Today was a very very flat day.  Grafton is 6m above sea level and we ended up in Yamba by the sea.  We cycled out of Grafton and we were almost instantly in the countryside.  We cycled along fantastic narrow roads that followed the slow moving Clarence River.  The was no traffic and it was flat and quiet cycling past dairy farms, then sugar cane and macadamia farms.  The river became wider and slower and split into many channels with low islands with lots of birdlife.  At some point along here we past 2000km on our journey north.

We got to the town of Lawrence and caught the free ferry across an arm of the river to Woodford Island which is the largest inland island in the Southern Hemisphere.  It was flat.  We arrived at Maclean, a nice old town where we sat and had some lunch with a view of the river.  The road got a lot busier and the verge disappeared for the last part of today’s ride between Maclean and Yamba.

The reason we are cycling to Yamba is because Dave and Paula and kids are driving down from Brisbane for a long weekend with us.  Just as we entered Yamba they arrived and we said hellos on the side of the road.  It must have been nice for them to see us cycling.  We all went to the Blue Dolphin Holiday Park where we camped and they had a cabin.  The park was a kids extravaganza with two pools, multiple play grounds, a jumping cushion (In NZ we call them bouncy pillows) plus loads of kids on school holidays.

We’ll be spending the next few days here before progressing north.

Highlight of today:  Cycling along quiet roads next to the river.

Sugar Cane

Quiet country roads

On a short ferry ride.

Today was our longest biking day between Coffs Harbour and Grafton.  There are two options, one being the highway and the other which we choose, the Orara Way.  Our choice turned out to be a good one as the road was quiet and pretty.

We started by cycling through Coffs Harbour on a nice cycle track then headed out of town and up a hill through banana plantations and lush forest.  Traffic was busy but quickly thinned out as we distanced ourselves from the population centre.  The top of the hill 20 minutes after leaving Coffs was the highest point for the day and it was rolling gradual downhill after that.  We passed through Coramba and then Nana Glen which were both nice little towns.  After Nana Glen we also past the home of Russell Crowe and wondered if we should pop in for a cuppa, being fellow Kiwis (he can’t get Australian citizenship).  As we progressed we transitioned from lush coastal vegetation to dryer gum trees and red dirt.  It was a hot day and the temperature was 23 in the shade which must have been 26 degrees C on the road.

The last 20km seemed hard as we were getting tired so it was nice to arrive in the river city of Grafton.  Approaching the bridge we didn’t see any signs either banning cyclists or directing us to an alternative.  On entering the bridge we could see we shouldn’t be there as it was narrow, long and cars couldn’t overtake us.  All we could do is bike fast and get over the bridge.  Some cars wound down their windows to inform us of the lower deck for trains, pedestrians and bikes.  It was too late as we couldn’t turn around.  Numerous cars also wound down their windows to abuse us, swear at us, and even try to spit at us.  Obviously we are visitors to this town and if the drivers of Grafton are so incensed by cyclists on the bridge, put in some signs!  That put us off Grafton and we won’t be returning.

Highlight of today:  The way the countryside changed over our longest day.

Banana plantations.

It rained hard overnight but it hasn’t rained during the day today although it’s threatened and has been very windy.  We got up late and decided to try and find Coffs Harbour.  We’ve been here a couple of days and we still feel we’ve not found the centre, CBD, or tourist part of Coffs Harbour.  We’ve seen a mega-mall (Yawnnn) and some commercial shops (we don’t need to buy a car) and a beach suburb with no view of the beach.  We don’t feel we’ve seen Coffs Harbour.

So we caught the bus into town and wandered around looking for something interesting.  Coffs Harbour is a funny place.  There are shops centred around the Pacific Highway but these are of little interest to us.  There is a beach but let’s face it, every town around here has a beach.  There is a marina, again common to many towns.  The beach and marina are a long way from the CBD which is unusual.  Really, short of looking a big banana, there is not much to do here.  Where are the old buildings, the heart and soul of this town?  Where are all the cafes and touristy parts because we haven’t seen it?  Maybe we’ve been spoilt by the wonderful waterfront and buildings of Port Macquarie and Newcastle and the smaller towns of Port Nelson and South West Rocks.  It’s interesting to note most tourist brochures talk about the Coffs Coast and all the smaller villages along the coast rather than the town of Coffs Harbour.  We’d somehow expected more.

Don’t get us wrong, we don’t dislike Coffs Harbour.  We just can’t find a tourist reason to come here when other towns have made so much more of their location.

Later this afternoon we went for a walk to the marina and spent some time trying to get a photo of the waves breaking.  There are always larger waves coming if we wait another 5 minutes.

Highlight of today:  Buying a waterproof tent bag.  When cycling in the rain the tent gets heavy when soaked.

The caravan park pool

Jen on the breakwater with waves breaking

The marina

The marina

Coffs Beach

Coffs Beach

It poured down.  The weather forecasters predicted today’s weather correctly and it rained almost all day.  At home rain is usually associated with a weather front and usually it would be windy.  Today there was no wind and rain fell straight out of the sky driven by some force that must be more than gravity.  It rained so hard floods appeared almost instantly on the waterlogged ground.  June was a notably wet and warm month for Sydney but we’ve been lucky dodging the weather.  Luckily we had planned to have time off in Coffs Harbour today though it’s hard to explore the place when it’s raining so hard.

We watched the rain radar and seized the opportunity to pop out to the supermarket this afternoon during a break in the weather.  On the way back we could see dark ominous clouds approaching so we stopped under a shop verandah.  Within 10 seconds it went from not raining to pouring down with great force.  After a few minutes the rain stopped, almost instantly as if someone turned off the tap.  We continued home this way stopping a couple of times for showers to pass.

Tomorrow we planned to cycle 81km to Grafton.  The weather is looking better but still likely to have showers.  Wednesday and later in the week look much better so we asked reception if we could have the cabin for another night.  Luckily it was available, probably due to the fact it’s a one bedroom cabin surrounded by families.  The NSW school holidays mean caravan parks are certainly busier with families.  We wonder where all the grey nomads have disappeared to.  We’ve decided the collective noun for grey nomads should be either ‘a friendly of grey nomads’ or ‘a convivial of grey nomads’.

Highlight of today:  Doing nothing.

Ducking back from the shops