Day 4 at Barrington

Yesterday had been a full day but with sunshine and warm temperatures. The night had brought yet more rain with the murmuring of the river getting louder all the time. There is an odd cackle of kookaburra coming through the closed windows, with the day light attempting to lighten the gloom of the still dark clouds while I savoured my first cup of tea. It was going to be a gloomy rainy day after all? I was quite prepared to stay put as this is also the first time I am out on the day I take my chemo. Most chemo days I am kind of OK at least for the morning with some rumbling of the stomach issues. Going out today was a definite challenge and the mood was- let’s see how far I manage to stay up.

Barrington River Crossing

While having the porridge – by now Paul had mastered the ‘tucker fucker’ (I just heard this new slang for microwave and could not resist adding it here… it is funny, apt and colourful!) and so no porridge was wasted, we decided to go further up the coast as travelling longer on the highway would not take up a lot of time. So as per usual come half past nine cool bag with blood orange drink was packed; also I get pretty cold when I take Methotrexate and since it was already a cool morning I decided to add trousers and a long sleeves top and a warmer top into the bag – better be prepared than to get cold when the fever spikes; and off we went.

Low clouds over Bucketts Mountains

Thunderbolts Way from Barrington to Gloucester

By now the roads were familiar and getting to the highway was fairly quick with very little traffic on the smaller roads. From Nabiac we picked up the Pacific Highway and went north, past Possum Brush and Rainbow Flat, towards Taree. But this time we bypassed Taree and moved further up the coast passing Cundletown, Ghinni Ghinni and Jones Island. As we came up to Jones Island the heavens opened again and we feared this looked set for the day. There was not a break in the clouds but I had to have faith it would not last long. We considered the possibility that we might have to turn back as we have done a time or two when the rain did not allow us even to stop. But by the time we got to Coopernook after which we turn off on to scenic drive route to Harrington – Crowdy Head, the rain was gone and the sun back out.

This route took us to Harrington which is at the mouth of Manning River and on to the Crowdy Head that is at the headland. Harrington is a small seaside town which extends into the Harrington Beach State Park. Since it was early we decided to go up to the Crowdy Head first and look around before returning to Harrington in time for lunch. The road is through the rainforest, beautiful and peaceful. I did not realise that there was actually a small community in this place. The views from the road side are stunning and the Crowdy Bay appears never ending. There is a surfing club and of course the marina.

Crowdy Head Marina

The Lone Ranger?

We drove round the headland and the road round the few houses and saw that we could turn right and be back closing the loop. Now usually we have seen the map and got a good idea what was there but for some unknown reason we had failed to see there was a lighthouse there. Usually the lighthouses at headlands are unmissable but this one was just round the corner from where we turned off and with no signs for the lighthouse either we missed it all together. What a shame!

Crowdy Head Bay

Windy Crowdy Head 

Crowdy Head Bay

The way back along the Crowdy Head Road to Harrington took us to Beach Road where literally the beach starts. We decided to stop at the fish and chips shop right there rather than go into the town. Then we sat in the carpark at the edge of water and had our lunch washed down with blood orange drink. At this point the Manning River joins the Tasman Sea. There is a big sandbar right across the mouth and has a breakwall that goes across the water demarcating the shallow sandbar area to protect the entry channel for shipping. There is a gap in the breakwall with a bridge across which allows the water to flow into this man made lagoon.

Beautiful Pine tree

Harrington

While eating we watched the pelicans and pied cormorants and the first pair of black swans in NSW. There was a wooden sculpture, which is painted instead of carved, of the man who built the first school there with flotsam.  

Black Swans

Pelican again

Sitting to avoid the wind

Who goes there?

More Pelicans Arrive

Esmond (Essie) Hogan

We decided to move the car down the road to be able to go for a walk on the causeway. There were more sculptures at the carpark here depicting the people who used this area as port. Walk along the breakwall was very pleasant. The different colours of water on both sides of the breakwall as well as over different areas of sandbar; the common tern and little tern diving so beautifully and gracefully into the water and catching fish; pelicans that were catching the wind and surprised us by gliding sideways just out of hand reach of us; and watching the rush of water through the opening in the breakwall.

The Breakwall

Sandbar with seagulls

Pilots at Pilot Hill

More sculptures

On the lookout

Are you coming?

Nope am staying put!

Sandbar

Waves crashing into the sandbar

The sign has its own solar panel

Water flowing though the gap in the breakwall

Bye Bye Pelicans

This short walk was I think the end of my ability to function as I totally flagged. Back in the car, I slept all the way back to the cottage. I was helped back in and spent the rest of the afternoon watching TV. Now you would think that was it for this day’s fun but no there was more to come. I had been looking forward to being out in the countryside and with little light pollution being able to see the beautiful starry skies at night. But as you know by now the rain every night had put a kibosh to that. However this night the Gods were smiling and the clouds lifted as it got darker. Oh yea we found we had a neighbour in the next cottage and of course they had the veranda lights on! But oh boy the stars… sooooo many stars….. that never get seen in the city. I always used to see Orion when I lived in the northern hemisphere and had not quite managed to see it here. It was such a joy to see it again brighter than ever seen before. I wish it had been dry outside, I would have loved to lie in the grass and just watch the stars, me thinks one could almost see that band – the milky way! Looking out of the window on to the other side of the cottage the twinkling stars through the tree there could almost be mistaken for a Christmas tree light up with twinkling lights. Closing my eyes that night with the image of the stars on my retina….blisss!