bridge past it, and that’s where we saw the cutest little rainbow through the water. Not forgetting the incredible views you got from the skywalk near the entrance.
We rewarded ourselves with a large bowl of hot wedges from the rainforest cafe, keeping a close eye on the local bush turkey which kept wandering around our table and eyeing up our food.
Unfortunately, the day didn’t end quite as well as it started. As we headed back on the motorway towards our next free camp for the night, we started hearing a weird noise, followed by smoke coming from the engine! Tom quickly pulled over in a layby to find the temperature gauge on the dashboard had risen to the top.
It was obvious the engine had overheated, we thought the worst and that the head gasket had blown. After leaving the engine to cool and starting her up again, it was clear we couldn’t continue driving. At this point, it was around 5 pm and we knew we had to call for roadside assistance. Luckily we have RAA cover! Long story short, we were towed about 20km back to a nearby town called Port McQuarrie where we were dropped off outside the mechanic’s workshop. As it was past working hours, we had no other choice but to head to the local pub, drown our sorrows, eat a schnitzel (Tom tucked into some salt and pepper squid) before heading back to sleep in the workshops carpark. It wasn’t our best nights sleep as you could imagine and we up at sunrise to grab a coffee. Once the garage opened at 8 am we explained what had happened and awaited our fate or Barker’s fate shall I say.
Although thinking the worst and planning our worst-case scenario next steps if Barker was going to cost too much to repair, we were pleasantly surprised to hear there was simply a loose valve which stopped the coolant reaching the engine. They tightened it, gave all the coolant a flush through and whambamthankyoumam, Barker has been running smoothly ever since! The 150 dollar bill at the end was a very small price to pay considering.
After our little blip, we were thankful to make it to Manly in time to see our friends. We had a couple of days with them, where they generously let us camp up in their car parking space before they headed off back to the UK. We stuck around to explore more and we soon fell in love.
We loved the vibe here. It feels like everyone has a ‘get up and go’ approach to life with everyone on the beach by sunrise either playing beach volleyball, having a surf, going for a run or taking their dog and babies for a walk. We love how you can walk everywhere too! No need for a car here, you can walk right up past the main beach, across the boardwalk over to Shelley beach and then carry on and get to the Sydney Harbour National Park within 30 minutes. Walk the opposite direction and you will get to another awesome beach in Curl Curl which had a great breakfast cafe too!
The waves here were unreal too. A surfers paradise, and at night, well you have entertainment for hours if you want to just sit and watch them like we did. I’m not surprised Crystal and Glendon have settled here so well.
At the end of the week, we took the ferry over to Sydney to meet our friends in the city. We haven’t seen them since we were all working on the strawberry farm. It was so refreshing to catch up with no strawberries in sight. Just a couple of wines at the Opera Bar with the perfect view of the Sydney harbour bridge. That farm work sure feels like a lifetime ago now!
And that just about brings us up to yesterday. Monday 3rd September – the day my second niece entered the world, who now shares her birthday with her Nonna Rita. What are the chances!
We had arrived in Canberra early yesterday morning and spent the day visiting the Australian war memorial, houses of parliament and went for coffee in the city centre. It was that evening when we had 10 layers of clothes on to keep warm in the van that we received the news that Margot Vivienne Murray had arrived, weighing 8pounds 6oz. It was the best warm fuzzy feeling we had wished for. I’m sure you’ll agree she’s perfection!
As much as we both can’t wait for a cuddle with her, our journey must continue and the 3-week countdown until this epic road trip concludes back to Adelaide. This morning we took a long drive south past the Snowy Mountains and across the Victorian Border. Here we are keeping warm and excited for our Tasmanian adventure to begin on Thursday! Watch this space.
Gemma.