After a couple of days in Nelson’s Bay we are back on the road again today for the drive past Sydney.

We left Tiona on Monday morning and continued along the Lakes Way until we took a slight detour down to Seal Rocks. We had thought about staying here at one stage but decided it wasn’t far enough along the road, but when we arrived we almost started to think about it again! There was a gorgeous bay with calm waters that would be perfect for swimming in, a beach that stretched all along the bay to the rocky headland on the left and just a few metres to the right there was a sandy access strip that led out to the crashing waves of the ocean itself. We toyed around with the idea of staying for a few nights but in the end sense prevailed as we knew we had a time scale that we should at least try to stick to, and we were back on the move again.

We arrived at our destination around lunchtime and after looking around at the many accommodation options, decided on a nice little area called Shoal Bay, just a couple of kilometres south of the main hub of Nelson’s Bay. As there was still plenty of daylight left after we had got ourselves set up we headed up the road to the base of Mount Tamaree, where a walking track to a lookout at the top of the mountain began.

The first section of the track was pretty steep but kept to the fairly normal brick path that we have become used to as it wound its way up the slope. However, the second part of the track the pathway was replaced with metal stairs and bridges connected by rocky pathways that traversed the side of the mountain through the trees. It was like being on the bridge of the Starship Enterprise with all the metal ladders and mesh walkways, only with a few rocks and the odd tree thrown in for good measure!

When we reached the top we were offered up views back in the direction of the town and the many neighbouring beaches, out towards Port Stephens Lighthouse, out across Myall Lakes National Park and the surrounding headlands, and once again out into the vast nothingness of the ocean. There were also a couple of small islands just off of the mainland which we read were now conservation areas and very important habitats for various birds that breed on the islands. People are now prohibited from these islands so that they don’t disturb the ecosystem that is so vital to the winged inhabitants, which raises the question as to how they know the birds still go to the island if nobody is allowed on there to check?

Yesterday we decided on a leisurely morning soaking up some sun on one of the nearby beaches, so after breakie we took the bikes up to Zenith beach. Ever tried cycling on dry sand? Not exactly easy, so we left the bikes at the top of the beach and wandered down just a little way so that we were out of the shade of the mountain and began to enjoy the warmth of the sun. We found that once again we had the beach to ourselves for most of the day, which is something we are getting used to now as there are very few people travelling around at this time of year and those that are tend to be heading north to get away from the cold weather that we are heading into!

After a while of lying on the sand we began to realise that it wasn’t actually as warm as we had first thought and by the time midday came around, despite the sun still shining down upon us, the breeze from the sea had become too much and we headed back to camp. When we got back we opted for a friendly game of tennis as there was a half size court at the caravan park and there was still plenty of warmth away from the water. Everything was going fine for almost forty-five minutes until Jen decided that it might be a good idea to hit herself in the face with her racket! Once she had recovered and finally accepted that it was in fact her fault and nobody else’s, we continued our merry game for a little while longer until she tried to return a Sampras-like smash with her wrist and found that not only was it pretty ineffective, it was also painful!

After an hour we returned back to camp so that Jen could rest her swollen wrist and eye until the evening set in and we went for a stroll along the beach as the sun was going down behind the town. We even treated ourselves to some good old fashioned fish and chips for dinner from a recommended little place up the street before settling in for the night.

In just a few minutes we will be leaving Nelson’s Bay and starting our marathon journey past Sydney and on to Kiama.