Being so very close to the busy major highway and little further from the main trunk rail, you would be forgiven thinking that the Ourimbah Rest Area would be a most unsuitable place to park over for the night. Not so, in fact we both remarked this morning that we had slept very well. But in the manner of all such places, unless you are a young person travelling in a whizz-bang camper van, the busy-ness of such a rest stop has all up and ready to move on soon after the birds are doing so, or at least the lazier birds.
Our journey was a short one today, only about fifteen kilometres further up the Pacific Highway and then north east, still on the Pacific Highway, but no longer doubling as they Sydney-Newcastle Freeway. Like most of the roads travelled in the past couple of days, this too was a retracing of past routes; we passed up between the high chimneys of the Munmorah and Vales Point Power Stations, and soon found ourselves in the midst of further recent bushfire devastation.
Great swathes of eucalypt forest; blackened and some gold having quickly shed their damaged bark, the bright green grass-like vegetation already coming away again. Truth be told, the Australian bush loves fire, it is man and his constructions that do not sit well in this environment. Burnt road signs, burnt corrugated sheds, a service station razed to the ground; all these and more were evidence of the property loss. We were in Tasmania when fire devastated these areas and those immediately to the north east of where we are camped now, and if my memory serves me correctly, there was only one life lost and he was a man with a heart problem who may not have seen the summer out in any case. The smell of ash and cinders crept in through the ventilation system and I imagined worse during the actual event, although later we learned from the camp manager that the smoke had only become a problem after the worst and when the back burning was being undertaken.
We arrived at Swansea, on the southern bank of the entrance to Lake Macquarie a little after 9 am. We found a park then chatted with a local for some time, a caravanner like us but well on in years, wanting to upgrade his van but having far less tucked away in his piggy-bank than we are asking. Fresh provisions were duly purchased at the local Coles supermarket and we came on across the bridge, and up to Belmont, arriving a few minutes after 10 am. Chris had been keen to try out a different caravan park given that this has no wow-factor and often is plagued with drainage problems, however when I took him through the tariffs of all those other parks about, he had to agree this was the obvious choice.
Our day has passed in a rather relaxed manner, or at least for me. Apart from doing a small load of laundry and catching up on administration matters, happy to have endless electricity and internet. Chris however has been as busy as a bee, washing, cleaning, polishing, getting everything tiptop for the first of our possible buyers calling tomorrow afternoon. Our rig looks far too good to be rid of; perhaps we can do a backflip on our plans and set off around the country again?
Here in the park, there are few other caravanners or the like. One party of three young German tourists packed into a small whizz-bang van have created much entertainment for us; we do wonder how their three great big suitcases fit in the van when they are travelling. Out on the lawns galahs and rabbits scavenge alike. Plovers and magpies share the space too, but I am keen to catch up with the pelicans on Lake Macquarie. Perhaps tomorrow we can take a long shoreline walk; it does seem the weather is on the improve.
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