Day 017, Tuesday, 14 April, 2009

Distance travelled – 57.5 km
Avg speed – 19.03 kph
Max speed – 42.5 kph

Nambucca Heads, Pacific Highway, Hungry Head Road, Urunga, Pacific Highway, Lyons Road, Sawtell, Hogbin Drive, Coffs Harbour.

We left our very comfortable base for the last four days and headed for Coffs Harbour being very careful not to go along any more steep ‘Short Streets’ as we left Nambucca Heads.

The Pacific Highway was relatively busy so we were very pleased to get away from the constant “vroom, vroom vroom” sound of passing traffic as we turned onto the aptly named Hungry Head Road and rode to Urunga for lunch. This was only a short 6 km deviation from the highway but still it was a very pleasant relaxing break from the traffic.

Urunga was one of the towns hit by the recent floods and there were many houses with their furniture and carpets stacked on the roadside ready for the trip to the tip. Two rivers enter the sea at Urunga, the Bellinger and Kalung, and the combined flows were the reason for the floods. Looking at the river today it is hard to imagine the damaging floods of 2 weeks ago. The piles of furniture and the muddy fairways of the golf course are the only hints of the disaster.

The Pacific Highway after Urunga quickly turns to dual carriageway and the shoulder on this section of the road is relatively wide and smooth. Much of the forest along the road is fenced to keep the koalas and other wildlife from the roads and there is a very extensive koala crossing at the beginning of a new section of the road.

As we rode towards Coffs the clouds got darker and darker and it was not long before we were wet, but it only rained for about 30 minutes. As we arrived in Coffs the clouds rolled in again and for 20 or so minutes it rained very heavily, the only difference this time was that we were under shelter ringing around looking for accommodation for the night.

With the lightening and thunder persisting we decided not to camp and tonight it is again raining reasonably heavily. There is certainly not a drought on the Mid and Far North Coast. We noted this evening that ABC weather reported 8 mm of rain in Tuggeranong. We only wish all the rain up here would go south and even up the scores.

Zoom into the map and use the 'Satellite' layer to see our new location.

Leaving 'The Woodheap'

Warning signs on Hyland Park Road. The sign in the background seems to be warning of feral bikes along with the kangaroos

This sign will be added to our collection of warning signs for Koalas, Kangaroos, Camels etc. I suspect we will not see one like this again.

Rest stop on a forest road next to the Pacific Highway. (These may be some of the feral bikes the previous signs warned against).

Lunch in front of the Ocean View Hotel, Urunga.

Lunch in front of the Ocean View Hotel, Urunga.

Mouth of Bellinger and Kalung rivers

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