I had mixed feelings as I crossed the border into NSW, on the one hand it all felt very familiar and I was looking forward to seeing my family and spending time at home, on the other it felt like a large part of my adventure was behind me and I was sorry to be leaving Queensland.

My first port of call was the Fingal Head lighthouse which is just over the border and even though I’d been there before I’d forgotten how confusing it is to get to through a maze of one way lanes and apparent dead ends. Even Dr. Google got lost! I was also surprised to discover it has a more interesting history than it’s small stature would suggest. You can find out more in my Fingal Head Lighthouse Story.

Kingscliff is just south of Fingal Head and where bought Max and I thought it would be a bit of a homecoming for him to drop by and say hello to Alecia (his first owner) but unfortunately she was away on a trip. From there I headed down to Cabarita which is where I spent my first night in Max on the 18th July, and since then we’ve travelled over 15,000 kms together!

I then headed down to Byron where my good mate Steve (founder and CEO of the Byron Bay Wildlife Hospital) was holding their annual “Wild Aid” fundraiser. This years edition was at the Byron Bay pub and supported by a number of well known stand up comedians including Jimeoin, Lehmo and Mandy Nolan. It’d been years since I been to a stand up show and I’d forgotten how much fun they can be and it was doubly pleasing that they managed to raise over $ 40k for a very worthy cause!

Steve had to leave to go to Perth for a few days after the event so I very generously offered to house sit for him (which was a welcome change from van life especially as wet weather had set in)!

After a day of recovery I headed to the famous Byron lighthouse at 4.30am in the hope of getting some sunrise shots to reprise the sunset shots I got the evening before. It turned out to be a grey and stormy dawn and after my initial disappointment I realised that while it wasn’t what I’d intended it was better than I expected and the conditions lent themselves to some very moody and evocative shots. The other positive was that the weather kept the usual dawn crowd away allowing me to experience this powerful place in perfect solitude.

On Steve’s return he, his 12 year old daughter Pearl and I enjoyed a couple of days together each one beginning with a 5.30am beach walk while Pearlie trained with the local Nippers or went for a pre-school surf. The best way to start the day!

This time was made even more special by the arrival of my daughter Lucy who was moving up to Lennox Head for a month flat-sitting while one of her friends spent Christmas with her family in the US. Lucy and I spent some precious time together looking at a couple of properties, chatting and cruising the countryside.

I also took the opportunity to catch up with another mate, Charlie, who lives in Bangalow and has kindly provided a home away from home for the kids and me on a number of occasions, and who, despite various threats still won’t reveal exactly where he catches his legendary Brunswick River mud crabs!

After leaving Lennox I headed south to the Richmond River Light at Ballina and on to Yamba where I stayed overnight under the watchful gaze of the Clarence River Light. After witnessing a spectacular sunrise I went down to that strangely energetic place, Angourie, where I breakfasted next to another vanite, a very inked up young lady from Germany. Jacqui lives in her van and has spent the past 8 years chasing surf or work as a carpenter. What initially caught my attention was a tattoo of a lighthouse on her arm, which opened a conversation about how she made her way from Hamburg to Australia and discovered her passion for surfing and a life on the road.

Next stop was Coffs Harbor where I’d arranged to meet Bryan my contact at the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) who have the overall responsibility for maintaining our heritage lighthouses and all other coastal navigation and safety infrastructure. It was great to finally meet Bryan after many texts and emails and fitting that we should meet at the the original 1st Order lens from South Solitary Island lighthouse which is now on display at Coffs Harbour jetty. Bryan’s been very supportive and had some great suggestions which I’ll work into my future lighthouse visits.

While in Coffs I was hoping to hitch a ride out to South Solitary Island with Nathan a friend of Steve’s and the head ranger with the local Aboriginal Land Council, who in conjunction with the NPWS have exclusive access to the island. Unfortunately Nathan was caught up in meetings in Canberra which, as it turns out, didn’t matter as the island was off-limits for the bird breeding season. Whilst this was disappointing it does give me an excuse to come back early in the new year and visit the island.

Pushing on I was excited to be heading to one of my favourite lighthouses, Smoky Cape in the Arakoon National Park just to the south of South West Rocks. Apart from having a rich history Smoky Cape is located on one of the most spectacularly beautiful sections of the NSW coast. One of the other attractions of Smoky Cape is that due to its isolation after the day trippers have left it’s possible to stay overnight in the car park and be at one with the lighthouse, and to wake up in the morning and witness sunrise in a national park surrounded by the ocean, a very primal experience! On this particular occasion I got to witness a variety of weather conditions with a bright sunny afternoon giving way to a dense sea mist that rolled in around sunset ahead of a blustery southerly change that came through overnight, but somehow the wild weather, with the wind and rain lashing Max while I was cocooned inside was just as special as when I’d been there before on a moonlit starry night!

By morning the weather had cleared and I enjoyed a swim at Trial Bay before visiting the local maritime museum which had detailed records and historic photographs of some of the many shipwrecks along this stretch of coast and of of the construction and early days of the Trial Bay Gaol and the Smoky Cape lighthouse. It was interesting to discover that Trial Bay was named after a sailing ship, The Trial, which was stolen by convicts in Sydney and came to grief there in 1816 rather than a reference to the justice system which is what I’d always assumed. No trace was ever found of the escaped convicts which has given rise to all sorts of local myths about what happened to them?

Port Macquarie was my next destination to visit the Tacking Point Lighthouse, small in stature but an important link in our coastal network of lights. However, when I got there the access road was closed for repair and the lighthouse was fenced off. Fortunately this wasn’t a problem as two of my closest friends live at Lighthouse Beach and I’d been there many times before. After an early dinner with Mike and Helen who had a tennis tournament later that evening, rather than stay I decided to push on to Crowdy Head, an hour further down the highway.

I arrived at Crowdy Head just on sunset to what was quite an eerie scene. Sadly, judging by the tributes on the cliff top next to the lighthouse a local indigenous guy had recently taken his life there. This somber realisation perfectly matched the overcast sky, setting sun and deserted headland. It’s incredibly sad that so many young men, particularly our first Australian brothers, seem to feel that the future is so bleak that they’d rather not face it! What a waste, what a tragedy!

With a heavy heart I left Crowdy Head as darkness fell and headed for my overnight destination, appropriately given my mind set called “The Ruins” at Booti Booti an hour further south.

After a restless night I woke before dawn and left for Seal Rocks and Sugarloaf Point Lighthouse, which together with Smoky Cape is another of my favourite lighthouses. Arriving as the sun struggled through the morning mist I had this amazing place to myself for over an hour, seemingly before the rest of the World woke up. Like Smoky Cape there seems to be a very strong energy about this place, not only a rich and continuing indigenous spirit but a more recent and haunting colonial past that seems to seep into the present when you spend time alone there. I’ve visited both of these lighthouses many times and every time I find something new and interesting and don’t think I’ll ever stop coming back to these scared headlands.

My next destination wasn’t a lighthouse but had special significance because it’s where my journey began, in 1994 during a sailing voyage from Hawks Nest to Sydney when Dr. Geoff, the master and commander, first suggested the idea of visiting all our lighthouses. The original thought was to do this by sea but it was later decided that by land would be a more practical option. Soon after Geoff packed up his little orange Subaru headed off on this quest which he didn’t get to complete, and it’s something that has stayed with me over the intervening 30 years, and which I am now doing thanks to Geoff! Gazing out across Port Stephens the memories came flooding back to me, of the good times we shared on those nautical adventures.

The unusually named Tea Gardens lies just over the even more bizarrely named “Singing Bridge” where I tracked down my favourite barista Avril, originally from France, more recently from Manly and now, ironically, making great coffee in Tea Gardens!

As I was plotting my course I was surprised to discover there is a lighthouse just south of Port Stephens on Fingal Island which I’d never heard of. This is even more embarrassing because I must have sailed past it on a number of occasions and never noticed it!

The fact that it’s on the far side of the island and not visible or accessible from land adds to the challenge of getting to it. The only way of getting there is by boat from Nelson Bay but to my dismay I discovered the scheduled trip had been cancelled due to the sea conditions and the next trip wasn’t until 18/12! The only option was to fly my drone out over 4 kms of open ocean in marginal weather and try and get some photos which I thought would satisfy my need to “see” every lighthouse. With trepidation I launched the drone not sure if I’d ever see it again or what it might find of the far side of the island. To my amazement it not only returned but it had taken some pretty impressive photos, which has set a precedent for future lighthouse visits! While researching Fingal Island Lighthouse I was also surprised to discover there was a second lighthouse, Nelson Head Inner Light, which is literally a light-house, or more correctly a light on a house! This unique “Lighthouse” is situated on a headland at Nelson Bay and still functions as the lead light for mariners entering Port Stephens and doubles as a maritime museum.

I’d initially planned on spending the night at Anna Bay as I’d heard good things about it but found it underwhelming and ended up in the next bay at Boat Harbour which was marginally better.

With no good reason to hang around I headed for Newcastle via the Stockton bridge which delivers you into the black heart of Kooragang Island, the largest coal export hub in the World, and while it’s the lifeblood of the region the scale of the operations is shocking and you get a strong sense that this is unsustainable and as a society we need to move beyond last century’s technology. I’ve already made my views on the nuclear clear and pleased to see that it’s now back in the conversation as a viable option.

Arriving in downtown Newcastle at around 6.30am I was amazed to see how much has changed from my childhood recollections from the ’60’s when visiting my grandparents. Back then people said Newcastle couldn’t survive without the steelworks but it’s not only survived it seems to have thrived! The city seems to have reinvented itself as an educational hub, attracting a younger generation with fresh ideas and a more holistic lifestyle taking advantage of the wonderful beaches and surrounding hinterland.

I spent a couple of hours walking the deserted streets and found myself thinking about my father and how different it would have been for him growing up here in the 1930’s and 40’s. He was a proud Novocastrian and in some strange way this place is imprinted in my DNA which resonated with me that morning.

As the day unfolded, the sea mist burnt off, the rattle and hum of the city took hold and it was time for me to head to Nobby’s, a famous Newcastle landmark and overseer of a busy harbour. I walked to the end of the breakwater noticing the many tributes to people who must have thought this a special place and I watched as a yacht entered the harbour much as we had done on that fateful voyage 30 years earlier.

The last thing I needed to do before leaving town was to meet up with another friend from the ’75/76 Wesley cohort, Uncle John (I’m not sure why I have just decided to add Uncle as a prefix but it seems appropriate), who I hadn’t seen in decades. John is a true son of the Hunter and has a unique combination of earthiness and intellect that is both enthralling and exhausting, his mind moves much faster than mine! It was great to reconnect with Uncle and meet his partner Maria and son Julius and we agreed I’d return to surf the Cowrie Hole together with my son Hewie who now claims Newie as his second home.

The last lighthouse on this leg was another that I’d never been to despite the fact it’s only an hour north of Sydney. For some reason the central coast, the region between Newcastle and Sydney, is much maligned and often overlooked. I’d been guilty of this prejudice and if it wasn’t for this visit to Norah Head I’d still be ignorant of the understated gems on the central coast like the lake at Budgewoi and Soldiers Beach, not to mention the lighthouse.

Norah Head is a classic, a sister to her siblings at Byron Bay and Point Perpendicular which take their design cues from Macquarie Lighthouse on Sydney’s south head which was our first lighthouse built in 1818 and designed by the great convict architect Francis Greenway. The Norah Head lighthouse is well worth a visit and has been beautifully maintained by the local community who are justifiably proud of “their” lighthouse.

I stayed overnight at Soldiers Beach hoping for some sunrise shots but awoke to the persistent sea mist which thwarted that idea but created it’s own moody magic along the coast and over the nearby lakes, which gentled my mood as I headed for home.

The final run into Sydney was a mixture of anticipation and frustration, I was looking forward to seeing my family again after three months but found the Sydney traffic particularly irritating, I think my excitement at getting home made the constant stopping and starting all the more annoying!

When I finally arrived home and was reunited with my nearest and dearest I was surprised how it felt like nothing much had changed, except maybe me!

I now plan to spend a couple of months at home and will be updating my Lighthouse Stories and reviewing past posts trying to eliminate the many typos before continuing my journey in February.

Thanks for your interest, I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Healthy, Happy and Exciting New Year!

Footnote: I can now reveal the reason for my rush south from Byron was due to some important medical appointments I had on the 9th and 11th of December. A year earlier I’d been diagnosed and treated for a fairly serious medical condition which had added a degree of gravitas to my trip. While it’s important to maintain a positive outlook there is a lingering doubt with these things which intensified as these appointments approached. Thankfully I received the “all clear” on 11th which was welcome news and cleared the skies for great Christmas and a positive start to the New Year!