Sydney to Brisbane and Places In- Between

We picked up our teeny little Hippie caravan, (this would be our home for the next 6 days) and off we went.

yes that is a kangaroo in the picture...more about that later

As our amazing luck would have it, we had several friends we were going to try and meet along the way.. Our good friends we met in Puerto Viejo the De Leeuws were also in Australia. They had no set plans so they decided to join us on most of the journey. Johnny's great friend from high school Terry and his wife Caroline were doing a teacher exchange in Port Maquarie, and even though they literally just arrived and had to work in a few days, they opened up their home to us for a night where we had an awesome visit. Our new friends Don and Sil were also camping up the coast so we would connect with them as well. So exciting to not only see the beautiful area but to visit with friends along the way.

Our first stop was to meet the De Leeuws at Mannering Park on Lake Maquarie. There was nothing to special about the park, but it was so great to see our friends.

Mannering Park

One thing we noticed while driving the coast that was a little disappointing is that the road is not actually running along the coast, in fact, it is just a big major highway and in order to see all of the beautiful inlets and towns you have to sometimes drive an hour out of your way. This made our measly 6 days wayyyy to short, you can easily spend a few weeks doing the same trip but you will be able to hit all the amazing ports and beaches along the way. The campgrounds are also quite expensive. Our little hippie ride (one of the cheapest models) was $140/day and the camp fees were about $70-$100/day...makes for pretty expensive accommodations. Australia pretty much blew our daily budget, BUT it was so worth it and we knew we would make up for it in Asia.  We left Lake Maquarie and were heading to Nelson Bay in Port Stephens. To break up the drive An suggested we stop at Morrisett Park where she read there were very tame wild kangaroos. The place was incredible, tons and tons of Roos, with lots of little babies just waiting to be pet...it was pretty special.

We then stopped at Merewether beach in Newcastle for a quick swim and a bite to eat...the beach here was awesome.

Merewether beach in Newcastle, we stopped to have a swim and a bite

Merewether Beach 

We finally arrived at Nelson Bay, amazing spot with lots a restaurants and bars. The campsite was right on a pretty beach just up the road from Port Stephens

                           

The next day we did a dolphin boat tour within the marine park, we did see dolphins, nothing too impressive but it was a nice way to see the area of Port Stephens

Anneka Steering the ship

After the boat cruise, all the kids begged to go into the this floating water park, looked totally awesome, so like an idiot, I decided to go as well....not a good idea, during the last five minutes I wiped out and sprained my MCL (again!) I was in so much pain, I could barely walk , sadly it wasn't even a cool injury...

Port Stephen is really quite lovely, again felt a little rushed, I am sure there was a ton we missed around the area....

Some beautiul rainbow roundtrees

We packed up the caravan said goodbye to the Deleeuw's (we would see them again in Byron Bay) and headed to visit Terry and Caroline in Port Maquarie. We had a great day catching up  and seeing their new local beach...

this is the beach a few minutes away from their new home...lucky buggers

Not wanting to overstay our welcome, we knew they had a ton to do getting their life organized, the next morning we said good by to the Cox's  and were on our way to Byron Bay. As luck would have it, we were able to meet Don, Sil and family at Coffs Harbour...great to connect again and after a quick bite to eat we were off again....

Max, Carla and Juliette

This time stopping in Yamba...wow- so sad we couldn't stay here for longer.. this place was unreal...

We finally arrived in Byron Bay, I was probably most excited about Byron as I heard its awesome and great beginner surfing, as luck would have it, my knee kept me from surfing again at the most perfect beach ever. We met up with the Deleeuw's and had a great time. The campground was right on the beach in the centre of the hustle, a little pricey, but totally worth it, the perfect location.

some kookaburras joining An and Steven for breakfast

Both families went on a great hike up to the lighthouse, sadly I did not go as my knee wouldn't allow it, apparently the hike was beautiful and worth the climb to the top.

the most easterly point in Austrailia

It was time for us to bid our great friends farewell...hopefully we will connect again somewhere else along the way....

The De Leeuws and the Lambers

We said good bye to Austrailia- an amazing place that deserves so much more of our time...we hope to come back to visit one day.

A quick shout out to Nick and Annabel. They were on their honeymoon and travelling for 6 months, we first met them in Nicaragua then again in 2 different countries (Guatemala and Mexico) ...they arrived back home in Brisbane and we were so hoping to connect with them, but timing just was not on our side, maybe next time.