22 July 2012 - Grafton Showgrounds, NSW

Its cooler this evening; Chris suggested greater elevation being the cause, however on checking, not so at all. Grafton, according to the Wikipedia spiel, is a mere five metres ASL. That certainly explains why the Clarence River flows wide and sluggish here but not the cooler temperatures.

This morning we left Coffs Harbour amid squally showers and travelled northwards along the coast , the rain obscuring most of the views we might have otherwise had. Road works dominates the road from Coffs Harbour and even south, through to Grafton. We have seen the dotted lines marking the proposed bypasses on our maps and while these may be to the dismay of those with commercial establishments alongside the existing highway, it will certainly make the trip along this part of the coast a whole lot faster, and of course avoid the patchwork highway that travellers must in the meantime endure.

Woolgoolga, just up the coast from Coffs Harbour, with a population of about 4,500 is promoted as famous for its Sikh population. It is certainly true that two rather ornate Sikh temples dominate the entry both in and out of the seaside settlement, and just short of 10% of the population are of Punjabi birth or descent, however the earlier settlers do not see their township that way at all. Given that banana growing still dominates the agriculture of the coast region, one might imagine that Fijian Indians owned the 90% of the banana plantations, however as referred to above, these Indians are not those who long ago left their continental roots via the Pacific Islands, but those who have come by a more direct route. Their immigration does not go back that far, but is in fact all within my lifetime. It was during the 1960’s that these people came to make their fortune as so many new immigrants have done so.

The man in the Information Centre who may well have ethic roots similar to my own was adamant that Australians (such as he) were no less productive and committed to building the future of this country or even this part of the coast, or any less note-worthy. We left the Centre under the impression that he and his ilk would have written the promotional material for Woolgoolga with a very different slant to that which we have obtained in the preceding days.

It is only seventy or so kilometres from Coffs Harbour through to Grafton, and so we arrived before midday, but not so early as to allow ourselves time to set up camp and then have lunch without pressure of time. Instead we found our way through to Corcoran Park down on the banks of the Clarence River, a lovely spot with views of Elizabeth Island, before making our way to this showground campground. 

Our camp at the Grafton Showgrounds

The camping spots here are situated snuggly around the speedway track. Tonight there are about eight caravans and motorhomes in to share the very basic facilities however the price is right and that is what motivates most of us likeminded campers.

The kookaburras here are so very noisy, even more raucous than those of Dorrigo; one cannot help but also laugh to join their own laughter, so notable that it is even included in their very name. We are looking forward to exploring this rural centre apparently the first inland rural centre of New South Wales. (But didn’t we read that about Bathurst?)