Arakoon National Park

Arakoon is closer to home than Crowdy Bay National Park, and we usually stop there on our way back. We have once again pre-booked site 13 beneath the Norfolk pine trees, with the bay behind our site. The couple camping next to us was here forty years ago when the Norfolk pines were planted, and camping was free of charge. They have camped here every year since then.

The campsite faces due west across the bay to South West Rocks, and the sunsets are truly spectacular. It's probably the only spot on the East Coast where you can photograph the sun setting over water. 

This site provides easy access to water, and more importantly, it supplies our solar panels with enough light until sunset. We have booked for seven nights and plan to relax with walks along the beach and enjoy plenty of swimming.

It was lovely to meet Karen and Ken, who follow our blog and recognised our 4WD and van. They were first-time visitors to Arakoon after reading one of our blog entries and have recently taken a tour of the Bushtracker factory. Their plan is to place an order in the not-too-distant future. We mentioned how we print our blog trips as hardcover coffee table books. They were interested in the address, so here it is: 
blogspot.sharedbook.com/blog2print/googleblogger/index.html
 
It’s the first time in many years of visiting that we have had seven beautiful, sunny days; the only downside is that the camp area has never looked so dry.
One day, returning to our campsite after shopping in South West Rocks, we followed a Bushtracker heading towards Arakoon. Nina and Greg, in their 20s, BT, were passing through on their way home to Newcastle and popped in for a chat.
Apart from the goal, another historic site is a German graves monument perched on a hill just over 1 km from the goal.

During our stay, we enjoyed breakfast and lunch at the restaurant within the park. The restaurant is also open for dinner on Friday and Saturday nights.

Crowdy Bay National Park

We have just spent seven days camping at Crowdy Bay National Park. The weather was excellent, with rain on two of the nights. This national park is one of our favourite camping spots and is just over two hours south of where we live. Once the remaining three sections of the Pacific Highway upgrade south of Coffs Harbour are finished, our travel time to this park will be significantly reduced.
The park has four campgrounds: Crowdy Gap in the south, and Kylies Beach, Indian Head, and Diamond Head in the northern section of the National Park.
Our preference is to camp at Kylies Beach, which has basic facilities including drop toilets, cold water showers, and very clear non-potable water. The campground is set back from the beach behind sand dunes and vegetation, providing protection if the weather turns nasty. The main campground is essentially a large grassy area without those dreaded koppers logs, and for those needing shade, there are other more secluded campsites around the main area.

Indian Head campground:

Diamond Head campground:

Laurieton, with a population of 2000 people, is just 5 km north of the National Park boundary and has all the facilities you could ever need. The park lies just over 45 km south of Port Macquarie and 35 km north-east of Taree. We access the park via Kew and then Laurieton, but you can also reach it through Moorland to the south-west. In the past,

we have found that the camping areas become very busy during weekends and school holidays, likely due to the proximity of larger towns. We try to avoid these times, but for this trip, a weekend was included in our stay, and as expected, it was busy. By Sunday night, however, only three other groups remained with us. 

The ranger station is at Diamond Head, where most visitors prefer to stay, thanks to its additional comforts such as flushing toilets and free gas BBQS. Since our last visit, the campground has been upgraded with kerb and guttering and new turf. 

During your stay, you can enjoy a variety of activities, including walking trails, fishing, swimming, whale watching, surfing, or strolling along the uncrowded beaches.

However, the highlight is the wildlife, including koalas, kangaroos, and goannas. With over 700 species of eucalyptus in Australia, koalas feed on only about 40 of them and sleep up to twenty hours a day, with the rest of their time spent eating.

Looking south down Dunbogan Beach towards Diamond Head. Diamond Head is thought to be named after the quartz crystals present in the cliffs, which sparkle when the sun's angle is in the right location and viewed from the sea.

Several photographs captured during the headland walk:

Looking south along Kylies Beach toward Crowdy Head. Captain Cook named it Crowded Head in 1770 after observing a group of Aboriginals on the headland.

During World War II, the Australian author Kylie Tennant moved to Laurieton. She met a local farmer who grazed cattle on Diamond Head, and he built her a timber hut to serve as a writing retreat. The hut has since been relocated to its current site and restored by National Parks. It can be accessed from Indian Head and Kylie's Beach campgrounds.

Several kilometres west of Laurieton is the steep access road that takes you 487 metres to the summit of North Brother Mountain. Laurieton is in the foreground with the small towns of Dunbogan and North Haven on the left-hand side of the Camden Haven River as it enters the sea.

Looking south from North Brother Mountain over Watson Taylors Lake with Crowdy Bay National Park on the left, and Crowdy Head in the distance.

Yuraygir National Park

After collecting the van from the factory, we stayed on the Sunshine Coast for several more days before leaving on Sunday 18th May. We spent the night again at the Yelgun rest area on our journey south.

From Monday the 19th, we enjoyed three lovely nights camping at Yuraygir National Park. The park stretches along the NSW coast, starting just south of Yamba and extending for approximately 60 km. We stayed at the Illaroo campground, which is right on the beach with a view of the Pacific Ocean. Activities here include surfing, swimming, fishing, and walking along the coast, which extends for many kilometres north towards Sandon River. The small town of Wooli is relatively nearby, and Grafton is just over 50 km inland.
 
Facilities include eco-toilets, rubbish bins, and fireplaces. 

June 6: Following a suggestion from Stephen, we purchased the black infill, which arrived today. It was purchased from Caravan and RV Works, which has just relocated to the same street as Bushtracker in Kunda Park. Best of all, it was on special at $2.00 per metre. We both feel that the black infill is a much better match with the silver cladding.

Rejuvenation

Our van was five years old when it was damaged by hail in November last year. Our only thoughts on that day were of sadness, but now all that has changed because it now looks brand new again. 

The only item not re-installed was the rear outside shower locker. This locker continually leaked whenever it rained and wasn't worth the trouble. We have also upgraded the television to the latest 24-inch LED model and replaced our Pioneer deck with the newest product from Fusion. These photos show the changes we have made.

Audio locker and new television:

Fusion deck:

DO35 hitch, Jack and WDH system:

LED reading lights:

Ceiling touch LEDS:

Awning LED lights and outside speakers:

We love the automatic awning:

Alongside this work, the bearings and suspension were serviced, and the underbody has been resealed. 

What a difference just one day makes

Just returned from the factory, and the exterior of the van is now complete, except for the installation of audio and visual equipment, which includes the outside speakers and our roof-mounted satellite dish. These will be fitted next week, along with having the underside of the van re-sprayed. Talk about attention to detail— they even purchased an RM Williams Longhorn sticker to replace the ones that were on the van.

Progress to date

Here are the latest photos taken this afternoon. There is still a fair bit of work to be done on the van's exterior, including the installation of the awning. Daniel from Leisuretainment still needs to install some of the extra audio and visual equipment, including the rear view camera and outside speakers. We are amazed by the van's transformation after it has been sitting damaged at home for the past five months. Van completion is expected on Tuesday or possibly Wednesday next week.

Van Renovation to date

Friday, 2nd May: It's now day five since we dropped off our hail-damaged van at the factory.
 
We were unaware until yesterday, when we received a call from the factory, that our awning was also to be renewed.
The call was to confirm whether we wanted to stick with our existing type of awning or pay extra to have the Dometic 12-volt automatic awning installed. After inspecting its operation yesterday afternoon at the factory, we have now decided to proceed with this option.
Here are a series of photos showing the new cladding in place.

Bushtracker Factory Visit

Saturday 26 April:
We left home this afternoon, turning north on our way to spend the night at the Yelgun Rest Area just off the Pacific Highway, north of Brunswick Heads. We often stay here on our route north to the Sunshine Coast, as it breaks the journey and makes the drive more manageable. Unfortunately for us, this weekend coincides with the ANZAC long weekend and the end of the school holidays. As we drove north towards Yelgun, traffic was very light heading our way, but there was a steady stream of traffic heading south. Upon arriving at Yelgun, the local Lions Club caravan was set up with a twenty-four-hour 'Driver Reviver' stop. There were cars everywhere, so we parked quite a distance away.
The van is booked into the Bushtracker factory on Monday, 28 April, for a complete re-skin following the hail damage we sustained in November 2013. Repairs will take a couple of weeks, so we have decided to stay and have another good look around the general area.
 
Sunday 27 April:
Sunday morning, as we headed past the Gold Coast, we were surprised by the lack of traffic, but that all changed once we crossed the Gateway Bridge. The traffic on both sides of the Sunshine Coast Motorway was unbelievable, with a never-ending stream of vehicles.
 
Monday 28 April:
We dropped the van off at the factory at the designated time and then spent three hours discussing some changes we wanted while the insurance work was being carried out. 

The changes to be carried out before re-sheeting the van include the addition of an audio/visual locker on the van's nearside, outside speakers, extra awning LED lights with dual colour on the nearside and replacing the extra-large window above our dinette with a smaller 1200 x 600 mm window. This involves re-sheeting the van interior around this area.

Tuesday 29 April:

Other changes not affected by the insurance claim include replacing the current powered jockey wheel with a Vehicle Components jack, upgrading to the latest weight distribution system, installing a new DO35 hitch, swapping out the existing blue diesel heater tank for a black one, replacing old tail lights with LED versions, upgrading the internal lights from traditional fluorescent to modern touch LED lights, and the pièce de résistance, the new Silver Cladding. This cladding adds an additional $1,000.00 to the cost compared to the standard white cladding.