The past 10 days

With the unsettled weather hanging around we decided to delay going to a National Park for our next stop and instead spent a couple of nights near Newcastle. The nearest camp was at Stockton, a nice seaside town out on a peninsula and only a two and a half minute ferry ride from Newcastle. Evidence of the recent wild seas could be seen along the foreshore where access to the beach had been washed away leaving metres of washed out boardwalk. We had an enjoyable day wandering around the old area of Newcastle with it’s relics of the penal colony days including an ocean bath which convicts carved out of the rock for a governor’s personal use. The downtown area near the ferry terminal had the makings of a nice mall but was sadly lacking in shops, no doubt due to the influence of big malls in the suburbs.

With the weather forecast looking promising we set off for Booti Booti National Park, on the coast just south of Forster & Tuncurry. The NSW National Parks have set up camping areas in many of their parks and the facilities range from very basic to having water, toilets and showers provided. Booti Booti was of the latter so the only convenience we were missing was power. The road into the park, after turning off the Pacific Highway, while sealed was quite rough with patches on the patches in many places. We went through quite heavy rain but once this had passed it was the last rain we saw. The camp is in a large grassy area tucked in behind a sand dune on one side and bush on the other. Behind the sand dune is a lovely beach with golden sand and behind the bush is one of the many lakes in the area, Wallis Lake. Although it was school holidays there were very few other campers so we had a large area all to ourselves. The showers had warm water and started with the push of a button, ran for 4 minutes then stopped for about 4 minutes. If you hadn't quite finished it was a cold wait until the warm water was available again. We had a relaxing couple of days there, taking walks along the beach and a walk over a small hill and around the headland then back along the lake to the camp. One morning while sitting outside eating breakfast we counted 8 different species of birds. The kookaburra were quite tame and we were able to get within a few metres of them.

Having enjoyed our stay at Booti Booti and with the batteries still giving us light and water still in the tank we headed north a few kilometres to Crowdy Bay National Park and the Diamond Head camp. On the way through Forster – Tuncurry we stopped off to have a look at the entrance to Wallis Lake. While sitting in a park we turned on a computer and checked our email as we had been out of coverage at Booti Booti. It was Anzac Day and it was great to get an email giving a link to a newspaper report about Jill’s Dad’s wartime experiences and also have an audio link and hear him talk about them.

On arriving at the Diamond Head camp in Crowdy Bay NP we discovered that we were in another top spot. The final 5km to the camp was down a gravel road and due to the potholes it took us 30 minutes to travel the 5km, but was well worth the effort. There were a lot more campers here but still plenty of room for everyone. This is another camp where you drive around and choose your spot, no designated sites. There are only cold showers here so we used our solar showers and had a much longer and slightly warmer shower. We could light a campfire anywhere we liked, which was good for heating water in the Thermette, making toast and sitting by while dining

The first morning while sitting outside having breakfast I took note of scene around me –
100 metres away through the trees I see the sun sparkling on the sea, tents, caravans and campers trailers are scatted around under trees and out in the grassy area. 30 metres away kangaroo sit in the shade or graze on the grass while a kookaburra sits on a post, coming down to the ground now and then to gather up a worm. Birds twitter in the trees and there is a smell of bacon on the air, but sadly not our bacon.

There were about 20 tame kangaroos hopping around that would come and graze and sleep right beside us. Generally they weren’t a problem but one night as we were sitting by our campfire a kangaroo came over and grazed within 3 feet of us, enjoying the warmth of the fire we presumed. The kangaroo spotted a bread bag that was lying between our two camp chairs and came right up between the chairs trying to get to the bag. It was quite reluctant to be chased off. Had it got the bag it would have been disappointed as we had already used up the bread to make toast over the campfire.

There were also goannas wandering around that weren't quite so friendly. Frankly, I was quite happy for them to keep their distance. I saw one guy though chase one out of his campsite with a broom.

The coast along here is scalloped with a series of headlands and lovely bays. There are many beautiful places to stop and spend time and it’s nice weather.

We are now at a powered site at Nambucca Heads after having been camping on unpowered or serviced sites in National Parks for the last 6 nights. Being here allows us to do a weeks worth of washing, recharge batteries in the caravan and the computers, and have a decent shower.

We are still learning how long the caravan can support us while away from power and a drinkable water supply. The life support system comprises a 70 litre water tank, 9kg gas bottle and a 100AHr battery. The latter runs the lights, range hood light and fan, and a pump for the water tank (although you can get water from the tank directly from outside). The gas does the cooking and runs the fridge/freezer. I still don't understand how you get cold by burning gas but it does the job extremely well producing excellent cold beer and wine. On the latter, we have set ourselves a challenge for the trip of not spending more than $10 on a bottle of wine (birthdays and Christmas excepted). The most we have paid so far is $6.95, and we have recently found deals selling 2 bottles for $10 (Chardonnays for Jill and anything red for Al) all of which have proved extremely palatable. Today we purchased two 10 litre water containers and a filled 10 litre water bottle from a supermarket. As there is no exact way of knowing how much water is left in the caravan tank, this will give us a reserve should it run out, as without water we would soon have to scuttle off to a water source even with all that cheap wine on board. These containers can go in the truck so we will still have water if we have to abandon the caravan for any reason, or decide to leave it behind and go bush.

On the Road

At last the expedition is underway.
Today we packed the last of our belongings into the caravan and drove out of town heading for Norah Head, which is about 150km north of Sydney. We decided we would take things quietly at first until we get familiar with towing the caravan and life on the road. We are camped at a small camping ground, which is pleasantly relatively empty of campers. The camp is 150 metres from the sea and this afternoon we found a track leading from the camp to the sea. We then walked along the beach and over a headland to the Norah Head lighthouse that was built in 1903, a rather attractive building in great condition for it’s age.

Bureaucrats strike again

When we bought our caravan we were given a registration paper and told we needed to take this to the RTA (Road Transport Association) and for the payment of a fee it would be changed into our name. We duly fronted up at the RTA office where Al filled in a form then took a ticket to wait for the number to be called. After about 10 minutes the number came up and we went to the counter, with smiles on our faces, saying we wanted to transfer the caravan to Al’s name. Al handed over the form, a NZ drivers licence and the caravan sales agreement to be told he didn’t have enough identification. We were handed a brochure detailing what was required. On looking at the brochure it appeared that all that was missing was a passport. No problem we thought, as I happened to have mine with me, so back to the counter to fill in a new form this time in my name. We got another ticket and waited another 10 minutes for the number to come up. This time at the counter we were told we still didn’t have enough identification. What we needed was mail addressed to us at a NSW address but this had to be specific mail such as a phone or power account or bank statement, or in the absence of this we needed a reference from a NSW full drivers licence holder who had known us for at least 12 months. Fortunately Steve satisfied these conditions so we took the form home for Steve to complete that evening. The next day we fronted up at the RTA again with forms, reference, passport, NZ drivers licence and all mail that had been sent to us at Steve’s address. After taking a ticket and waiting for our number to come up we duly went to the counter. This time we were successful after handing over the registration transfer form, passport, reference, bank eftpos card and a letter from the bank addressed to us at Steve’s address. With that documentation all that was needed was the payment of stamp duty, a considerable sum by NZ standards, and a piece of paper was printed out confirming the caravan was now in Jill’s name.

Bureaucracy

We got word that the truck was going to be available on Monday 6th April. Instead of having to find our way by train to Port Kembla our customs agent offered us a ride. On arriving at Port Kembla Rhys (our customs agent) went to the guard house to get a pass so we were able to drive through the barrier and over to near where the truck was parked. When we arrived we could see the customs people around the vehicle. Rhys took the truck carnet (temporary import papers) over to the security fence, rolled them up and passed them through to the customs officers. He then told us we should wait in the nearby port office where security would come and get us to take us to the truck, so we could drive it away. We went into the office and after a short conversation we were told we would not be able to drive the truck out of the secured area as it didn’t have a NSW registration. This left us with the option of getting a registration or getting the truck transported out. As we had no way of getting to a place to get the registration paper we opted for a transporter. The office staff contacted a truckie and we had 30 minutes to wait before he was free. Our customs agent had advised us that before we were legal to drive on the NSW roads we needed to get a pink slip (like a WOF) and take it to the RTA office to get an unlicensed vehicle permit, so while we were waiting for the truckie the office staff helpfully found details of mechanics certified to do the pink slip check on the truck. Eventually the truckie turned up and told us to go and wait by the gate while he went and got the truck . We walked the 150 metres to the gate and from there got a glimpse of the truck loaded on the back of a transporter before it disappeared off in the opposite direction to where we were. As time passed Al and I had a discussion about which gate we were supposed to be waiting at, Al thought it was the main gate with the barrier arms while I thought it was the one closest to the port office. Al wandered a bit further down the road and then saw that the main gate was further away than he first thought. We decided to go back to the port office to find out exactly where we were supposed to be waiting. We had gone back only a few paces when we saw the transporter coming towards us. The truckie wound down the window and said he wasn’t supposed to be off loading so would go a little bit further down the road to where there was a place to park and where it was away from the cameras. We followed the truck down the road and Al took a couple of photos of the truck being off loaded. We then hopped into the truck and were on our way (so we thought)
We drove to the main gate and pushed the intercom button for the guard so he would lift the barrier. The guard asked “ what is your pass number”, Al replied “ I haven’t got a pass”. The guard then said “you can’t get out if you don’t have a pass” Al said we had come in with Rhys who got a temporary pass but didn’t have one ourselves. The guard then asked “How did your truck get in” Al told him that it had come over by boat from NZ and we had just picked it up. The guard said we should have a pass but he would let us out and we should stop at the guard house. We duly drove through the barrier and past the guard house then did a u-turn and parked nearby. Al went over to the guard house where a very grumpy guard moaned that he had broken the rules, that he would note it down and we shouldn’t do it again. He also asked if we had been taking photos as he had received a report that someone had been seen taking photos. Al admitted to taking a photo of the truck on the transporter but said little more remembering that the truckie said he wasn’t supposed to off load.
Having been told the error of our ways we then went to look for a mechanic. The first one we visited was busy and couldn’t fit us in until the next day as was another one we phoned but they helpfully suggested another who might be free. A phone call to him confirmed he was free to we drove to his workshop. When he saw the NZ registration plates he wasn’t sure whether we should have a pink or blue slip and wanted us to get confirmation from the RTA. He couldn’t get through to them by phone so we drove there, fortunately it wasn’t far away. The guy at the RTA didn’t know what was required so looked it up on their database and it seemed that we didn’t require any checks or slips of paper. He made a phone call to confirm this, it was, so at last we were free to go.

Our new home

After a couple of days searching and many kilometres travelled we have bought a caravan. It didn't take us long to work out what we wanted so it was then a matter of finding it. On Friday and Saturday we visited five caravan sale yards, from Penrith to South Sydney, and looked at a couple of private sales and that gave us a short list of two. One of the yards had a caravan coming in and we got a phone call to say the layout was what were looking for so this morning we went back out to Penrith and decided that van was indeed what we wanted.


After negotiating changes to riding height, the addition of a battery pack with connection to our vehicle's charging system and a few other bits and pieces, we signed the deal. Hopefully it will be ready for us to collect on Thursday.

In the meantime we have to be reunited with the truck. This might happen on Monday, all going well. The Australian Quarantine Services have decided that it needs to be steam cleaned, even though this was done in Auckland! I can't say we are happy with this as we expected that NZ would know what Aus required and it would have been done properly in Auckland, but we are at the mercy of the authorities so have to accept the situation (all at our expense of course). After the cleaning has been done we will have to take it for a mechanical check and then get a temporary registration, fingers crossed these go without any issues.