Days 10 to 12 - Yuraygir National Park

We finally bid goodbye to Bogangar and headed off down the coast to Yuraygir National Park. We decided at random to stay at Illaroo camping ground, nearby to Minnie Waters. This spot would have to take the prize for the most picturesque site of our trip, with our tent directly overlooking the ocean, and set up perfectly for spotting whales. Still no luck, though.


We went for a wander along the beach southwards towards Minnie Waters.

 

When we reached a headland overlooking the Minnie Waters bay, I was excited to spot more dolphins playing in the waves. We spent a pleasant chunk of the afternoon watching them splash in and out of the water, and trying to capture a photo of them (with limited success).

 

We enjoyed the reflected light from the sunset over the beach by our fireside, then turned in for the night.

The next morning we went exploring, starting with a drive into Minnie Waters. We were following a random road up along the coast and lamenting the distinct lack of whales, when suddenly there appeared a puff of water in the distance. WHALES!!!! We ended up seeing probably half a dozen of them at various points along the coast. There were also more dolphins frolicking closer to the shore. Maybe the ocean isn't so bad after all?

We drove to Wilson's Headland and enjoyed the coastal walk between Boorkoom campground and Wilson's Headland Picnic Area, spotting more whales along the way (it was a slow walk with lots of photos...). 

 

  

We rounded out the day by driving further south to Wooli, treating ourselves to fish and chips for lunch. Ryan was eyeing off the breakwater at the river inlet as a likely spot for catching fish - and after lugging our fishing gear around all this time without once actually wetting a line, we bought some bait and made plans to return with the high tide in the morning.

Fishing the next morning proved somewhat less than fruitful - Ryan caught a couple of small Bream, and I came away empty handed. By this time, the call of home was becoming ever stronger, and we decided to pack up and high-tail it 600km down the highway back to Sydney to give ourselves a long weekend at home. Once Ryan realized that he might make it back in time to play basketball that evening, the race was on. We actually made it home with minutes to spare, and he dashed into the house, grabbed his gear and took off in the car before I had even gotten out of the BT. Happily, his team won that night :-)

I was also pleased to discover that my fish had survived two weeks of neglect...