A hidden gem (Apr. 14/09 - Dungog, Australia, mileage 300km)

Driving down the highway this morning, we saw a field with a few horses grazing in the morning sunshine, accompanied by about a dozen kangaroos! Wild and free to roam about as they wish, we figured that they are probably common and somewhat benign, just like deer are for us at home. It was a very Australian sight! We didn't go far down the highway before turning off toward the coast again, on a supposedly scenic drive that would follow the coast instead of the monotonous inland route. After passing through a couple touristy holiday towns and some low forest on an isthmus dividing a big lake from the ocean, we entered Myall Lakes National Park. Much of the park comprises lakes and sand dunes accessible by 4WD only, but a spot called Seal Rocks sounded like a worthwhile detour. We were definitely not disappointed - the first beach was a long arc of golden sand with crystal clear waves rolling in. The sun was finally out and so were the beach lovers - body boarding, building sand castles, and cliff jumping off the rugged rocks on the edge of the southern headland. The water was calm enough that lots of little kids were out splashing around, and some of the big kids were surfing the breaks off the headland. It really was a gorgeous spot.


We had read of a lighthouse somewhere around there, so we carried on, past a huge stretch of perfect beach, then parked on the shady headland at the start of the trail up to the lighthouse. Before heading up, we made some lunch and were surprised to see two dingoes march out of the bushes into the parking lot, clearly interested in what we were doing. They're such handsome dogs, but they can be dangerous and we had no idea how unpredictable they might be, so we quickly put all the food away when they started to approach. With some yelling and arm waving, they retreated to the bushes but never did go very far from the cars.

A trail led up to the Sugarloaf Point Lighthouse, which was built in 1875 to help reduce the number of ships that were crashing into Seal Rocks below. The grounds were beautiful, with a bunch of lighthouse keepers' cottages painted white that glowed against the bright blue sky. You can even rent them out like hotel rooms - for over $300 per night! A steep path led up to the lighthouse itself, which offered spectacular views out to the waves crashing over the rocks and the wide open ocean beyond. Hidden on the south side of Sugarloaf Point below the lighthouse was a stunning strip of perfect sand and rolling surf known as Lighthouse Beach. Being protected in the park and a fair walk from the parking lot, it is rarely visited and perfectly pristine. The teal green of the water as seen from above was too tempting, so we followed the path down over the sand dunes to the water. The emerald green colour of the incoming swells was spectacular, and the water was so clear that you could see right through a wave before it broke. We splashed, wandered, and took pictures for the afternoon on what we might call the best beach we've seen on our whole trip!

Back on the road, we took another scenic drive west toward Hunter Valley, which is famous for being Australia's premier wine region. The road curved over and around hills and rolling farmland, past kangaroos hopping through the fields and an odd 8-storey house built on a hill that is apparently Australia's highest residence. Farms had horses, cattle, and sheep, some with lily ponds full of ducks and others with wide stands of eucalyptus forest. We came around a sharp corner to see a large bull standing on the wrong side of his fence, with a crumbled section of fence behind him where he had clearly tried his luck. After we zoomed by him, our consciences kicked in and we turned around to tell the owners that their best was out and looking for trouble. There was nobody home, but we did see two kangaroos by the house that each had an adorable little joey sticking out of their pouches! Too bad we didn't get a picture. Anyway, we couldn't try to herd him since there was a cattle guard over the driveway, so we just had to leave him there and hope he stays off the road. Hitting that guy at 80km/hr would be bad news.. . (for him and the car!). It was getting dark, so we lucked out and found a mini campground beside the road in a little country town of Dunog, where you had to register at the local gas station before picking a spot. It actually didn't surprise me that the lady at the gas station knew the people who own the escaped bull, so he will be rescued tonight after all. A pretty pink and gold sunset was accompanied by the nightly kookaburra chorus, marking the end of another wonderful day on the road.