The Great Lakes

Tag 49: 09/10/2018 - Great Lakes and Bulahdelah

Our day started with a leisurely breakfast in the warm morning sun on the banks of the small river where our Liu was parked. The scolding bird mother had gotten used to us and no longer screamed every time we approached our camping table by the water's edge. The trees surrounding the riverbank were reflected in the calm water, and the first fishermen joined their boats in the water at the boat ramp to our left. After enjoying our 1A instant coffee, we went to the sanitary facilities because Julian had once again needed a haircut from me (we had already postponed it for a long time, it was about time). Unfortunately, the electric shaver didn't work the way we wanted it to. We quickly realized why: the power had been turned off at the campsite that morning until early afternoon! So the appointment had to be postponed again.

Since we wanted to arrive in Sydney before the weekend, a longer car journey was planned for today. We drove for just under three hours on the motorway heading south. Along the way, we took a short snack and restroom break as well as refueled. Our van consumes about 14 liters per hundred kilometers, so we have to refuel every few days and the tank doesn't last us 400 km.

We finally arrived in the twin towns of Tuncurry/Forster, which border the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Great Lakes to the west. The towns are surrounded by water, with small river arms running through them and connecting the sea with the lakes. We stopped at a lookout point in the Booti-Booti National Park, which we hiked up a wooded hill for another 10 minutes. From the lookout tower, we had a nice panoramic view of the ocean, beaches, bays, forests, and lakes in the hinterland. Loud clapping sounds in the distance caught our attention. A humpback whale not far away kept slapping its tail fin on the water. We looked out over the ocean and saw a total of about eight whales in different locations, splashing or jumping out of the water with their side and tail fins. We watched them for a while before descending and driving to the shore of one of the large lakes. Here too, we took a walk along the water's edge. Numerous fishing boats loaded with equipment gathered along the entire shore. The sky was bathed in special colors, and pelicans and other water birds swam on the lake. I kept looking hopefully into the treetops of the eucalyptus trees, but unfortunately, I couldn't spot any koalas. We took some photos and finally got back in the car to drive to our campsite, which was another 45 minutes away. The road led across a narrow strip of land, with the sea or lagoon on either side. One last time, we stopped at a dune to take a short detour to the beach. Except for two men sitting on the dune, the long white sandy beach was empty. In the large breaking waves right in front of us, a group of dolphins frolicked as they hunted for fish. We watched these animals for a while before finally heading to our sleeping spot. It was located on the large grounds of a bowls club in the town of Bulahdelah, which offered a restaurant, a bar, and a betting office. This game, popular with the older generations in Australia, is similar to the bocce we know. It's fascinating to watch the gentlemen skillfully send the balls down the lanes. After dinner, we made a detour to the club bar and tried our luck with a small bet on the slot machines. It remained a fun attempt, and then we snuggled up in our warm camper.

Knütsche,

J and J 🌞