Evans Head to Sydney

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I decided to skip an overnight stop and made the 575 Km trip from Evans Head to Myall Lakes in one hit. Most of it was on the divided Pacific Highway and very easy driving. I did take a diversion to Crescent Head to see artwork on a water tower, I should have saved my time. Unusually most of the mural had graffiti over it, which is very unusual, and maybe a commentary on the quality of the artwork, maybe that is a bit harsh. I managed to find a part with only a couple of “Tags”

However the view south from the headland (Ness for Cryptic Crossword aficionados) was wonderful.

I stayed at the NRMA caravan park at Myall Lakes, which is in the National Park, a great park with lots of trees and other plants, a really beautiful spot.

I went for a drive through the Myall Lakes National park, which was a delight, very much like the Mountain Ash forests of Victoria except the tree ferns are replaced by palms. You can get an idea of the forest from the photo of the walk the the tallest tree in NSW. The flooded gums in the photo below are 50 years old and, while tall, are still very slender compared to the big one.

The big tree, called Grandis, is massive, I had to take a panorama shot to get it all in the one photo. It is a Flooded Gum, 400 years old, 76.2 metres high, 11.5 metres circumference and the first branch is 25 metres above the ground and the diameter of the trunk at that height is still 1.8 metres. A massive tree.

I then drove on through the forest to the Whoota Whoota lookout which gives you a wonderful view north along the coast. This photo is a panorama.

The photo from the lookout below is a conventional photo.

After four restful days at Myall Lakes, I moved onto Sydney where I stayed at Lane Cove National Park. It is a an excellent park with lots of trees and only 16 Km from the centre of Sydney. I booked in for four nights as I wanted to visit several manufacturers of motorhomes. I have decided that I will stop towing a caravan when I turn 80 in a couple of years. I am still comfortable towing and really enjoy living in the van on holidays, but I guess I should make the decision by choice rather than being forced into it.

I have chosen a Trakka Akuna based around a MWB VW Crafter van. It has 4WD which I wanted as I enjoy travelling on dirt roads which can be quite rough. It also has the raised suspension and larger wheels options, but it is not a go anywhere van by any means, you have to make compromises. I will be down-sizing as there is far less storage than in a car and van so I will have to work on that. Hopefully it will be delivered in the first quarter of 2024. Here is a photo of one, mine will be white of course!

I looked at conventional motorhomes built on a cab-chassis but I didn’t like the width of these and the finish was not as good as Trakka. It is a compromise though as the shower toilet is very squeezy and there is less storage. Horizon motorhomes built in Ballina were similar to the Trakka and excellent quality but they use a Fiat van as the base vehicle and they are not imported into Australia in 4WD versions. So the Trakka was my choice.

Tomorrow I start heading back home but will take a week or so to get to Melbourne. I will post another blog on the way. Remember you can subscribe to get an email when I post a new blog, just enter your email below and click Subscribe.

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2 Responses to Evans Head to Sydney

  1. Chris says:

    Fantastic part if the east coast there Russ, beautiful shots. Love to see how the transition goes to the new camping wheels.

  2. Russ says:

    It will be interesting to se how I go with the new camper, a big change and a bit of a challenge. The east coast is a beautiful part of Australia, I have really enjoyed the journey down the coast.

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