It was kind of fitting that it was a miserable day on my last full day with Butch. I'd put off the trip North for long enough and I wasn't in the mood to let anything stop one final adventure! I still hadn't planned this adventure fully so it was a bit of a point, shoot, see where we end up type of trip... but isn't that the best kind of adventure? Googlemaps would get me home...
I travelled across the Harbour Bridge to school for 7 years... I always felt a bit lucky to be doing that- travelling across one of Sydney's icons every day just to go to school while people from all over the world would travel here to climb it, take photos of it, watch fireworks shot from it... it's a pretty special bridge.
I've done the drive up to the Central Coast a bit recently, a new friend lives up there. Before that, I think it had been close to 15 years since i'd been North up the F3. And one of the things that's always stuck in my head is the road carved through the massive sandstone mountains and the bridges... more bridges.
Now, you know how I said I hadn't planned this trip... I turned onto the Central Coast Highway on semi-autopilot to my mate's place and saw a sign pointing me towards Wiseman's Ferry... with no indication of how far so I thought i'd just duck in there. Now, for those of you who know the area, I can hear you laughing already. I figured: Central Coast, water, something with Ferry in the name has to be close by... nope. I drove for about 25 mins before I got to a sign saying it was 61km away! Gosford is only 75km from my place! On the upside, it was a beeee-autiful drive! (On the downside, it was getting less and less likely i'd find a bathroom anytime soon...) All the greenery reminded me of my travels in Japan. It was one of those gems I would never have found otherwise- little did I know, this would become a bit of a theme for this last trip.
It got to the point, much like with the lookouts at the Blue Mountains, that if I stopped at every pretty thing I saw, it was going to take me a week to get home. That said, I stopped a lot anyway and got some awesome pics which I just can't help but want to show you! I've got a bit of a thing for pretty trees. I'm not sure if it's city living that makes me appreciate them more or whether i'm a greenie at heart... I didn't hug any of them for the record.
I stopped Butch to say hello to some cows who were enjoying the ultra-green grass in their paddock. They came trotting over to check him out and were very vocal about it! I cannot believe how loud they were! Obviously this city girl hasn't had many dealings with fully grown, hungry cows :)
By this stage, i'd turned around and was headed back towards roads and areas I vaguely knew when I saw a sign to the Australian Reptile Park. In true adventure mode, I took the turn off and ended up parked under an enormous concrete frill-necked lizard! The place was closing up for the day but it was here that I met a new (and very friendly) friend...
Sasha the Staffy. Sasha was racing around checking out everyone as they left the park. She's the friendliest dog i've ever met (not like my antisocial monster at home ;) but was wearing no collar so I checked with some of the staff and they said she lives next door. They gave me strict orders not to steal her... obviously people have wanted to and I don't blame them- She's such a sweetie, I was tempted after they put the idea in my head! ;) She had good road sense and wouldn't go near Butch while his engine was on- smart girl! but I managed to get her to stay still (ish) long enough for this photo. When I crouched down, she practically climbed into my shirt trying to lick my face madly- hence the strange look on my face!
I turned Butch's engine off for some more photos and again, Sasha came close enough AND stayed still long enough to get a photo of them together. I didn't like my chances at first, she was screaming around so fast she was flicking dirt and mud all over the place like a mad thing but my best dog-mum voice got her to stop for a second. I could barely stop giggling at her long enough to take the photo... this is why I love my dog. Whatever mood you're in, one goofy move will make you laugh, guaranteed!
The sign at the exit reminded me that my time with Butch was almost up, one of many strangely apt finds on my trip.
We found the freeway again but on the way, Butch wanted to show me just how much of a boy's car he could be so he posed for a photo with some "Tonka Trucks" :) I hope that my 2 weeks with the Turbo Diesel Focus has shown people that despite having guts, it's definitely a car that a female can handle, feel incredibly safe in and look great driving. I get the feeling Diesel engines have a bit of a manly/country girl stigma attached to them... but I assure you, the Focus is a car fit for any Sydney Princess! (Fingers crossed this princess gets to keep her Butch-prince!)
Back to spots I knew (and knew would have a bathroom... phew! Wasn't looking forward to putting that kind of embarrassing story in a blog! ;) I drove South on Brisbane Waters Rd. from Gosford towards Woy Woy... and this is where my knowledge of the area stopped again. I can't tell you where these photos were taken, despite my best efforts to make it stick in my head... but I understand why people would live up here and commute to the City for work every day. The reward when you stepped off the train alone would be worth the trip.
The waterfront at Woy Woy is so lovely. There's a fishing spot, a swimming area with a mini beach and ducks everywhere. It wasn't much of a swimming day but there was plenty of fishing going on and the humans must have been on the right track because the Pelicans were out too.
I'd been out to a movie in Ettalong one night but had never seen the beach so I went in search of it. Again, not much swimming going on, but lots of fishing. Definitely not a beach to be sniffed at- it goes for miles and is nice and sheltered. Putting this on the 'to re-visit' list!
I vaguely remember my cousins holidaying at Umina. I'm not sure why, but I had it stuck in my head that it was an inland/mountain place so I followed the signs and was pleasantly surprised to find it was yet another gorgeous beach. The weather was turning more foul by the second but Butch looked so cute parked between these two trees...
I followed Butch's nose South, knowing that there was an enormous body of water betwen here and Sydney but not knowing where the roads would cross it and discovered somewhere I hadn't been in almost 20 years- Pearl Beach. My sister and I both spent Summers here. We were both lucky enough to have friends at Primary school whose parents had holiday homes. I don't remember it being so green and overgrown- the trees that line the streets create these green corridoors that make the place feel as secluded and out of the way as it is. You get the feeling that from the top of the mountain, no one would know there was a little suburb below. I also love that all the streets are named after semi-precious stones and have vague recollections of Amethyst and Emerald Avenues.
Pearl Beach looks like my kind of beach, not too crowded, not too big. I'm not a surfer so i'm not too fussed about waves... another good re-find to add to the visit again list! The road into Pearl Beach isn't the best- it winds up a mountain and there are signs warning of falling rocks the whole way (and the sign at the bottom saying how many times they've applied for funds to have it fixed is a little sad) but it was no problem with Butch taking care of me. I couldn't help wondering: If the road were better, would more people live and visit here and would that ruin the charm?
Leaving Pearl Beach I was on the lookout for a lookout. I'd spotted a small, rusty sign pointing it out on the way up the mountain and thought i'd take a look on the way back. I turned off the road and ended up at what looked like some kind of water treatment plant... not very picturesque! The sign on the road looked at least 3 decades old so maybe the lookout had been replaced but I went for a bit of a wander and found a painted sign on a tree that made me wonder... "are these directions? or a warning?" With the light fading, it was starting to feel like something out of a horror movie.
Of course, I wasn't prepared for a bushwalk and my shoes were particularly un-sensible so I wandered up the track for what felt like about 800m. When I couldn't see anything looking like a lookout, I turned around. I could appreciate the potential- a headland between two beaches- and managed to catch glimpses through the trees.
Without the aid of Googlemaps, I set off back towards Sydney... and promptly got lost somewhere behind Woy Woy/Ettalong. But I found wildlife... well, ducks and geese!
I finally found Woy Woy Rd. (retracing my steps back to Woy Woy) I now understand why the locals directed me to there via Gosford. I wouldn't want to use Woy Woy Rd every day- with its 5km of "high accident area" and i'm guessing it's not well lit at night. Still, the climb wasn't so bad and I found another lookout.
... and this quote on the wall. (Again, I tried to commit the author's name to memory and failed... I should really stop trusting myself.) Now, I know Butch isn't an artist. But I was pretty impressed with his work over the 2 weeks and it was going to be hard to hand over the keys in the morning. I'd done so much driving in a short space of time (1500km+) but it definitely wasn't a chore. Poor Dulcie, as much as I adore her, is no where near as relaxing to drive.
One last action shot (I heart continuous autoshoot) then... somehow, another nice sunset on the way home. Could someone please explain to me how there can be a sunset like this when the sun hasn't been spotted all day? Oh well, it was a nice way to end what I hope is not the last time I spend in a Ford Focus TDCi. Hopefully it's:
and not goodbye...
