Biggin' it up

It is inevitable that any road trip in Australia will eventually lead you towards a ‘big thing’. This tends to be some giant fibreglass object beside a highway which has some tenuous link with the local area, such as the Big Merino in Goulburn near Canberra.

One of the most famous is the Big Banana in Coffs Harbour, and I was pleased to stop here and be able to walk through the banana itself. There is also an incredible range of banana related merchandise, though curiously no plain and simple bananas.



The fruit theme continues up the coast, with the Big Pineapple in the Sunshine Coast. As you can see, it is a very popular place with a parking spot hard to find!

Now of course, being the country music capital, Tamworth wouldn’t miss out on an opportunity to celebrate all things tacky and has its very own big golden guitar, which also houses a wax museum of ‘famous’ Australian country music stars.


Sometimes, just sometimes, you stumble upon a big thing you never knew existed. Such as in Singleton,

which claims to have the World’s biggest sundial. Frankly, I don’t believe them and reckon Plymouth could be challenging Singleton’s claim. But then, there’s not a lot else in Singleton so maybe we should leave them be.


I also passed the Big Avocado on my way back south but couldn’t find the big prawn in Ballina. I guess maybe it just wasn’t big enough.

Warning! More rainforests and falls

Away from the coast, the northeast corner of NSW and southeast Queensland is dominated by further World Heritage rainforest, running along ridges formed by a crater when Mount Warning underwent a big volcanic explosion many yonks ago. The region is also a fairly laid back kind of place, thanks in part to the beautiful surroundings but also I suspect the many little plantations nurturing coffee, sugar, macademia nuts and the odd sneaky marijuana plant or two.

Lismore is one of the bigger towns and a charming little spot where I stayed overnight and took in some breakfast as big old Santa himself played a few tunes. A number of winding roads lead all over the place into the Hinterland, including Nightcap National Park, which, again is part of this world heritage hoo ha.

There are also a number of alternative towns, including Nimbin which is famed for its openness to potheads and stinky hippies and Uki, which is world famous for being Tidy Town and also serves a nice ‘Devonshire’ Tea.



I camped at a great little site literally on the border of Mount Warning National Park, set beside a little river and with the birds and crickets for company



A little further up the road was the town of Murwillumbah, where I was able to replenish supplies and take in the landscape looking back towards Mount Warning and the lush surrounding area.





To cross the border into Queensland from here you can either go through nondescript coastal towns and the manic highways of the Gold Coast or, like I did, take a beautiful winding road alongside Lamington and Springbrook National Parks. I crossed the border without incident (there was a tiny sign which I almost missed) and my first stop in Queensland was at Natural Bridge in Springbrook National Park. Here, a small cavern has been formed by a waterfall which offers picture postcard scenes.



A larger section of Springbrook runs along a plateau, with views inland and to the coast, waterfalls cascading down to the coastal plains through more lush paradise. It is here, in a World Heritage listed ancient rainforest that you can see the plastic fantastic of the Gold Coast on the horizon from several of the lookouts, as well as the more natural environment.

Springbrook has its very own waterfall way, with Purlingbrook Falls one of the most accessible. There are further falls along the escarpment, none more impressive though than Twin Falls, reached via another lovely walk through rainforest. Again, you can walk behind these falls to cool off from the walk down.

Springbrook NP also claims to have the ‘Best of All Lookouts’, which is worth the short detour, though often shrouded in the cloud. Show a little patience however and the cloud might just part a little! According to the sign at the lookout you can view the whole area shaped by the eruption of Mount Warning – in fact, if you look from satellite you can see the crater shape.

It is a bit odd to think that from the bottom of Twin Falls or the top of the Best of All Lookout you can be on a four lane motorway within 30 minutes or so, but the four lane motorway conveniently takes you alongside the Gold Coast, over the East side of Brisbane and up the aptly named Bruce Highway to the Sunshine Coast and Christmas, supposedly, at the beach.

Where's the sunshine?

So after some 2116 kilometres destination Christmas 2007 had been reached. I was staying with Jason, a friend from work, and his mum, who fed me like any good mum would! Christmas, as it so often is, was a bit of a non-event to be honest, and disappointing cloudy days meant the beach action was limited.

On Christmas Day we headed down to Brisbane for a family meal, passing the distinctive Glasshouse Mountains on the way.

Life in Australia is all about new experiences and Christmas lunch was a first for me, being meat free, but it was pleasant sat beside a pool and tucking in to plenty of grub. If there was one thing I simply had to do, it was to go into the sea on Christmas Day. So here I am, Hasselhoff eat your heart out!

Boxing Day and I took a little drive along the coast, taking in the wild weather (which actually got worse after we left to move south). To overcome my lack of meat on Christmas Day we went to a BBQ in the afternoon where I more than amply stocked up on flesh and bones! This was followed by more food in the evening, fully stocked up in preparation for the drive back south the next day.

Riding the Pacific

Highway 1 runs most of the east coast of Australia, though often several kms inland, however, a short detour here and there can bring you to some beautiful beaches and charming seaside towns. A big drive on the first day took us to Coffs Harbour where we stopped for some food and a drink. I stopped briefly in Coffs on my way up (its at the intersection with the Waterfall Way) and is a handy stop with some nice beaches.



Darkness had descended as we reached Port Macquarie, but the morning light revealed some calming waves and beaches on the doorstep, perfect for an early morning stroll and dip in the ocean.

I think it looks a bit Cornish…




The day was shaping up to a beauty and more like the Christmas you would expect, so it was a pleasure to spend more time at the beach, further south at a place called Booti Booti National Park (sponsored by Beyonce and Shakira?). Now this was more like it, white sand, clear water, green bushland and a giant baguette for lunch!

It was hard to drag myself away from here, but more tarmac beckoned as we drove past several lakes and inlets and down to the northern side of Port Stephens and a town called Hawks Nest. As well as a long sandy beach here there were plenty of sand dunes to explore and jump from!

Another first for me as we used the public BBQs they provide everywhere in parks and by the beach over here, filling my face with sausage patties for the drive to Newcastle. Yeah, Newcastle. In some ways like the English one with a lot of industry but some magnificent beaches and a relaxed feel. Again, this provided a good setting for another pleasant morning beach stroll (I could get used to this…)


There was also a large pod of dolphins milling about the coast, enjoying the festive break on the Newcastle beaches.

Newcastle is but a couple of hours from Sydney and the area in between is known as the Central Coast. It’s very much a Sydney getaway, with numerous beachside towns and waterways, full of holiday homes and fancy schmancy cafes. One such place is Terrigal, where a friend is from and who I visited for some nice lunch in one of those fancy cafes besides the water and a little tour of the area. As you can see, the weather was now well and truly rocking, in fact, I had a little sunburn by this point.

The towns of the Central Coast eventually reach the Hawkesbury River, pretty much the border for Sydney and destination New Year. I was conveniently staying south of the harbour which meant the car breezed over Sydney Harbour Bridge, though with all the lanes and tolls there wasn’t much to see other than road signs! Compared with my trip north, the return south had been fairly whistle-stop but the great weather and fine beaches was a perfect contrast to the waterfalls and forests of the inland.

We do fireworks

I spent a couple of days in Sydney around New Year, which was busy with visitors, people piling onto the beaches and buzzing with an air of excitement about the forthcoming festivities over New Year. By this stage I had lost track of which day of the week it was, a pleasing sign of being on holiday! I think it was Sunday when we had a nice English like Sunday afternoon jaunt to Vaucluse House followed by afternoon tea, with a passable attempt at a cream tea!

Nearby was a lovely little cove called Parsley Bay, where people were enjoying themselves in the warm, calm water – there’s so many hidden little corners like this in Sydney which adds to its charm.

A few miles down the road and Bondi Beach was steamy with countless people from all over the world enjoying the evening sunshine, a few beers and the odd game of Frisbee.



A few illegal immigrants joined the beautiful people on the beach (looking total misfits needless to say!) for some scrumptious pizza and watching the sun go down.



The next morning and the sun rose for the last time in 2007, and people began setting up camp at vantage points all over the harbour for the annual fireworks extravaganza. Unbeknown to me beforehand, there are actually two firework displays – one at 9pm and then midnight. We had gained some tickets to a major road which they close down in the heart of the action on Circular Quay for the 9pm showing. This was the ‘family display’ and the collapsible chairs and Coles Roast Bird and bread rolls were out in force. The view was great, the only disappointment being the lack of Bridge action during the 9pm display.

And then we were cleared off the road and left to mix with the rabble cramming in for a midnight view. We managed to find a slot down on the western side of Circular Quay, which had a pretty decent view, especially of the Opera House and a great atmosphere. The waiting was pretty painful but finally midnight came and Sydney did what Sydney does best, to the oohs and aahs of the thousands of people massed along Circular Quay and the millions spread out beyond.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

New Years Day felt very much like the day after the night before, but I headed with my friend Caroline to Parramatta in the west of Sydney. There isn’t really anything of note there, but it is pretty much where the harbour ends and the ferry journey is a lovely cruise. I suppose New Years Day on sunny Sydney Harbour cannot be bad. We had some lunch and headed back by train, not prepared to wait another hour and half in Parramatta for the next ferry!

By this stage I was ready to make the final jaunt back to Canberra for a day of shopping, washing and blog writing, pepped up by a frozen coke on the final stages of the road trip. I cannot believe it has only been two weeks, given how much I have seen. I’m still hanging onto the holiday, treating myself to nice food and a G&T as I write this and reliving the moments. It feels like the summer holidays should just go on and on and on, but I’m not going to get too greedy and am just thankful to be in such a lucky position to be able to do these things. Besides there are plenty more fish in the sea, or, more accurately, big things along the road to discover.

Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2008,
Neilio