19 July 2012 - Harbour City Holiday Park, Coffs Harbour, NSW

Today has been an altogether better day even though it seems that Cadel Evans has lost any chance of keeping his Tour de France title. Contrary to the pessimistic doomsday weather man on the local television channel, the sun came out this morning and shone through clear skies all day. The ground outside is still cut up and muddy but the caravan is parked up close to the concrete pad and any rain that might satisfy the weatherman should do no great harm to our enjoyment of this lovely seaside town.

We woke late this morning; too late to view the highlights of last night’s cycle race through France’s Pyrenees and too late to check up on how “our” Paul Henry is running Channel 10’s morning show. (For those not in the know, this very competent and very un-politically correct journalist was given his marching orders from New Zealand’s morning television shows a couple of years ago when he crossed the bounds of decency, despite remaining in tune with thousands who supported him on a major Facebook campaign. Australian television has now taken a punt on him and it seems to be working out well however we are only still months into the experiment.)

When we finally set out, it was to the historic Coffs jetty, important in the past for timber export and the largest remaining timber jetty in New South Wales. Built in 1892, it remained commercially viable until 1972, and then it simply became to a convenient spot for fishermen to dangle their lines from, but in 1990 it was closed to the public, no longer meeting safety regulations. Conservation work started in 1996 and today it is once again a place for fishermen and people like us who feel the need to walk the 500 metres to the end and back as part of their Coffs Harbour experience.

Coffs Harbour was originally called Korffs Harbour after Captain John Korff who was forced to shelter from raging storms in the bay behind Muttonbird Island in 1847. Later a surveyor misspelt the name and Coffs Harbour was born. As already indicated, the harbour was a working port for the logging industry, and today is an important port for an active fishing industry and berthing facilities for international vessels to clear customs.

Muttonbird Island is one of a group of many islands making up the Solitary Islands Marine Park which covers 71,000 hectares of marine and estuarine waters between Coffs Harbour and Plover Island at Sandon to the north. It serves as the northern point of the harbour, but only because it has been linked to the mainland by a manmade causeway, just as South Coffs Island has been linked on the southern side, thus forming a sheltered haven from the Pacific Ocean. Work on the northern breakwall was begun in 1915 and was officially completed in 1924, the eastern breakwall not until 1939.

From Muttonbird Island back to the marina

We walked across the northern breakwater to Muttonbird Island and up the steep path to the top from where the views back to the township are wonderful when the wind allows an erect stance. From the far end of the island one can sometimes see the sperm whales travelling north, however they eluded us today despite the fact we stood there for about half an hour with others who did no better. The platform at the end of the pathway stands above a rugged coastline; today the water rushed in and out, swirling like a washing machine, the foam whiter than white.

The muttonbirds, or wedge tailed shearwaters, are currently on holiday, or rather have yet to return from South East Asia and are not expected back until next month when on arrival, they will set about hatching and breeding their chicks. In the meantime the vegetation on the island, low scrubby plant life decorated with flowers looking a little like white daisies, pink sweet peas and yellow dandelions, is spending the winter in recovery mode ready to provide nesting grounds for the weary birds. White poles mark carefully set traps for rodents and gates mark the beginning of the 500 metre path, which perhaps are closed when shearwaters are considered to be at risk from humans.

We drove to the south side of the harbour, parked up on the southern shore and admired the waves breaking on Boambee Beach and checked out the camels waiting with their handler for business.

After returning for lunch back at the caravan park, we headed into town once more and to our delight, the girl in the post office produced our registration sticker, safe in the accompanying envelope, just as a magician draws a rabbit from his hat. But still not the CMCA bible that has been forwarded on; perhaps packets take longer to travel from Queensland?