Around The Lake

Almost

Back in 2018 Roger cycled from Brisbane to Newcastle: an adventure on which he has dined out ever since and which involved acts of cycling derring-do such as pedaling down pristine beaches and nearly perishing in wild forgotten forests. Given that we were heading to Queensland anyway we planned to follow his 2018 route in reverse, riding all the best bits and skipping the pesky bits that involved highways and boring stuff.

We escaped Sydney mid-morning after a long and leisurely breakfast with our son and daughter-in-law who fortuitously lived within walking distance of Lane Cove and had a very nice cafe at the bottom of their building. We traveled all of 80ish km and set up camp in Stockton which is really Newcastle, just the quiet over-the-other-side-of-the-river bit.

On the way we stopped off at Tuggerah and cycled almost all the way around Tuggerah Lake. It was a beautiful day for bicycling.

The path went almost all the way around the lake, finishing over beyond the sparkle, 36.4km away to be exact.

Every little jetty along the way was festooned with waterbirds.

Going in opposite directions we intended to meet somewhere beside Wyrrabalong National Park, but what with separate paths on either side of a very busy road and me perhaps taking an unplanned detour through some back streets, we didn't see each other at all. Thank goodness Roger had his new phone so that we could make contact and confirm that both of us were alive and no-one was being dismembered and carted off in a refrigerator, or even just crashed into a tree and nursing broken bits.

I stopped briefly at The Entrance, the beach still hidden on the other side of the faraway sandhills.

And of course to take a photo of the bridge before I rode over it.

The passage through Wyrrabalong NP was initially on the road. It was quite safe, but it wasn't fun.

Once on the separated path I could stop and appreciate the contorted eucalyptus in Wyrrabalong.

I'm prone to taking unplanned detours, prompted by a) the desire to explore or more likely b) not paying attention to where I'm going and finding I have inadvertently misplaced myself. Today was no exception and I took a happy little detour through the back streets of Canton Beach before I managed to find the lake again and continue my circumnavigation.

Back on the path after my little detour.

Lantana, a noxious weed that thrives on the East coast. I never noticed its absence in South Australia, but as soon as I smelled it my subconscious declared me to be back in the land of my childhood.

Flocks of swans fed in the shallow waters as I rounded Buff Point.

By the time I finished riding, packed up the bike, and collected Roger time was short for us to get to Stockton and pitch the tent before sunset. Although Stockton was just a short ferry ride across the river from Newcastle if traveling by bike, getting there by car was quite the trip through Newcastle's industrial north and over various branches and channels of the Hunter river. As we made our way down to the end of the spit opposite Newcastle we were treated to spectacular industrial sunsets.

The Stockton Caravan Park was within walking distance of the ferry. Had I been so inclined I could have caught the ferry and 10 minutes later been wandering the streets of Newcastle city. I didn't do that. Instead I wandered onto the breakwater and watched two fussy little tugs chivvy a bulk coal carrier through the entrance and up the river.

I didn't take a photo of our campsite. For those who wish to know: the sites were large and clean; the grand camp kitchen was plagued by televisions turned up too loud; the RSL did a nice dinner with a view of the ocean; there was a cafe on site; and the gates to the breakwater were locked at night so if you happened to be out too late you had to walk all the way around to the front entrance to get in, or climb the chain link fence.

I walked.

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Today's ride: 36 km (22 miles)
Total: 231 km (143 miles)

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