Well folks this should be the last post prior to the trip we are currently on so once this is out the way it should not be much longer before you will only be a week or so behind us.
BATEMANS BAY
Firstly I must apologise for not providing a photo for the park we accommodated for 3 nights; unfortunately we could not recommend where we stayed. The park is called Pleasurelea Tourist Resort and Pleasureless may have been a more appropriate name given the way it was when we were there; when you look on the web site it looks fantastic but not so in reality.
The sites were messy with some having building material scattered about, the grass was well overgrown and the amenities were inadequate. The park has a lot of permanent sites which are closest to the main amenities block so the caravaners get a block which only has 2 showers & toilets and these are on a 3 minute timer, for added interest the button to turn the water and timer on is outside the shower door (how stupid).
We were not overly impressed with Batemans Bay but it is coastal and does attract the tourists. If you do intend to stay there are cheaper and better parks than where we stayed.
SHOALHAVEN
After Batemans Bay we were on our way to Kiama but decided to stop off at Shoalhaven Heads and glad we did; this is a great little spot with little to do but just relax. No Coles or Woolies here and little else other than a couple of shops and a take-away come mini supermarket/newsagent. Major shopping is about 20km away at Nowra so you can get to the hustle & bustle if you want to.
The park of choice is (in our opinion) Shoalhaven Heads Tourist Park it is not a cheap park with rates at around $34 p/n ($204 p/w) but is in the best location and is a very clean and tidy park. The amenities are first class and they had just opened a new pool area; the park does cater for kids so in peak I would suspect it would be quite chaotic. The park is only about 100m from the beach and at the end of a road so very quiet. Follow the above link if you want to get more park and attractions info.
There are 2 other parks in Shoalhaven Heads that are a little cheaper but location, sites etc are not a patch on this one, all but a few of the sites are grass but well maintained and being close to the beach if it rains it drains away very quickly.
Above is our site; the pool is in the background.
The beach at Shoalhaven Heads; well worth a few days or longer.
KIAMA
We have friends at Kiama (Barry & Anne) who we have met on several occasions whilst travelling and we were determined to catch up with them; they were back from a holiday so we arranged to stay in Kiama for 2 weeks, glad we did as it is absolutely beautiful here.
There is quite a few parks in the area but again in our opinion for location and value for money nothing comes close to Surf Beach Holiday Park which is one of the council owned Kiama Coast Parks (4 in total). It is a small park but well maintained and good amenities; it has a pool and a good indoor camp kitchen. This park is within walking distance to town and sits right on the surf beach at Kaiama. The rates here during our stay was an unbelievable $25 p/n or $150 for the week!! (pensioner rates) or $30 p/n ($180 p/w).
Things to do include Kiama Coast Walk (20km of coastal walks), the little and big blowholes, Illawarra Fly Treetop Walk and then the Railway Museum and plenty of outstanding lookouts. You can easily spend one or two weeks here (or longer).
Our site at Kiama; the park is a mix of slab and grass sites so if you have a preference book accordingly.
The lighthouse at Kiama; there is so much to see and do here and most of it local.
This is the main blowhole next to the lighthouse; the sound it makes when rushing in is amazing and the subsequent spray of water is awesome to watch. The best displays occur when the seas are running strongly from the south east.
Barry & Anne took us up to the Saddleback Mountain lookout which is spectacular; the day we went there was some low level cloud but even so the view was stunning.
I could not resist taking a photo of the street sign; many a good time had here (apparently).
Above; Barry & Anne, our good friends and hosts whilst we were in Kiama; this photo was taken on one of the great days we spent fossicking at Sapphire in Central Queensland a couple of years ago. So if you spot them in Kiama see if they have any old gemstones they can part with (or rocks we all thought were gemstones).
Thanks guys for your hospitality and the tours around Kiama and surrounds it was fantastic, what a great little town you live in; I know you are getting back on the road soon so hope we can catch up again.
SYDNEY
Have to mention that we did go in to Sydney city for a day via train early one morning from Kiama; we took lots of pictures of the usual stuff that cities have and I am sure most of you will have seen the things we saw.
As you know we are not too keen on the large cities and major centres as there is way to much hustle and bustle for us, everyone seems to be in overdrive to get to places or do something in a hurry.
So without further ado below is a picture of Sydney; enough said so lets move on.
BUDGEWOI
Nice little town situated 16km on the northern side of The Entrance; we did have a look at the parks at The Entrance but decided to stay here as it was less crowded with larger sites for vans.
The park was Budgewoi Holiday Park and is part of the Central Coast Holiday Parks (all council owned) so the link will take you to their main page, you can select Budgewoi or any of the other 3 parks on offer.
The park sits on the foreshore of Lake Munmorah; during our stay the park was well maintained and the sites were very roomy. The amenities were quite good and kept clean and there is a large undercover BBQ area and camp kitchen; a young couple manage the park and were very helpful and easy to deal with on check in.
Phone, TV and internet services were good so no dish required here; the rates when I checked were $23 – $25 p/n off peak or the normal 7 nights for 6 option so price wise very good considering what others are charging out there. Great place for a few days or longer and it is easy access to The Entrance for major shopping, there is a Coles along with 3 clubs at Budgewoi so it is not that isolated.
Our site sitting opposite the lake; best check availability if visiting in the shoulder or peak season, also check their web site for the rates at these times, not much difference on shoulder but it is expensive at peak periods.
HALLIDAYS POINT
Another very quiet part of the world and little to do here but lay back and relax; the town does have a pub, bowls club and a reasonably sized foodworks but that's your lot apart from a few take-away places.
We stayed at Happy Hallidays Holiday Park which is very good, however be aware this park revolves heavily around families (children) so if you have any reactions to lots of kids (Brian, this means you) it would be best to only visit in off peak and then maybe only mid week. The activities the owners have put in here (and still going) makes it like a mini fun park, it has train rides, jumping pillow, tennis court, mini golf, games room with jump in ball pits etc, outdoor pool and movie nights and they were halfway through the construction of an indoor heated pool with spa's.
The current owners have been here 24 years and are constantly improving the park; sites are a good size and you can choose between slab or grass. The amenities are spotless and are checked on a regular basis; the owners are right on top of the park maintenance and cleanliness of the park. Phone and internet was good but we had to use our dish for TV; rates are not cheap at $34 p/n in off peak and I don't think they have a weekly rate on powered sites. There are 2 other parks in the area but I would not recommend the one at diamond beach as it is mostly permanent's and does not look very good.
I must clarify that when I talk about phone service in these posts I am basing this on Telstra's Next G so I can't comment on other carriers. As far as TV goes we only run a shitty Winegard so those with more elaborate antenna's may fair better.
Our site at Happy Hallidays
NAMBUCCA HEADS
Stayed here for a week at the Foreshore Caravan Park which is right beside the Nambucca River. Nambucca Heads is more a river system so fishing is prime seems if you roll in to these parks without a boat they wonder what you are here for. There are some beaches in the are so it's not all fishing but it rates pretty high.
The Foreshore park comes under the family parks banner; the place is a little dated and the amenities whilst old are kept clean. They do have a BBQ for use but that is pretty much it; there is no pool or any other activities so it is not really a family orientated park, mainly meant for fishing people and the geriatric set. TV, phone and internet are okay; all major food shops are here but don't go looking for Myer or David Jones. Rates here off peak are $30 p/n or $180 for the week (7 for 6) so not too bad.
We had a slab site that looked on to the river; glad we did get a slab cause it rained for 4 days.
The V wall breakwater is a colourful display of messages and artwork done by travellers to the area; everyone is welcome to leave a message or mark of some kind, finding room for one is the problem.
Part of the Nambucca river system that runs off the ocean; for the totally blind the ocean is to the left and the river to the right.
This is quite a unique part of the main street in Nambucca Heads and is just outside the police station. It is a free formed wall which is covered in mosaic tiles and has lots of interesting household items embedded in to it, you can see a toilet pan mid right of the photo.
LENNOX HEAD
This was the last stop we made other than Tweed Heads before getting back in to Scarborough for Christmas and we are pleased we did call in to Lennox Heads. We stayed at Lake Ainsworth Holiday Park; location wise you can't get much better as it sits on the corner of the surf beach and lake Ainsworth making it ideal for beach and calm water activities.
Lennox Head is a fairly small town with a few restaurants, bowls club, pub and an IGA supermarket; the good part of being here is it is nice and quiet and yet you are only a few minutes from major shopping at Ballina (8km) or the upmarket tourist town of Byron Bay (15km). Both nice places to visit but was always good to get back to Lennox Head
The park is very clean & tidy and the sites were well maintained, nothing worse than arriving to an overgrown dirty site. The amenities were good and kept to a high standard during our stay. The park on checking seems to have risen in price from when we were there; we initially paid for a week and then extended for an extra 3 nights so the 10 in total cost us $288 but it now seems off peak is $37 p/n. There are far more grass than slab sites so if you want a slab best book one; TV, Mobile and internet was fine. There is no pool here but given the water that surrounds the park it is not required as the lake is great for swimming or kayaking.
Our site at Lennox Head; plenty of room and good wide roadways.
One of the beaches in the area.
The Byron Bay flower power bus at the Byron markets; it is parked in a roped of area and the guy wants $5 if you want a photo; obviously he has not heard of cameras with zoom lenses.
Spotted this bus doing a tour thing around Byron; the front half is the daytime touring part of the coach and the rear is the sleeping quarters (bunks). This was a first for us to see such a vehicle, some of you may have seen something like this elsewhere.
Okay that has nearly got us up to date; from here we headed to Scarborough for our couple of months of family time over Christmas. After that we moved slightly north and west once more with our main objective getting to the west coast; we obviously travelled through previously blogged towns so the next post will start with Camooweal which is approximately 200km west of Mount Isa.
In case you are wondering we are currently in Broome so the next 2 posts should have you just about on our doorstep.
Until then keep well; if you are travelling please stay safe on the roads.
Love & warm regards – David & Linda – The DavLin Rig
