Scotts Head, Coff’s Harbour and Woolgoolga

Our Valentines night at the Motel went very well; Claire did have the Lobster Mornay but I went for a steak. They had an old guy playing music and I can assure you, he sounded much better than he looked and played all our old favourites from the 70’s and all our modern favourites too. Anyway we got talking to Ray and Narelle on the table behind us and shared another bottle with them after we had finished. It was their wedding anniversary so congratulations guys and thanks for making our night. They will be visiting England in July as its Ray’s 60th Birthday and he wants to go back to visit the village where he was born for it. They also seem to have set themselves as much travelling as we have just been through visiting England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Hopefully we will catch up with them on their way around and remember guys; you are welcome to stay with us on your way around anytime.

We started by driving around the corner to see the river by the club but the weather seems to have caught up with us. It has been moving up the coast faster than we have so the pictures never seem the same without a little blue in the background. There is also a saltwater lake somewhere around but I think we missed that. Anyway it was back onto the Pacific Highway for a while before taking the tourist route again starting at Stuarts Point which is quite small and consists of little more than a holiday camp, a bay and a pony, what they call in America, “A one horse town”. The next stop was Grassy Head but that was about as big as Stuarts Point without the horse. However, things change when you get to Scott’s Head as it is a small town or large village; again, nice beaches with a few shops.

We did drive through Nambucca Heads but we didn’t find anything immediately and as it was drizzling by then we carried onto Coffs Harbour where we would get lunch and probably stay the night. We also had trouble finding our way around there too but found a street of restaurants along by the Jetty but it was Monday and very few were open for lunch. We drove to the Jetty where I took a photo and spotted the harbour so we drove around to that and there were a few café’s open so we managed to get lunch. Claire chose the Wild Harvest as The Lonely Planet said it was good even though the other café was full of people and half the price. The guide books are not always right and we only managed about half of our meals. That clinched it really, we decided that we wouldn’t stay there but head on to the place beginning with W and having a lot of “O’s” in it. There seemed an unusual amount of seagulls around which also put Claire off the place. However, as we were trying to find our way out we stumbled across the main town area which seemed a lot nicer than the other bits. It seems a little disjointed and well spread out, not so good to get around by walking if you fancy a drink.

WoolGoolga is about 20km north of Coff’s Harbour and is much more to our taste. We started by giving a drive around to see what our choice of Motel’s were and what else was around. We found what looked like an old dysfunctional lighthouse on the top of a hill that doubled as a lookout. It seems that lots of whales come along this way at the beginning of the summer but they have all long gone now. According to the information on the signs there are also Manta Ray’s in the area. We chose Digger’s Rest Motel which was right across the road from the local RSL with a helicopter outside. It’s only $78 a night and has a small pool and free wireless internet so we can do a little research for LA at the weekend. Yes, we are coming to the end of our Australian visit and are on our last leg. Claire bought a new book that is actually 3 in one so that should keep her busy for a while. I think we may even extend our stay here for another night so we can sort out our bags ready for being on the road full time. The room is fine with a double and a single bed, en-suite, fridge, kettle, toaster and ironing board so again, Claire can keep herself busy. And you never know, I might even get time to have another look at my OU books before we move on. The other bonus was that the clouds broke up as we arrived here and the sun came out so we might be just far enough north now.

Woolgoolga, or “Woopi” as the locals affectionately call it, is known for its surf and Sikh community. There is a large temple here and an even more impressive Indian Restaurant with Elephant statues outside. Come to think of it, there as many Indian restaurants here as we have at home but I bet they don’t have as many Indians. All this talk of food has made me peckish again; just time for a very civilised cup of afternoon tea and a cream bun outside in the sun.