Road Trip Part 17 – Coffs Harbour, Paddy’s Rest and the Nightmare Drive To Byron Bay

Leaving behind Port Macquarie around 3 pm meant it should have still been possible to see Coff Harbour in daylight. I hadn’t eaten since Newcastle so settled for a quick and easy drive through McDonalds, which sat nicely in the passenger seat and was muched at various slow traffic points on the route up to Read more about Road Trip Part 17 – Coffs Harbour, Paddy’s Rest and the Nightmare Drive To Byron Bay[…]

Road Trip Part 16 – Port MacQuarie

After visiting Newcastle, next up came Port Macquarie, a relatively big harbour town also on the route up to Brisbane. The road up to Port Macquarie was excellent – very wide, smooth and not many other cars. I’d say it took me a maximum of 2 hours to get there. I parked in the main Read more about Road Trip Part 16 – Port MacQuarie[…]

Road Trip Part 15 – Newcastle

When I look back on Newcastle, my main memory will be the transition from trousers to shorts. Having lived in Tasmania the previous few months, and then drove up via Melbourne and Wollongong, it was the heat of Newcastle that got me that day. I left off my last part of the road trip after Read more about Road Trip Part 15 – Newcastle[…]

Road Trip Part 14 – Rush Hour in Sydney, Torrential Rain and A Sleep at Ourimbah

From the “Chinese” experience of Wollongong I drove up hills and through pretty mountainous areas on route to Sydney, which I intended to by-pass and get through quickly without stopping. But I ended up bang in the middle of Sydney bang in the middle of rush hour and it was total mayhem. It took me Read more about Road Trip Part 14 – Rush Hour in Sydney, Torrential Rain and A Sleep at Ourimbah[…]

Road Trip Part 13 – Nan Tien Temple, Wollongong

I’d heard of Wollongong and I often confused it with an old tennis player – Yvonne Goologong, also Australian but with no link.  Wollongong is a city south of Sydney on the coast of New South Wales.  While staying in the Chilli Blue hostel in Sydney’s King’s Cross I always noticed prominent road signs for Read more about Road Trip Part 13 – Nan Tien Temple, Wollongong[…]

Road Trip Part 11 – Narooma, Ulladulla and Nowra

I had heard of neither location. Nowra Ulladulla or Narooma. My solo road trip was well underway though. I had left behind the states of Tasmania and Victoria and was now back in New South Wales. I had just watched Spain beat Honduras 2-0 in the World Cup and drove for a breakfast stop at Read more about Road Trip Part 11 – Narooma, Ulladulla and Nowra[…]

Road Trip Part 9 – Flashback to my Childhood at Marlo

I grew up and was raised in Marlo, a small housing area in Kilmaine in the south of Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland. That is where I’m really from. This year I have thought about my childhood a lot, probably too much. I liked some of it, but not all of it. I miss the Read more about Road Trip Part 9 – Flashback to my Childhood at Marlo[…]