Saturday, June 23, 2012

Day 1 - Crowdy Bay

Two weeks off work, one ute loaded with camping gear, a national parks pass and a loose plan to head north - the perfect holiday (Ryan and Kristenne style).

Our first destination was Crowdy Bay National Park - chosen for being on the coast, within a day's drive north of Sydney and having plenty of good camping options. We stopped first at the lighthouse on Crowdy Head via Harrington, and were rewarded with panoramic views up and down the coast (note the blue skies). Driving back down, we also pulled over to watch a pod of dolphins playing in the waves of the bay ("Ryan STOP, look - DOLPHINS!!!). I'll admit to being just a LITTLE bit excited...

 


We continued our drive into the National Park itself, scoping out camping grounds along the way. The main campground was Diamond Head - located close to the beach and boasting flushing toilets, hot showers and dozens of wallabies but also plenty of other campers. We opted instead to camp at Indian Head, located just a bit further south around the headland and lacking fancy amenities, but being pretty much empty. This trip was going to be the first real test for our TurboTent - named because it can be set up in approximately 2 minutes (unfold it, peg out the corners, step inside and pop up the frame). As Ryan did the honours, he came back out from the tent and turned around to receive a standing ovation from the other campers up the hill. Test number one (ease of set-up) - check!



We went for a bit of a wander up onto the headland, and were again rewarded with a fantastic view of Crowdy Bay to the south with Crowdy Head visible in the distance. The beach itself looked to be a pretty popular fishing spot, with fourbies lined up in the sand (and a few more parked up at our campground). 
 
 
We also went for a short walk inland to see Kylie's Hut - built for local author Kylie Tennant in the 1960's as a writer's retreat by a local grazier, and restored by the NPWS.
 
 Our dinner that night was accompanied by rapidly-approaching clouds and rolling thunder. We managed to cook, eat and clean-up before retreating into the tent as the rain started. Test number two (weather-proofing) - check! We drifted off to sleep accompanied by the sound of rain on the fly, and the mass exodus of fishermen from the beach :-)
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