Skip to main content

Arakoon and South West Rocks

We stayed at Arakoon near South West Rocks for a few days and oh-my-word, it was soooo amazing. Within the first hour of setting up the caravan there were kangaroos all around us giving Dusty a chance to take close up photos...




It turned out that Australian wildlife are EVERYWHERE at Arakoon, so the place had a real personality about it. That, and the Trial Bay Gaol, which (as we read) plays a massive part in the history of the region not only as a Gaol, but as a bakery for the town, a life-saving service for ship-wrecked boats, and a full German cultural hub and safety respite during WW1. The building remains are stunning, it is everything I anticipated it would be (I had been dreaming of visiting this historical landmark since I read about it in the Gold Coast Sun 6 months ago). 





It didn't matter where we went in Arakoon, it was just darn pretty all the time. From the rocky headlands and beaches in between... 



To the fire-red sunset on the beach... 



... The bush trail walks ... 

 
And the ultimate steep walk up to the incredible lighthouse, which is one of the largest, and one of the last remaining working (with its original lens, to boot) lighthouses in NSW. So, so pretty. We visited at night as well as at day and were captivated by the magical beam spinning round, my most favourite thing in the world, especially when I know it's my mums most favourite thing too (I hope you'll see it one day soon, mum). 


The Lighthouse Keepers cottages are holiday rentals now - now that would be a magical holiday.


Just look at the view from up here...  



I think we were at our highest coastal point yet.


Back on the ground, Tim taught Dusty how to snorkel in the saltwater pool at the caravan park, and then they went out into the seaway at South West Rocks. Such an amazing experience for Dusty who was swept along with the incoming tide with Tim guiding him along. 



We had a lovely swim there at low tide and almost decided to live there for good! 


We explored the area, went for a very long walk to the end of the very long rock wall, went into town to browse the local streets, tested out all the playgrounds, and got to know the area quite well. (It reminded me of The Spit and Seaway at The Gold Coast in a way.)





The Big 4 Caravan Park was the best we'd been to so far, just perfect for young children with plenty of quality playing areas and friendly families to hang out with.



And just a couple of action shots, of 2 kangaroos, and our happy Rhodesian ridgeback jumping like a kangaroo ... 




We didn't really want to leave Arakoon and South West Rocks! But we had plans to meet friends further south, so it was time to go. 


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Greater Port Macquarie

It's nice to have a break from the holiday parks every now and then, and we had that in mid-North Coast when we were able to stay with longtime family friends. We literally set up camp in their horses paddock - power and water connections into the horse stable and all. The horses kept us company and did really well to have us there, with Dusty and Maxie following them around, climbing the gate to pat their noses, stirring up their feed while they were trying to eat. It really gave another unique learning opportunity for Dusty. How many 4 year olds can say they took a week long internship learning the care and feeding of horses in nothing other than a horse paddock? Dusty learned so much that week he insisted that HE knew the best way to dress, feed, and care for horses and the owners had to learn from HIM. Generally he knew his stuff, too! So even though we'd moved on from the amazing South West Rocks coastal town to a rural country property, we were again happier and loving th...
1 comment
Read more

Our 3rd Christmas in Nambucca Valley

December, 2016 This is the Argents Hill (population of 221) Christmas  Party. Couldn’t be more beautiful. Christmas Carols, Macksville. Salvation Army puts on an incredible show here, we love it more every year. And our town over the Christmas season. You can only feel good when you hear the fiddle playing in the pub as you notice a new set of Converse strung over the power lines.  This town has all the good things in all the littlest ways. Heritage town, heritage fuel station, heritage car. We were  driving to Coffs Harbour but had to put the destination on hold to do a few laps in Bowraville to get a better look. My brother  and his fiancee brought their snorkelling gear to Scott’s Head and swam me out to see a Wobbegong Shark who was sleeping under the rocks! Amazing experience. Must get some gear now.   And our fun few days of camping at Hat Head, NSW. National Park living is always so relaxing and restoring. We t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Autumn Arrives

May, 2016 This is what you will find at Shelly Beach - #7 Beach in Australia - at 5pm in Autumn. We are so thankful we can call this our local swimming spot. The colours of my morning in for  also. Avocados - preserving and making chocolate breakfast smoothies. Pineapple - preparing for fridge containers awaiting little fingers t hat steal pieces during the day. Grapefruit - juicing to store and use in dressings. Turmeric root - boiling with cinnamon and ginger for tea with honey. Saucepan - full of root vegetables and Asian flavours for breakfast (and dinner tonight). Loved my morning touring our home-place checking in on our food and picking macadamias, pecans and turmeric for our day. And as usual, a little more sightseeing.  Revisiting this coastal temple - I never run out of love for visiting lighthouses in Australia !! Arakoon, NSW
Post a Comment
Read more