38 - Dec 2020 - Hay - Lake Cargelligo - Nambucca Heads

#38 Dec 2020 Hay - Lake Cargelligo - Nambucca Heads

By the time the very long Melbourne lockdown ended I was getting a bit edgy and keen to be off, somewhere, anywhere.

I conducted a thorough survey and the consensus from my sample of one was Nambucca Heads. 

Out came the maps and I plotted la grand route. Straight up the Northern Highway to Echuca, across the Murray and continue north on the Cobb Highway through Deni (alas no muster that year) and on to Hay. Pause to catch breath, turn right then onwards through Griffith and turn left to Lake Cargelligo. Another breath-catch, then zig-zag through Condobolin, Tullamore, Tottenham, Warren, Collie and Gilgandra to Tooraweenah. Another rest then north through Narrabri and right on the Killarney Gap Road through Bingaran and Warialda to Inverell and Glen Innes. Yet another rest then continue east on the Gwydir Highway across the tableland, down the steep descent and hairpins through Jackadgery and Grafton, through Coffs, and finally arrive in Nambucca Heads.

So after a special shower and cuppa I waved goodbye to the boss and the dogs and set off. The trip was uneventful and largely forgotten apart from some highlights at my favourite spots.

My favourite tree at Hay.

The Hay Plains.

The road between Rankins Springs and Lake Cargelligo

The milky softness of sunset looking east over Lake Cargellico

The morning greeting from a couple of magpie larks

Then nothing else until Nambucca Heads - a couple of long drives so not much time for photos. Some white knuckles and a bit of sweat going down that steep descent to Jackadgery (more through unfamiliarity than real difficulty) otherwise I just enjoyed the enormously varied drive. Oh, I did take this photo of Sawn Rocks in May 2018 on my way through to Emerald.

On my first day or so I did some laundry and recovered from all that driving (45 years behind a desk was no preparation for 1500-ish km of driving with a caravan on the back.)

Day 2 I went for a wander from the excellent White Albatross CP. An old boardwalk had been closed

I don’t know its fate now after another couple of years and floods.

Then over to Shelly Beach. At the time I thought the trees were more interesting than the sand.

Then back to Indicator Point just across from the CP entry, to watch the sun go down.

Early to rise and along the V-Wall to the Pilot Lookout

Then around the adjacent beach to Wellington Rocks

Some breakfast then back to the V-Wall to see what was happening on the sand banks across the river.

That was it for Nambucca Heads so I pedalled hard to Port Macquarie, stayed a day or two then continued south to the NRMA CP on White Tree Bay.

Not my cuppa, so I saddled up again and cruised south via Dubbo and Wagga, to home, the boss, the dogs, and the “lawn”.