Muttonbird Island, Coffs Harbour

It rained a lot while we were in Coffs Harbour.  We watched the weather while we were there and chose a sunny afternoon to walk to Muttonbird Island.

TurboBug decided he had to push his pram.  The entire way.  He’s such a toddler.  This walkway goes all the way out to the island.  Ocean on one side, a boat marina and fish market on the other.

We found these mosaics along the way.  I’m wondering if these were commissioned or someone took it upon themselves to make the walk more interesting. The kids enjoyed hopping from rock to rock (or cement block to cement block) along the way.  Every once in a while I reminded them to please not break any bones or die, then looked away so I wouldn’t have to watch.  :)

Once we got onto the actual island we were happy to find a skink or two.

The trail is very steep at one point.  We left the pram at the bottom, which TurboBug was okay with after much discussion.  Did I mention he’s a toddler? ;)  We discovered that this is a popular running trail.  Due to the steepness it would be quite challenging and we saw many runners that day.

Unfortunately we were there the wrong time of year to see the birds.  During the winter they migrate north.

We made our way to the other side of the island to the eastern lookout.  Ever so slowly.  From the top of the island you get 360 degree views of the area.

It was the right time of day for all the fishing boats to leave.  We must have seen ten or so heading out for the evening.

We kept our eyes peeled for whales. 

And we saw some!  Yay!  Humpback whales are on the move this time of year, heading north to warmer waters.

Really, those are whales.  We even saw some jumping in unison.  So neat.  Here’s close-ups, blurry since they are zoomed in so much.  I was reluctant to leave because they were so easy to spot.

Some of us also saw some dolphins right near these rocks.  We watched a man fishing and saw him reel in a nice big fish from close by.  The kids immediately wanted to know if they could come fishing here!  They hadn’t had much luck fishing off the pier.  But these rocks aren’t an easy spot to get to.

More of those 360 degree views.

This kid is such a character.  :)

TurboBug was much relieved to pick up the pram waiting a the bottom of the trail and then proceeded to push it all the way back to the car. 

An easy walk and a must do if you are in Coffs Harbour.  Even in the winter.  You might get rained on, but you will most likely get to see some whales!

The Big Banana

Coffs Harbour is famous for bananas.  Especially the Big Banana, which was one of the first Big Things in Australia.  Big Things are…um…a thing here.   This one is located right next to the motorway, you can’t miss it if you drive through Coffs Harbour.  We didn’t know until we go there that you can actually walk through the Big Banana.  Inside is various information about bananas and a video where you can watch some (green) bananas being picked and packed. 

The Big Banana is a big tourist trap entertainment complex.    You can do mini golf, laser tag, tobogganing, ice skating, and there’s a water park they are expanding.  You can also tour their plantation.  As with many tourist traps entertainment complexes, things are pricey so we opted for laser tag only.  We wanted to do the tobogganing (which is a huge slide down the side of the mountain) but it was closed due to the rain.  The kids did enjoy the laser tag, even LadyBug, who is only five, likes it and isn’t the least bit scared.

The monkey’s name is Max.  JitterBug has a monkey named Max, so we had to get pictures. 

Then we found another Max inside, behind the big banana.  He was the subject of many photos while we were there, family after family huddled around that monkey for pictures.

The kids all had bananas with chocolate and sprinkles on them from the cafe.  There’s also a shop selling more banana things than you could imagine.  And that’s the Big Banana, done.  I’m sure there will be more Big Things in our future. ;)

Sealy Lookout, Coffs Harbour

I had really been looking forward to Coffs Harbour as it is a big tourist destination.  I expected a beach town, but what I found was a much bigger town than I expected that happens to be on the coast.  Not much of a beach feel to it, not helped by the winter weather while we were there.  The caravan park we stayed at was quite large with a water park and big playground and heaps of vans coming and going every day.

While in Coffs Harbour we drove to Sealy Lookout.  It’s a short drive and the road goes right up to the lookout, no hiking involved.

I find references to Queen Elizabeth II 1970 visit to Australia all over the place.  She must have had quite the itinerary during her trip here.  Her visit was in connection with the bicentenary of Captain Cook’s sailing up the east coast of Australia.  According to the information board she visited Sealy Lookout, though the Forest Sky Pier wouldn’t have been here then.

The pier itself is gorgeous.  The design is really offset by the vegetation.

The views are great on a clear day.

That island on the left is Muttonbird Island which we would later visit.  See that somewhat enclosed area next to it?  We’d heard on the news that the beach at Coffs Harbour was closed due to sharks.  There’s a lovely pier in there that’s fun for jumping off, but that’s apparently the area that was closed.  It’s also a popular fishing spot, and too much fish cleaning in the area meant sharks had come in looking for crumbs.

There were signs at the lookout to point out the various sights so you knew what you were looking at.  Always helpful!

The surrounding vegetation was nice to look at, with ferns peaking through.  The lookout is definitely worth the short drive.  There’s also a picnic area and some trails.  We got caught in the rain while we were there, so it was back in the car for us.

There are several banana plantations as you drive to the lookout.  It was interesting to see how they go right up the steep mountainside.  What a job that would be to care for those trees! Many of the bananas were covered in bags while still on the tree, I suppose to protect them from the winter weather.

While in Coffs Harbour we caught up on some schoolwork.  Lots of rain means time inside, the perfect time to do some work.  We don’t do heaps, but they still have to do their reading and writing and arithmetic.  :)

JitterBug has been anxious to learn cursive.  He was so excited to finish his last handwriting book and get started with his new one.

And he was still enjoying his first lost tooth.  :)

I have the ebook version of Our Sunburnt Country (you can get it here).  It’s an overview of Aussie history in a narrative form that we are slowly reading through.