Port Maquarie

Our next stop in our tour of New South Wales was the seaside town of Port Macquarie.  It was a 3 hour journey from Hunter Valley but naturally we made some detours along the way.  One such detour was Myall Lakes National Park, whose stunning lakes form the largest natural freshwater system in NSW.  The added bonus of the park is that it is right beside the sea; on our left hand side were beautiful lakes and forest and on our right were stunning beaches hidden by giant sand dunes that stretched for miles and miles.  We drove the Lakes Way from Tea Gardens to Bulahdelah and once more were blown away by the scenery.  Unbeknownst to us, part of the journey was on unsealed roads and upon discovering this (too late to turn around), we were raging that car would have to be washed yet again.  For the first time we hoped the rain would make a brief return!

The beach at Myall Lakes National Park

From beach to forest

Myall Lake

Port Macquarie is home to a koala hospital and we made a brief stop here before we embarked on the long journey to Byron Bay.  We arrived around feeding time and we saw a few koalas move around a little less slow than they normally do!  The rest of them were still sleeping in the trees, but we managed to take a few snaps and coo over them before we got on our way.

Cutie #1

Cutie #2

The night before, the rain started and it wasn’t for a little while; it lashed throughout the night, while the wind howled.  There was a brief respite during our koala visit the following morning but no sooner were we back in the car than it started again. 

Our detour during the drive to Byron Bay was Dorrigo National Park, some 45 minutes off our route.  The park is a World Heritage rainforest and has lots of trails and scenic routes to hike.  Undeterred by the rain, which was bucketing down at this stage, we donned our rainjackets and ventured into the rainforest.  Once again there were amazing views across the valley and we passed some beautiful waterfalls.  It was worth getting soaked for.

Dorrigo National Park

Two drowned rats

The remainder of the drive to Byron Bay was long as we had a further 4 hours to go.  No distance in Australia is a short one.  We were entertained by kangaroos hopping along through the fields and kept going by the fact that at the end of the journey there would be a pub showing Ireland trounce Italy in the Rugby World Cup!