Australian Walkabout

Map of New South Wales

04-11 Aug : Sydney with Alan Kennedy

I finish my happy employment in the Sydney suburb of Epping on Friday August 4th and am joined in Sydney the next day by Alan Kennedy, a college friend from UCD. My Epping housemates throw a fine barbecue to celebrate my departure. Us Paddies spend most of the first week viewing the sights of Sydney and preparing my recently acquired Ford Falcon station wagon for our big road trip 2800km up the coast to Cairns.

A Sydney Institution; Harry's Cafe De Wheels Pie Stall

Fri 11-Aug : Blue Mountains

This is our first day out of Sydney with a day trip to the beautiful Blue Mountains to the west where we do some great bushwalking in the Jamieson Valley and cheat somewhat by catching the hair-raising inclined railway back up to the valley rim. We still have not made the break the break from Sydney though as we return to spend a final night at Epping base camp.

Sat 12-Aug : Sydney to Terrigal

Alan and I finally manage to pack up our stuff and make a break from Sydney. We only get as far as Terrigal, 30km to North but it is at least a start.

The final departure from Epping, featuring Pat, Richard, Steve and Alan.

Sun 13-Aug : Terrigal, Hunter Valley, Tamworth

We go to Hunter Valley wine-producing region for tasting of fine vintages, cheeses, relishes and fudge. We also go for an interesting tour of one of the wineries where grapes are turned into winning vintages or pure plonk. We drive on to the New England farming town of Tamworth, which is 'The Country Music Capital of Australia'. Unfortunately there is no country music to be found on this wet and cold Sunday night (FORTUNATELY in Alan's opinion), so we play pool in the local pub to the backdrop of heavy metal on the jukebox.

Mon 14-Aug : Tamworth to Coffs Harbour

Many Australian towns have joined the craze of 'Big Things' in order to snare tourists like ourselves. Tamworth's entry in this category is the very big 'Golden Guitar' and country music museum; it deserves a photograph for the record. We then do lots of driving through the plateau of the Great Dividing Range. We take a pleasant break at the dramatic waterfalls and gorges of Collomombo and Ergo, where we are thrilled to see our first wild kangaroo. At nightfall we arrive at the coastal resort of Coffs Harbour.

Alan gets into the country mood at the Golden Guitar, Tamworth

Tue 15-Aug : Big Banana, Big Prawn, Byron Bay

Coffs' contribution to the 'Big Things' is the Big Banana, which is a stunning 10 metre long creation in yellow fibreglass. It has an interesting banana plantation attached and a cafe serving more banana creations than you could ever wish for; my favourite was a cheese and banana hot dog which marries these ingredients with a savoury sausage to tantalise the taste buds. For dessert it is hard to turn down a chocolate-coated frozen banana on a stick; YUMMY.

That's a lot of banana !

Further north along the Pacific Highway, the town of Ballina has the 'Big Prawn' perched atop a fish and chip shop. We stop for the night in the town of Byron Bay, which is a surfer and hippie haven at the most easterly point in the Australian mainland. Tie-died tee shirts, dreadlocks, relaxation and strange aromas pervade the town. It is a very laid back place and a pleasant contrast to the commerciality of many other coastal town.

Especially for the seafood lover

Wed 16-Aug : Cycling to Cape Byron, Frisbee

This is a relaxing day away from the highways. We cycle to Cape Byron for the fine views and photo opportunities at the most easterly point. We later play frisbee on the beautiful but chilly beach in an attempt at integrating with the surfing lifestyle. The radiant orange harvest moon is a magic sight as it rises over the ocean.