Plan A or Plan B

Plan A or Plan B – Does not matter

COVID is still not allowing anyone in Australia to make travel plans with ease. After few attempts, made Plan A (Visit Flinders and Eyre Peninsula in South Australia), Plan B (Coastal Trip of NSW) and then Plan C (within Victoria) for Christmas and New Year break. But finally ended-up with blend of Plan B and C with ACT included for 18 days road trip with unlimited fun and travel caravan of 17 folks and 4 SUV cars.

Here is day wise plan with highlights from each day.

Day 1 Lakes Entrance  – Fabulous place for hiring your own boat for sailing in lake. Beautiful sunset at Lakes Entrance lookout (next to hotel) and nearby Raymond Island for spotting Koala population.

Day 2 Eden and Merimbula  – Whale watching at Eden, if you are going in season (Aug to Nov), otherwise go for Oyster farming and sea food experience. Don’t miss out on boardwalk near lake and swim at Merimbula beach.

Day 3 Narooma and Coastal towns – For spotting seals and Australia Rock. Beautiful warm beaches. lagoons, rivers and small coastal towns (Tathra, Bermagui and so on). First time I was able to spot String Ray in open waters at Bermagui.   

Day 4 Jervis Bay and Kiama – White sand beaches are the highlight of Jervis Bay. Hyams beach at Jervis Bay is one the best in Australia with white sand. Go for Dolphin or whale watching trip from Huskisson beach. Kiama is good stop over on the way to Sydney for natural wonder of blowholes (if you are lucky to see it). Fun Fact – Jervis Bay belong to ACT and you need to cross border within NSW.

Day 5 Sydney – Getting wet with kids at Darling Harbour fountains, followed by long walk and ferry upto Sydney Opera/Harbour Bridge via Luna Park

Day 6 Hunter Valley – Wine Tasting at Saddlers Creek Winery and then Cheese Tasting. One of the cherished experience by adults during trip with beautiful red, white, rose and dessert wine tasting. Kuri kuri for more than 60 murals to be found on the streets of town.     

Day 7 Port Stephens – Sand Boarding at Anna Bay followed by swim at Birubi beach was the highlight of trip

Day 8 Port Macquarie – Beautiful lighthouse and then coastal walk from Town Beach to other beaches via Flynn Beach. Don’t miss out the break wall with beautiful work on rocks, which was one of the highlight of Port Macquarie. Able to spot dolphins in open ocean from lighthouse at Port Macquarie. Another great place at Port was Rainforest walk at Sea Acres with 1.3 kms of loop track.

Day 9 Coffs Harbour – Banana Plantations, Forest Pier(Sealy lookout), spotting spiders in the wild, Dutch village (Clog Bran) and then Mutton-bird island reserve were the highlights here. And last but not the least – don’t miss out on beautiful Botanical Gardens and swim at lagoons along Hastings River.

Day 10 Byron Bay (most eastern part of main land Australia) – Celebrated Mithun’s birthday at Stone and Wood Brewery, which was fantastic experience. And swam at main beach with fishes was another highlight. From Byron Bay, return journey started with following coastal route till Sydney and then inland route after Sydney.

Day 11 Nambucca Heads– Hidden Gem on the coast. Find out more on google about this place.

Day 12 Port Stephens – This time, it was time for walk on Fingal Spit followed by time bound walk upto historical lighthouse. Highlight yet was spotting playing dolphins at river near Tea Gardens.

Day 13 Hunter Valley – Amazing Christmas lights and rides. One of the biggest ever seen so for.

Day 14 Newcastle – Swim at Ocean Baths and then visit to Fort.

Day 15 and 16 Sydney – Manly Beach, Vietnamese market at Cabarmatta, New Year’s Eve Firework, Northern Beaches (Palm, Avalon etc. with lighthouse walk)

Day 17 Canberra – War Memorial, Parliament, Telstra Tower, Mt. Ainslie look out and Royal Australian Mint with experience of how to make your own Australian coins.

Day 18 Albury and Melbourne – Murray River (longest river of Australia) followed by Dam visit on Lake Hume.

And list of my top 10 experiences from this trip:  

1. Raymond island (near lakes entrance) for Koala spotting in the wild (both the times I have been there, we spotted more than 15 koalas each time)
2. Anna Bay for Sand boarding (must-visit place)
3. Wine tasting and Christmas Lights at Hunter Valley
4. Dolphin spotting at Port Macquarie Light House, Tea Gardens and then Byron Bay
5. Seal spotting at Narooma
6. Swim at white sand Hyams beach, Merimbula, Byron Bay (with fishes) and Manly Beach
7. Banana Plantations at Coffs Harbour
8. Coastal Walk at Port Macquarie (9 kms between town and beaches)
9. New Year’s Eve Fireworks at Sydney Harbour
10. Craft beer experience at Stone & Wood Brewery, Byron Bay

 And then few memories to retain for lifetime  

• Trip with 17 folks – biggest group ever with 18 Days on road
• Consumed more than 120 beers and 4 scotch bottles during 18 days between 3 boys
• Making Chai near Kiama Blow Hole and having with Gujarati Nashto
• Jumping at Hyams Beach and then Tathra Beach
• Looking for coffee all the time (Coles Express kept me alive)
• Dinner at Shruti’s place with Sandeep and Shiven
• Cooking food for all on BBQ and small gas stove
• Spotting Gecko (Lizard) at Flynns beach, Spiders/Eels at Coffs Harbour, Dolphins at Tea Gardens, Seals at Narooma
• Sharing tea with Afghan friends and then buying fresh banana from farms at Coffs Harbour

In the nutshell, it was 4700 kms of coastal trip from Melbourne to Byron Bay – via Lakes Entrance, Merimbula, Jervis Bay, Sydney, Port Stephens, Hunter Valley, Port Macquarie and Coffs Harbour. Road trip covered 3 states with Victoria, NSW and ACT and touched border with QLD. Coastal drive route for first 13 days covered Sapphire Coast, South Coast, Centre Coast and North Coast of NSW with return journey via inland route of Canberra and Albury.