Day 23 Tuesday Drive to North Haven Day 24 Drive to Yamba Day 25 Thursday Yamba and Illuka

A long week with quite a bit of driving involved.  We left Stockton Beach and drove to North Haven, through Forster and Lake Macquarie.

However we got horribly off course, turned off at Ti Tree, and ended up in a National Park where the road ends.  Thank goodness a ferry was there to take us across to the other side.

Morning tea stop was Bramble Point, and the magpies were so tame one almost visited inside the vehicle.  Obviously plenty of people feed them.  Mum kept the two babies out of site until she was ready to feed them!  They soon stopped squarking!

Oysters bought for the oyster lovers at Graham Barclay Oysters at Forster.  It takes 3 years to grow an oyster so we were told.

For us who don't eat oysters we settled for huge prawns, but shared them!




Booking into North Haven was not without its dramas.  Firstly the booked cabin was way below my expectations, and I opted for an upgrade.  Better choice of cabin for $10 more.  I was pretty tired as the blow up mattress perhaps needed to be re-aired, which made a pretty uncomfortable sleep, and when we got to the accommodation, Jacaranda Caravan Park, I  just wanted to have a rest.

Unfortunately  a colony of ants decided to make a home in the bed.

That required another move into another cabin.  The on-site managers were very considerate and helpful.

When in cabins we eat in our accommodation, as there is more room.  The amenities was very clean, but this park seemed to have a lot of permanents.

Perhaps I have too much property management in me as after this trip I will be writing a critique of the standards in cabins!







On the road again on Wednesday and our aim was Yamba.  However morning tea at Kempsey meant a search initially for McDonalds.  After quite some time, we found the Slim Dusty Museum.

Slim Dusty was never a real favourite of mine, but some of his songs were great to singalong with.
However my son-in-law certainly likes old Slim.

Well done to the Slim Dusty Foundation for creating and recognising one of Australia's icons.  The centre opened in November 2015.

The cafe was a great choice for brunch.  And the coffee?

But it was the shop that drained our wallets.  Lots of Xmas gifts for some special people, and then of course an Ackubra hat for an early gift for John and Dennis.  Even came with a free belt!

The potplant holders even depict different aspects relating to Slim Dusty.

 If you are in the vicinity of Kempsey don't forget to call in!  Mary bought a CD and we enjoyed a bit of a singalong.

Next stop was Trial Bay.  It is south of South West Rocks in Central Coast.  It was interesting to see the changes that all these places had undergone since we last visited.  So many retirement living estates, and units. Some places have been almost unrecognisable due to progress.

Unfortunately towing a long caravan makes getting in and around these coastal spots a tad difficult.

Trial Bay began as a safe place for ships which were getting wrecked by the seas, and the convicts were ordered to construct a breakwater.

The gaol followed, and after the convicts it was used as an internment camp in World War 1.

Stunning coastal views in this area of NSW, with rocky headlands, crashing surf!

What clever dolphins, they herded the fish for the aboriginals
 who camped in the ruins.

Rogues gallery 

This is Frank Ward, or a couple of aliases, he began his life of crime for larceny ended up with murder,
and was ordered to death, a bushranger no doubt.

Along the highway, which is a construction zone, and we were going to pay a visit to Tony Jillett at Valla Beach.  Tony worked on the Jillett family history for many years, and could never "place" the Glen Innes families.  We worked together in 2010, and were able to join the dots, so to speak, when his links to Henric Jillett were confirmed.

Henric was one of Thomas Jillett's sons.  The four boys, Alfred, Henric, George and Tasman were known as the Jillett Bros.  They drove sheep between Roma and Broadmeadows in Victoria in the late 1890's.

They kept a Bible of all activities which they encountered, but perhaps not all of Henric's actions along the way.  Henric had two or three illigimate children during his travels and of these children one was the original settler in Glen Innes.   The other spent time in Goulbourn Jail, he was however the spitting image of his cousin Robert Jillett, killed at Sandrakan, and whose photo was found at the Australian War Memorial.


 www.jillettfamily.com


Vala Beach must be one of the best kept secrets, it is difficult to get to with limited access from the new roadworks, but we finally managed to find Tony.

This photograph is rather historic.  Here is Tony Jillett, Mary Tottle and John Herron.

Tony is the great grandson of Henric Jillett, Mary's great aunt married Henric's brother George, and John is the great grandson of Alfred!

Added to that is that Mary's g.g grandfather Joshua Peck travelled to Norfolk Island with Tony and John's g.ggrandparents Robert Jillett and Elizabeth Bradshaw in 1803, and settled next door to Elizabeth's land grant!

Mary and Dennis have been lifelong friends, for almost 50 years.

Consequently we were a little late in arriving at Yamba.  Unfortunately we saw the results of a large kangaroo which collided with a car.  Thankfully no other vehicles were involved, and the driver dragged the injured kangaroo off the highway.
'
But the number of semi-trailers on the road was incredible.  Were they all leaving Brisbane on a time frame to deliver produce to Sydney and Melbourne?  If so, they and the kangaroos make driving on the highway very dangerous after 4pm

We arrived at Yamba, and our accommodation.  The Blue Dolphin caravan park had cabin accommodation.

  

We didn't have much choice, 3 caravan parks on offer.  I thought we were staying in town, as I was positive that the ads said "walk to town".  Ummm.

My question at reception was "where is the water?" out the back she said.  Well that was obviously the wrong question, "Isn't it down the road?"  "I don't know" was the reply "I haven't been here long".

Well that was also the wrong question.  Last attempt  "Where is the ocean" - "up the road about 5 minutes!" But there was an old photo, which clearly showed that the service station in front had been here in the days that we were visitors.



Yamba synonymous with midgies, sandflies and mosquitos, and yes they bite!  Nothing mentioned at reception about this.

Perhaps we should not have done a trip down memory lane, but we did.  How things have changed.

A quick drive up the road for dinner at a fantastic seafood restaurant.  Fish and chips - snapper crumbed, and so so fresh.  Watso's restaurant. Well recommended, and yes they provide insect spray, and even offered it to us.

Next door was another caravan park, a very old caravan park, surrounded by huge Norfolk Island pine trees.  It began life in the 1960's, progressed to caravans in the 1970's and has had a few owners.  Currently there are some rather interesting comments on review sites.

The Norfolk Island pines were the only trees to successfully grow in the sandy soils.

The cabin is rather expensive for its offerings, John carried out some minor housekeeping before breakfast, not our dirt or biscuit, that was after getting rid of the cockroaches.  Scrambled eggs for breakfast.  We have a microwave, but no dish suitable.  And leaking taps - nearly every place has them.

Have microwave - no dish that fits

The daily sweepings

Day 25

Thursday morning  we reconsidered our Gold Coast arrangements, and eventually decided to change from annexing to an apartment, due to the horrific storms that are following the extremely hot days.

The Gold Coast accommodation is at Southport. It seems that the Gold Coast Council owns all the caravan parks, or has a monopoly on this type of beachfront accommodation.  A cabin was - $200 to $240 per night.  Now that is ridiculous, especially if the standards are as we are seeing.

A few doors along the road, and we have an apartment, for $339 for 3 nights.  Quite a huge difference, and could not possibly be any worse than some of the places we have stayed.


Yamba temperature predictions were 31 and more.  Someone forgot to tell the forecasters that, as it became a rather windy day, with temps nowhere near the predictions, and no thunderstorn developed.

Not so lucky a few hundred klicks up the road, with massive hail storms once again.
Hopefully the predicted 36+ for the weekend will not eventuate.


But a trip to Illuka to have a look around, and once again massive road works around the Clarence River.  Morning tea at the bakery, which had a great selection.

 

Marine Rescue Illuka, with a fantastic view of the mouth of the Clarence River, sitting down on the job?  There is a huge fishing fleet operating here.

Back to Yamba.  Well it doesn't look anything like we recalled.  But the ocean was sure crashing into the rocks.  And wind, it was howling.  The main street, as we remembered is no more, and the shops have changed to restaurants.

The beach and SLC I am sure we used to wander down to the beach.

The rock pool!

We followed another road to "Spooky Beach"

To my surprise, Robert Jillett also lives here!  That's right Tony's cousin.  I stopped in and said hullo!  He is another Raine & Horne salesperson.  Must be something in the family!!!

After a day of touring, it was Forster oysters and some local prawns for dinner.

But before leaving Yamba, we followed the directions to the Yamba Big 4 Caravan Park.

Sited in the middle of nowhere, and on a road that floods when the Clarence River spills, amongst bush or cane paddocks, we wondered just what people must think when they are imagining they are arriving at Yamba.   A look at reviews on Tripadvisor tells the story.

Here it is -  the sign even says it is in Yamba!  Miles away.

Day 22 Sunday to Morpeth Monday to Salamanda Bay

A drive today towards the Hunter Valley, and then a stop at Kerri Kerri.  I had never heard of this place before I did some genealogy for a friend, whose family lived and worked here.

What a pleasant town, however like much of this region,  it would seem that unemployment is very high.  It is a coal mining area, and once there were 11,000 men working in the mines.  In the Kerri Kerri region there were 19 mines.

Of interest was that some of the tunnelers of Hill 60, who were miners in their trade, came from here.

They recognised those who served, in all conflicts, on their memorial.

But today the town attracts tourists for its 54 murals, all over the town.  A couple more may have been added recently.


The old pubs of the town stand proud, this one was built in 1903.

A bit further along the road, and through some lush cattle country, then onto Maitland.

One of the very old towns in history, and one which the convicts contributed to.

But our destination was Morpeth.  A town with an interesting history, and one which featured in the lives of many of the Scottish and English settlers brought to Australia by Dr John Lang.

Dr Lang's brother had a huge lease at Pattison River and named his house Dunsmore. So many of the early settlers arrived in Australia and spent the indented time working on his lands.  So did the convicts.  When doing the Bald Hills and Bracken Ridge research, the original settlers, the Stewarts, the Duncans, the Carseldines all began their lives working here.  In 1855 there was a massive flood.  The settlers lost so much, crops, animals, and some then turned to moving to Queensland.  Thankfully they did, or Bald Hills might still be a forgotten part of history!

The lands around the Hunter River go for miles and miles and miles.  There are two major rivers which flow into the Hunter so the agricultural lands become very fertile, but not appropriate to live on.  

The flood of 1855 was replicated in 1955.  What do they say "a 1 in 100 year event".

A visit to the local museum provided a wealth of information.  The town owes its beginnings to a Lieutenant Edward Charles Close, who came to Australia in 1817, as a member of the 48th, and who was later appointed Engineer of Public Works in Newcastle in 1821.

He explored rivers to pick out good locations before official surveys.  You could say he was in the "know" .  He then retired and was granted a river grant of about 2600 acres in 1821.  Later the government must have realised they made a bit of a mistake with his land, and he refused to relocate his grant!

   

The museum is well stocked with a feature being the ability to be the "judge" for a time, and to read the interesting charge sheet!  Perhaps the lawmakers of today could take a leaf out of their books!

Some interesting features was the display of the saws and the cedar cutters.  The land was originally covered in cedar!

 

Lieutenant Edward Charles Close arrived in Australia in 1817 after fighting in the Napoleonic Wars.
He worked in Sydney and then was appointed the Engineer of Public Works in Newcastle.  As part of his role, he explored the rivers to find suitable areas to settle.  Perhaps that gave him a bit of an advantage, because when he retired in 1821, he was granted almost 2600 acres of riverfront land in the area later to be known as Morpeth.

The Government must have realised that he was on a good thing, and requested he relocate his lease. He refused.  He subdivided the land, and in 1862 the Court House was built.

 

Imagine using this sort of knitting machine

Those who live in Northside of Brisbane will remember the Arnotts Biscuit Factory at Virginia.  Do you know that Mr Arnott started out in Morpeth.  Other notable produces also had their beginnings in the same place ie. Soul Pattison Chemist, Sims Metals to name a few.

Edward Close wrote his diary from his activities from 1803 in the Wars, he also vowed to build a church if he survived.  And he did, in Morpeth!  A little light homework!

Monday, day 23.

A much easier day today, Monday, as we regroup for the next week, and pack away the cold clothes, and the not quite freezing clothes.

Males have gone to Williamstown Fighter Jet Museum, and we all went to Salamandar Bay first.

Any wonder people retire to Port Stephens region, the homes are beautiful, there is a pride about the place, and we agreed the shopping centre was tops!

Today it is supposed to have a 15 kph wind, someone forgot to tell the windmaker about that forecast!

Any wonder 200 or more ships have come aground around this coastline.