Monday, 13 January 2020

Sailing Down the NSW Coast: Coffs Harbour


After our best ever dolphin encounters off Brooms Head we sailed into Coffs Harbour.  



The bar crossing was calm and the marina gave us a T berth which was quieter than most.  The improved breakwater leads onto Muttonbird Island, which is home to thousands of shearwaters, which have chicks in the burrows at the moment (January).

It’s been a while since we visited, but Coffs is still a friendly town with great facilities.  On Sundays the markets are just near the Yacht Club, a short walk from the marina.  Another market is held in the car park of the main shopping centre.



The aquarium, which is run by students from Southern Cross University, is worth a visit, especially to see “Charlie”, the naughty octopus.  He has a few tricks up his eight sleeves and can even open a jar with his arms to get his prawn snacks.   I won’t give away his other tricks, but he’s quite the star.
The Botanical Gardens are easily reached by cycle tracks around the town, as is the river, jetty and southern breakwater.  Up the mountain is Bellingen and the Dorrigo Rainforest Walk, an excellent bird walk.

Some massive funghi in Dorrigo Rainforest


On the walk out along the old pier at Urunga, which goes to the mouth of two rivers, the Bellinger and Kalang, we saw schools of whiting, mullet and a few rays in the clear water, while plumed egrets (intermediates) were having a good feed among them.  



One carpet python had already finished his lunch and was resting in the lomandra.  


Best of all, a mangrove gerygone was calling and we finally saw him in a mangrove tree. 



Heatwave: The Last Post

 In December 2016 our adventures on Heatwave began.  This catamaran suited us well with plenty of space inside, a comfy cabin for visitors a...