Gidday all,

Christmas and new year have come and gone for another year, it was a quiet time for us, just how we like it.

 Travelling down the coast was full of traffic and impatient drivers. After crossing into NSW it seemed to get worse. Camping in crowded rest areas, big and small was getting to be no fun. We are used to the inland freedom of open countryside and few restrictions on where you can set up camp and be alone.

As soon as we could we left the freeways and took to the small coast roads past Ballina and Evans Head. Down near Yamba we took to the forestry roads through the National parks. Beautifull country inching around the rocky ridgetops then dropping down to the coastline and exploring the various beach campsites in the National parks. Because it was close to Christmas all the campsites were packed out. With a mental note to come back at a less busy time of year we wandered back to the ridgetops and found a spot to hideout.

So was the pattern on our way past Coffs Harbour and Nambucca Heads and on south. Came to a place called Stuarts Point and a sandy track following a powerline which looked interesting so we followed it till we found a small clearing off the track and set up camp. This was our Christmas camp.

The next few days were quiet except for some 4x4s going down the track, three of which got bogged in the soft sand of the track just outside our camp and sought us out for help. The last of these were a young fellow and his mum going fishing up the end. After they got free we chatted and were invited to visit on our way out. After New years we called into our new friends and visited, they told us of a nice area called golden hole at the end of the powerline track which would be a good camp and good fishing too. So we left to check it out, after agreeing to come the next day to help erect a garden shed which had been waiting, lying on the ground for some time.

So here we sit at golden hole, a lovely spot, waiting for the crowds on the roads to dissipate before we move on.