Ross bakes some mini muffins whilst we were holed up in the camper yesterday in the wind storm. The muffin smell through the camper was a bit special. Once cooked, they were immediately handed over to the onboard muffin critic for his review …………………. “had better, but they’ll do”
We battened down last night, the wind was absolutely shocking and we had zero protection from it. Ross closed the rear bed and we put Poo Poo Head on the floor on the couch cushion. Ross lowered the roof to reduce the constant flapping. Ross tied down the front bed’s fibreglass roof , even though the front bed was protected on the opposite side of the camper to the wind.
All closed up it was quite quiet, and much more peaceful and relaxing. Having the camper closed up gave us a taste of what a full blown caravan would be like ….. very nice. This is a pic this morning after the storm, still all closed up with Barb and Poo Poo Head still sleeping soundly inside.
There was a rooftop tent on a Landcruiser right on the edge of the abyss. If they got a single wink of sleep last night …….. they are champions. They were gone early this morning, probably thinking “what sort of a wind blown crap hole is this” ….. and went looking for a motel.
This old guy could obviously predict the weather and nailed his van to the ground !!!!!!!
This great sunset hides the crappy conditions
The wind died off during the night thank god. We woke to a beautiful sunny day with a slight breeze. We visited the information centre/museum and came across a great story of bad luck of monumental proportions that played out here in 1972. We wandered up the beach and checked out what’s left of the carnage.
3 ferry’s and a showboat wrecked on the beach here all at the same time, with some of the rusting remains of the Showboat and two vehicular ferries still visible on Main Beach. (these are old photos from the net)
All thats left
Here’s a short version of the story;
On Saturday January 1, 1972, the ocean going tug “Polaris” took the “Sydney Queen” and three vehicular ferries, the “Koondooloo”, “Lurgurena” and the “Kooroongaba” in tow and began a 4000km journey from Newcastle to Manilla. All four were to be taken to the Philippines for scrapping or to be used as barges.
On January 3, the smallest ferry, the “Kooroongaba” sprung a plate and sank in 65 fathoms off Crowdy Head. The tow continued north however further problems were encountered and a decision was made to put into Trial Bay and make repairs. On January 7, the “Polaris” entered Trial Bay and the ferries were moored to the buoys used by the oil tankers. Local fishermen expressed the view that the hawsers used in the moorings may not be strong enough to hold the vessels in the event of a gale. Two days later, the weather changed and during the night of January 9, the “Koondooloo” snapped her moorings and went ashore. All attempts to move her failed and she became deeply embedded in the sand. At 12:30pm on January 12, the “Sydney Queen” broke her moorings and went aground only 100 metres from the “Koondooloo”. On January 15, the “Lurgurena” joined the other two on the beach. She was pulled off once but, by some unexplained mishap, was back on shore on January 16 and the “Polaris” had departed.
All salvage attempts failed and a long court battle to have the wrecks removed from the beach began. Almost a year later, the “Sydney Queen” was burnt to enable the engine and boilers to be removed for scrap.
The information centre guy also pointed us toward a beach called Little Bay. When Poo Poo Head sleeps, Ross goes for a ride or run. He has found some memorable rides and he claims to get a better appreciation of the area and his bearings. Ross rode upto the Gaol at the other end of the bay and found a “walking trail” (NO BIKES apparently) and rode the length to Little Bay. The track was incredibly steep and that’s possibly why the bike warning.
Ross came excited about heading back with Poo Poo Head. The area is a reserve where the original dam for the Gaol is now full of ducks and geese to feed. There are kangaroos bouncing and lying around everywhere, with the odd monster Monitor (Goanna), and of course the beach itself at Little Bay. We could see straight away the warning of the information centre guy …. The beach could easily turn nasty.
Ross’s castaway camp at Little Bay
We returned to our camp ground and went for a last swim in the rough surf. It’s pizza and bourbon night so we are busy now ………… speak soon
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