Day 2 - Lots of rain

We woke to brooding, grey skies and spitting rain - but with more exploring to be done, we kitted up in our wet weather gear and headed back out onto the headland along a walk which would eventually lead to the Diamond Head campground on the other side. I love the ocean on stormy days - the colours are all subtle and muted and it seems more moody somehow. Ryan just shakes his head at me and keeps walking as I stop to take ANOTHER photo...

 

The track snaked through the heathland, sometimes passing above the cliffs, othertimes diving into stunted forest. At one point we passed a couple of wallabies sitting right next to the path. They were completely unconcerned as I stopped to take their picture.

We branched out onto another track after reaching Diamond Head, giving views out over the coast to the north, and the mountains inland capped with clouds.

 

The rain cleared as we returned to camp, so we decided to take the chance to pack up the tent and move on. It didn't stay dry for long, and as we drove north through Port Macquarie, the morning showers evolved into a downpour lasting several hours. The streets were running with water and the gutters overflowing, and the BT's windows steamed up immediately as we huddled inside and warmed up with fish and chips for lunch.

We thought we might camp that night at Point Plomer in Limeburner's Creek Nature Reserve. Rather than continue up the highway, we decided to follow the coastal route suggested by the GPS (mostly because it involved a ferry ride)(who can ever resist the opportunity for a ferry ride???). Maybe we should have paid more attention to the signs at the beginning of the road warning that it received no maintenance and that if you died driving on it it would be no-one's fault but yours...

The road was narrow, rough and undulating. With all the rain, every depression was brimming with water, creating a series of mini-lakes one after the other. These were often 5 or 6 metres in diameter, and several of  the deepest washed over the bonnet of the BT as it ploughed through. I thought it was great fun (then again, I wasn't driving...).

Unfortunately the rain continued, and upon reaching Point Plomer we decided to cut our losses and retreat to civilization for the night. So we headed out again (this time via the much more well-driven route to the highway) and found ourselves a cabin for the night in South Kempsey.