I grew up in Nowra New South Wales and live in Queensland, normally when we go home for Christmas and other events we do one almighty drive straight through with possibly a stop at Stu and Alesia’s place in Port Macquarie either going down or coming back. This time we decided to take a couple of days to do the trip and see and do a few things along the way. 

Day 1 19th Dec 2023 

We didn’t get going particularly early, we ate some breakfast and then hit the road at around 7:30am. The trip down was relatively smooth going. Australia is a massive country, think along the likes of Brazil or the United States of America, the major difference is that we have a tiny population, to put it into perspective America has almost as many illegal emigrants living there as we have population. As such the government has put a truck load on funds into upgrading the federal highway systems so that we can move goods and people around the country via roads as opposed to other forms of transportation such as rail. This has had the effect of making the trip between Brisbane and Sydney really relaxed with large sections of 100 – 110km/h highway and many of the smaller towns have now been bypassed.

Destination Arrawarra

On day one we were heading for a surf session at Arrawarra, and then on to some accomodation at Coffs Harbour. Arrawarra is one of the places that the surf crew had gone on one of their adventures to. Unfortunately this adventure had taken place during the school term, and with the work load, I hadn’t been able to tag along. When Arrawarra is on it is apparently one incredible long boarding wave. We stopped at a rest stop on the way and arrived at Arrawarra at around 12pm. Unfortunately this was not one of the days when it was on, instead there was a fair wind coming from the north. 

Moona Moona

We had a quick look at the map and decided that Moona Moona might have a sheltered spot just on the other side of the headland. We drove down to Moona Moona to take a look but couldn’t figure out how to get over the headland. We found a car park a couple of Km south along Moona Moona beach and then walked back from that direction. There were indeed some nice waves and the wind was a bit better, but it was still not great. Besides there was no way we were going to be able to carry the surf boards against the 40km/h winds up the beach. We met some people relaxing on the sheltered side who said we could have walked a track from the Moona Moona inlet up over the headland. We filed this information for another time and headed back to the car to carry on with our journey. 

Lunch in Coffs Harbour

We made our way in to Coffs Harbour and ate lunch at the famous, I don’t know if it is famous, but it should be, fish and chip shop on the Jetty. As always the food was tasty and the massive break wall blocked the wind making sitting outside quite comfortable. After lunch we made our way to the accomodation and had a siesta. 

A stroll along the beach 

In the afternoon we drove over to a local shopping centre to collect some ingredients, and then went for a stroll along the beach, which was not far from the accomodation. We watched the sun slowly sink on the horizon while a large C-17 type aircraft did loops around the city. We wandered back to the accomodation and cooked up some steak and vegetables for dinner, we even picked up some garlic bread to go with it. 

Day 2 20th December 2023

First surf at Coffs Harbour

After passing by Coffs Harbour heading back and forth from Nowra for so many years, and having been a keen active surfer for a good percentage of them, this was finally the day I was going to chase a few waves there. I can’t believe that I surfed in the Philippines before I surfed Coffs Harbour, let that sink in. We got up reasonably early and made our way down to park beach. The wind had died down and the waves were small and fun with the occasional larger set. We were the only ones out surfing, I couldn’t even see anyone surfing along the break wall over near the jetty. We both managed to catch a few fun ones and Christine even managed to catch a couple of them on film using the Go pro wrapped in the waterproof housing. Once we had had our fill we packed up and made our way back to the accomodation to have some breakfast. 

Next stop Sydney 

After breakfast we packed up the car and made our way down to Sydney. Once again we only stopped a couple of times to collect some fuel and take a bit of a break. We arrived in Sydney and checked in at the Meriton Suites. We unpacked and then decided to make our way down to China town to get some dinner. We walked down to China town, which was actually a bit of a hike, it would turn out that we could have easily taken the tram. The transportation system in Sydney has been upgraded so that you can simply tap on and off the busses and trams with your debit or credit card, very handy. Having said that it was a great way to see all of the old terraced houses and small shops dotted around the inner suburbs of Sydney, and work up an appetite at the same time. 

China Town

We hunted around China Town and found that the restaurants that used to be downstairs are now upstairs. We ordered Singapore noodles and some chicken luxa. We chilled after our walk, ate our food, drank some beer, and then carried on with our journey. We walked down to Darling harbour to take a look. There wasn’t a great deal happening with large sections of area walled off for construction. They were in the process of building some spectacular looking parklands and play equipment, so I am sure it will be more interesting next time we take a look. After walking around Darling harbour for a bit we decided to make our way down to Circular Quay.

Circular Quay

Back in the day there was an intercity bus that used to take you on a loop that would get you from Darling Harbour to Circular Quay and back again. We spoke to one of the bus drivers and she said that she this loop didn’t exist anymore. She did however give us a lift down to Wynum Station, she said to walk up to George Street and then wander down to Circular Quay from there. Once we got to George street I could see that the old busses have been replaced with the light rail line, this will take you everywhere you want to go in the intercity. 

Dancing under the Bridge 

We took a look at the Rocks area and then danced some salsa and bachata with the Bridge and the Opera house as back drops. We played with camera shots to make it look like Christine was holding the Opera house and one of the Manly Ferries. We then wandered around to take a look at the Opera house.  We caught the light rail back to Moore Park and then walked through it to our accomodation. Christine was not overly impressed with the concept as Moore park is not well lit in the evening, she was even less impressed when I suggested we cut through the fenced off golf course. 

Day 3 21st December 2023

Bondi  

We got up relatively early and collected some things from the Coles down stairs with which to make breakfast. After breakfast we checked out and made our way over to Bondi beach. It was freezing, raining and a bit gusty, perfect beach weather. We didn’t struggle to find a carpark and then wandered down to the beach. I took a couple of photographs of Christine in front of the famous surf lifesaving tower from the Bondi rescue show. We decided to go and find a croissant, however because it was cold and raining, everyone else had the same idea and had already eaten them all. We found a cosy cafe to chill out in, drank a couple of hot chocolates and watched the world go past for a while. 

Kiama

Once we could brave the wet and cold again, we set out and made our way down to Kiama. Now this is where the windy, treacherous conditions finally paid off, apart from making it easy to find carparks at Bondi beach. Kiama is home to a fairly large blow hole, and with the wild weather this was a particularly good day to go and take a look. Every few minutes a huge jet of water would issue from the blow hole this would then cause a load of spray to get carried by the wind soaking the small groups of sightseers who were walking the gauntlet between the two viewing platforms at the time of the eruption. We ate lunch at one of the cafes in Kiama and then made the journey down to Nowra to catch up with the family. 

Day 4 22nd December 2023

Today was mostly spent catching up with family and friends. We did check out a new French bakery that has gone in next to Woolworths, these guys make really nice croissants. In the afternoon we managed to dig out a small pine tree that had sprung up next to the driveway in to mum and dad’s place. I dug down three sides of it and then dad using the tractor managed to slide the bucket underneath it. We took it to the house and potted it on. The kids then spent the afternoon decorating it with tinsel and lights.

We had Christmas early as the kids were all heading in different directions with Hope and Hayden off to Canberra and Emett heading up to Sydney. They opened their presents and then Hope, Kayden and I had a paper fight afterwards.

Day 5 23rd December 2023

Point Perpendicular Lighthouse

We decided to make our way out to see the Point Perpendicular Lighthouse. I am not sure that I have ever been out to the lighthouse and if I ever did it would have been back in primary school. We needed to go through a check point to get into the lighthouse. They asked a stack of questions, including names, number of occupants of the vehicle, if we had any pets with us and our phone numbers. There is a bombing range opposite the lighthouse and the lighthouse looks out in Jarvis Bay. When we arrived at the light house it was open and we were able to walk around the grounds. We checked out the view across to Jarvis Bay and then watched the rock climbers scaling the cliffs that surround the light house. 

Fish and Chips at Currarong 

After our light house adventure we drove in to Currarong to see if we could find some lunch. With the help of some friendly locals, we were pointed in the direction of a nice little fish and chip shop that was just up the road from a relaxing park. We collected our fish and chips and then set up on the picnic rug under the shade of a tree in the park. The weather was warm and sunny and from our position we were looking down onto a small beach with crystal clear water and tiny little waves. 

Day 6 24th December 2023

Surf at Gerroa 

We didn’t get up particularly early, ate some breakfast and then decided to see if we could catch some waves. We made our way to Gerroa and easily found a car park, probably because it was raining and miserable. We waited for a break in the rain so we could get our wetsuits on. The waves were actually quite good with small 2 -3’ faces. There was also lines of white wash rolling in to shore that were rideable. I paddled out the back and caught a fair few waves. Christine decided to fetch her board and do the same. She was riding the white wash closer in with dad. After I had caught my fill of waves I caught one in to where those guys were riding and then rode a few with them. 

Shoalhaven Heads

After our surf we packed up and made our way down to shoalhaven Heads. Even though I grew up on the south coast, I don’t think I have ever actually been in to Shoalhaven heads. We took a quick video for Geoff O’Rourk, who grew up in Shoalhaven Heads and sent it to him. Mum and dad have been coming to Shoalhaven Heads to get their coffee fix from a small cafe that operates out of the surf life saving club. 

In the evening we had a Christmas Eve party at mum and dad’s place, all of the neighbours descended on the house to help celebrate. It ended up being quite a turn out, we enjoyed good food, good company and chatted into the evening.

Day 7 25th December 2023

Christmas Day 

With all of the kids growing up and doing their own things, and Hope, Kayden and Lana up in Canberra, Christmas Day was a bit of a quiet affair. We got up a bit late after last night’s festivities, did some yoga, ate some breakfast and then went for a walk to have a look at a cliff line that is not far from mum and dad’s place. 

We decided not to go for a surf as it was stormy and rainy, instead we relaxed around the house, ate a leisurely lunch, had a siesta and chilled into the evening.

Day 8 26th December 2023

A surf at 7 Mile Beach

We were up relatively late, we ate some breakfast and then decided to make our way down to the beach for a surf. We had a look at Gerroa however the recent rains had made the water muddy. We then trouped down to the 7 mile beach section. The water here was clear, but in true 7 mile form it was choppy as. We managed to surf some of the white wash before heading in to take a shower. We packed up an made our way down to Shoalhaven heads for a couple of hot chocolates. 

Jack and Pearly’s old place

We had a siesta in the afternoon and then made up tacos for dinner. After dinner we decided to go for a walk down to Jack and Pearly’s old dairy. We made it down to the shale quarry and part way back before dad came down with the ute to collect us. 

Day 9 27th December 2023

Stu and Alecia’s Place in Port Macquarie

We didn’t leave particularly early, we ate breakfast with mum and dad, packed a few things in the car and got on road. The trip was relatively straight forward until we hit the tunnel coming out of the north side of Sydney. This is where the holiday traffic ground everything to a halt. The traffic was a snarl all the way through Sydney and out the other side, the pace didn’t pick up until we were north of Newcastle. We collected some supplies for dinner from Taree and then headed to Stu and Alecia’s place. Stu had only just arrived before we did. We unpacked and got cooking, we had dinner in the oven within 15 minutes of arriving. It is about this point that I should mention that the 6 hour trip had taken us 9 hours so we were running a bit behind. Dinner ended up being a little singed as Stu’s oven is not quite the same as ours. All of the kids were around including Ashton, Lachy, Novi & Kya, they arrived at the house just as dinner was being served, they had been at the beach all day and were famished. Thankfully we had picked up extra food so we had enough for all of us and they even had seconds. 

Day 10 28th December 2023

A look at Lake Cathie

We were out of Stu and Alecia’s place relatively early. We picked up some fuel and then found a cafe where we could have some breakfast. We drove in to port Macquarie and down to Lake Cathie to take a bit of a look. Christine looked up some of the house prices and found that they were averaging around $800K. This actually ridiculous as Lake Cathie and Port Macquarie are actually in the middle of nowhere, with limited work opportunities and limited facilities. It is actually anomalous that a country the size of the United States of America with only 27 million people and large sections of sparsely populated country could be commanding nearly a million dollars for a small block in the middle of nowhere. When compared to annual salary this is still not great coming in at more than 8 – 10 times annual salary. It would be safe to assume that we are in the middle of a housing bubble and that at some point it will need to deflate, however I have been saying this for years and yet the house prices continue to inflate with no signs of coming back to reality anytime soon.

A surf at Byron Bay

The last time I went to Byron Bay was when Pat and I were doing our big trip up the east coast to celebrate the end of high school. We decided that we should take a look at Byron Bay on the way home. We drove in to Byron Bay only to come across the same line of traffic that had deterred Pat and I from going in back in 1998, I wondered out aloud if perhaps the same people were still stuck in that line up. 

This time we stuck it out and were rewarded with a carpark near the beach. We went for a quick walk and then grabbed some lunch from the Mexican Cantina. The meal was large and delicious, with the benefit of hind sight we probably should have shared one. 

After lunch we made our way back down to the beach for a surf. We scored some great little waves that were rolling down the side of a rocky outcrop. We rode the waves until it was time to pack up, we were limited by the time on the parking meter. We showered off at the surf club which opens onto a large park where musicians were playing live music. One cool thing about Byron Bay was the number of overseas tourists, there were people speaking French, Italian, Portuguese, Tagalog and a host of other languages. Many of them were relaxing in the grassy park while listening to the live music. 

We packed up the boards and made our way back home. We settled in and then went for a light workout to finish off the day.