I have been fascinated by lighthouses for as long as I can remember. I have used it as a metaphor in my professional work in Mental Health (watch Navigating Rocky Waters on You tube). On this road trip of New South Wales, we went from one lighthouse to another along the coast. This is a short composite video of the amazing terrain, the sea, the surf, the sand, the swell and the saving light for ships that anchor Australian history.
The lighthouses in the order in which they appear in the video:
- Tacking Point Lighthouse, Port Macquarie
- Nobbys Light, Newcastle,
- Norah Head Light, Norah Head
- Crowdy Head Light, Crowdy Head
- Sugarloaf Point Lighthouse, Seals Rock,
- Smoky Cape Lighthouse, Arakoon in Hat Head National Park,
- Clarence River Light, Yamba
- Richmond River Light, Ballina
- Fingal Head Lighthouse, Fingal Head
- Cape Byron Light, Byron Bay.
Day 1 - 2nd January 2023 - BRISBANE TO SAWTELL
It was a 10 am start on day 1, as there was a lot to pack into the car for a two week road trip. Part of the trip was my daughter, Mahi, making up her driving hours. Traffic was light as we started our southward journey past Gold Coast and the familiar roads past Byron Bay. We had a recent short break in Cabarita, by the Tweed Coast, so a lot of these roads looked familiar as we had gone down exploring to Balina. The first touristy break was at Yamba.
Yamba is 277 km south of Brisbane via the Pacific Motorway and is a popular holiday town on the southern bank of the Clarence River. In 1885 the town was officially proclaimed Yamba which is presumed to be a local Yaegl Aboriginal word which either means “carpet snake” (yambah) or was a term used for the headland.
By now most of you know that I am fascinated by lighthouses, so here is a bit of history regarding the Clarence River Light. It was built as recently as 1955. It stands 41 m above the sea, is 18 metres high, and can be seen 17 nautical miles out to sea. Prior to 1866 there was a kerosene lamp on a platform at the most easterly point on Pilot Hill. In 1866 it was replaced and by 1880 the first proper lighthouse was completed at a cost of £1,097. It was visible for 6 nautical miles out to sea. This lighthouse was automated in 1920. A new lighthouse was completed in 1955 and the light dating from 1880 was dismantled. Today Pilot Hill offers excellent views up and down the coast and is ideal for watching whales in the spring. Nearby is a replica of the original 1879 lighthouse erected by volunteers and used as a community radio station.
After parking by the beach, the family strolled about the sea side which gave me time to go flying with my Mavic 3 and do a few orbits around the lighthouse.
- Spent time at Coff’s Harbour Jetty, watching the reflected twilight over Mutton Island
- Went down to the Sawtell Beach in the night – it was a moonlit night with plenty of stars
- Overnight in Sawtell
Day 2 - 3rd January 2023 - DORRIGO NATIONAL PARK
- Sunrise at Uruga Broadwalk as well as sunset
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- Urunga Boardwalk
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- Urunga Boardwalk
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- Urunga Boardwalk
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- Urunga Boardwalk
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- Urunga Boardwalk
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- Views from Urunga Boardwalk
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- Views from Urunga Boardwalk
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- Urunga Boardwalk
- Drove on the Waterfalls way to Dorrigo National Park
- Visited Dagara Falls
- Walked the Sky Walk amidst the canopy of Tropical Rainforest
- Overnight in Sawtell
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- Dangar Falls, Dorrigo National Park
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- Dangar Falls, Dorrigo National Park
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- Skywalk at Dorrigo National Park
Day 3 - 4th January 2023 - SAWTELL TO PORT MACQUARIE
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- Nambucca Heads V Wall
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- Nambucca Heads V Wall
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- Nambucca
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- Nambucca Heads V Wall
- Sunrise at Nambucca on the V Wall
- Started the southern drive at Sawtell Lookout
- Drove down to Scotts Head Lookout
- Then to Grassy Head
- Finally to Smoky Cape Lighthouse in Hat Head National Park
- Overnight at Port Macquarie
Day 4 - 5th January 2023 - RAINY - WINDY DAY IN PORT MACQUARIE
- Sunrise at Tacking Point Lighthouse
- Drove down to Dooragan National Park but the mountain was covered in clouds so did not go up
- Drove past Laurenton and Lake Catthie but did not stop as it was drizzling
- Spent time on the Lighthouse Beach but it was incredibly windy
- Ended up having some nice family time
- Overnight at Port Macquarie
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- Tacking Point Lighthouse, Port Macquarie
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- Tacking Point Lighthouse, Port Macquarie
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- Tacking Point Lighthouse, Port Macquarie
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- Tacking Point Lighthouse, Port Macquarie
Day 5 - 6th January 2023 - PORT MACQUARIE TO NEWCASTLE
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- Laurieton from Dooragan National Park
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- Laurieton from Dooragan National Park
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- Laurieton from Dooragan National Park
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- View from Dooragan National Park
- For once did not go for sunrise, well did wake up but it was pouring down
- Weather began to clear by 9 am
- Sunny blue skies were there for Dooragan National Park,
- Long Drone flight, – almost 10 kns out to the sea, furthest I have flown, got extremely anxious about losing the drone as it was running out of battery power
- Drove down to Crowdy Head Lighthouse – very similar to Tacking point Light house as it had the same architect
- From there to Sugarloaf Point Lighthouse
- Drove through Myall Lake National Park
- Overnight at Newcastle
Crowdy Head Lighthouse, Crowdy Head
Harrington Break Wall, Crowdy Head
Sugarloaf Point Lighthouse, Seals Rock
Day 6 - 7th January 2023 - RAINY DAY IN NEWCASTLE
- It was raining in the morning so no opportunity to do a dawn flight
- Walk up to Nobby’s Lighthouse, Beach Volleyball tournament was going on
- Highlight of the day was Newcastle Museum – best option as it was raining
- In the evening we did the ANZAC walk
- Went down to Mereweather Baths to see what all the fuss was about, didn’t swim as it was cold
- Made sudden plans to go and watch Avatar but did not eventuate
- Overnight at Newcastle
Day 7 - 8th January 2023 - NEWCASTLE TO SYDNEY
Nobby’s Lighthouse, Newcastle
Norah Head Lighthouse, Norah Head
- Sunrise at Nobby’s Lighthouse, was a very disappointing morning flight to begin with, but then the sun broke through a chink in the cloud and changed everything making for dramatic photography
- Drove down to Nora Head Lighthouse
- Had planned to see Barrenjoy Lighthouse and Hornby Lighthouse too but the children had enough of lighthouses, so decided to drive down to Sydney instead
- Walk down to the Rocks
- Flying visit to the Museum of Contemporary Arts
- Hung about Mrs Macquarie’s chair watching the sunset over Harbour Bridge
- Overnight at Sydney
Day 8 - 9th January 2023 - FANTASIES OF BONDI RESCUE
- Gave sunrise a miss as the skies were cloudy
- First stop Bondi Beach – Bondi never fails to impress, it was crowded and the water was cold, but the body acclimatises quickly, and the waves were pretty amazing, after being dunked a couple of times you get the hang of it
- Bondi rescue was being filmed, although the kids wanted to be on the show, but fortunately no rescue was needed
- Walk through the Botanical Gardens to Sydney Opera House
- Pottering about in the Botanical Gardens followed by a sunset drone flight with magical shots of the Botanical Garden and the adjoining harbour
- Sunset at Darling Harbour
- Overnight at Sydney
Botanical Garden with Opera House and Harbour Bridge
View of adjoining harbour
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- Views from Darling Harbour Sydney
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- Views from Darling Harbour Sydney
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- Views from Darling Harbour Sydney
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- Views from Darling Harbour Sydney
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- Views from Darling Harbour Sydney
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- Views from Darling Harbour Sydney
Day 9 - 10th January 2023 - CULTURE VULTURE DAY IN SYDNEY
- Sunrise over Harbour Bridge
- Day at the Art Gallery of New South Wales – did both buildings – amazing experience
- Night at Moulin Rouge – its a state of mind 🙂
- Overnight at Sydney
Day 10 - 11th January 2023 - SYDNEY TO POKOLBIN VIA BLUE MOUNTAINS
- Early start to get to Blue Mountains
- Cliff’s edge walk to Wentworth Waterfalls
- Sublime Point
- Echo Point and the Three Sisters
- Drove through Woolemi National Park
- Drove through Yengo National Park – Not a soul to be seen in these two national parks
- Overnight at Pokolbin in Hunter Valley
Three Sisters, Blue Mountains
Wentworth Falls, Blue Mountains
Day 11 - 12th January 2023 - HUNTER VALLEY VEINYARDS
- Chasing Wallabies at sunrise
- Went mural hunting in Kurri Kurri
- Drove through Cesknock
- Settled into Tyrells for a fantastic session of wine tasting
- Overnight at Pokolobin
Day 12 - 13th January 2023 - POKOLBIN TO ARMIDALE
- Sunrise over Hunter Valley Vineyards – specifically took pictures of Oakdale Vineyard (Audrey Wilkinson)
- Long drive to Armidale so did not stop on the way
- After reaching Armidale rushed to the Regional Art Gallery – the permanent collection was being rehung, so there were temporary exhibitions that we got to saw
Wollomombi Falls, Oxley Wild River National Park
Dangars Falls, Oxley Wild Rivers National Park
- Drove out to Oxley Wild River National Park
- Took the Waterfall way to get to Wollomombi Falls
- Then came back to Armidale and took an unsealed road to get to Dangars Falls
- On the way back got to see an amazing sunset and did some photography with some rusty old tractors and farm instruments
- Overnight at Armidale
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- Armidale Country Side
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- Armidale Country Side
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- Armidale Country Side
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- Armidale Country Side
Day 13 - 14th January 2023 - ARMIDALE TO BRISBANE
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- Armidale Country Side
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- Armidale Country Side
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- Armidale Country Side
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- Armidale Country Side
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- Armidale Country Side
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- Armidale Country Side
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- Armidale Country Side
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- Armidale Country Side
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- Armidale Country Side
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- Armidale Country Side
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- Armidale Country Side
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- Armidale Country Side
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- Armidale Country Side
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- Armidale Country Side
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- Armidale Country Side
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- Armidale Country Side
This was the final morning before the long drive home. I was tempted to stay in bed and give the sunrise a miss. Thank heavens I dragged myself out of bed cause the sunrise was amazing. Took out my drone for a spin and soon realised that mist and the golden sun was much better photographed using my Digital SLR. You can see from the gallery above that the terrestrial shots are better than the drone shots. My good old Nikon D850 came good on the last day and reminded me not to forget it, ever. Return journey back home was a long drive.
- Took a break in Giraween National Park for a drone flight over the Pyramid and Bald Rock Creek Circuit – had done Giraween a year back so did not go on treks
- Had plans to go to Mooghera Peaks National Park again but while going through Main Ranges National Park, the heaves opened up so came back home
View of Pyramid, Giraween National Park from a Mavic Pro 3
Girraween NP is in the far south of Queensland. In fact pretty much as far south as you can go as it’s only about 17km from the QLD-NSW border. It’s just off the New England Highway, pretty much halfway between Stanthorpe, QLD and Tenterfield, NSW. On the way back from Armidale, we did a flying visit back to Giraween for a drone flight. We had visited the park in Jan 2022 and had the most amazing walks. You can find the Giraween gallery here. Girraween National Park is a mecca of massive granite outcrops, precariously balanced boulders, clear running streams and spectacular wildflowers in spring.
