We have family and friends on the Central Coast of New South Wales. This area north of Sydney, “home to unspoilt beaches, rugged cliff faces, rock platforms and secluded bays” was once the domain of retirees looking for a coastal, relaxed, fishing lifestyle, which over the years has expanded to become an urban satellite and a cheaper housing option for those prepared to commute into Sydney, or more recently on account of COVID, manage their employment by working from home. (By the way, it is no longer such a cheap housing option.)

We had planned our catchups for the end of our road trip, after we had visited the Hunter Valley which lies a little further to the north, but given our trip to Wisemans Ferry was cancelled due to flooding, we turned the schedule around. If you take a look at the above map, instead of driving southeast/northeast from Wisemans Ferry on the inland road which twists and turns, we took the major eastern highway that passes through Brooklyn and to the west of Gosford. This road is toll free, but the approach motorways closer to Sydney do cost. They are worth the money though, as our total journey time was around 2.5 hours for a 220klm / 140 mile drive.

It was extremely pleasant to have quality time with Bill’s son and his partner, our granddaughter Ella and her partner, and our friend whose now deceased wife was my matron of honour when I married Bill, but none of that is the stuff that makes for a riveting blog post – so I will spare you who said what 🙂

One thing worth mentioning is that we now have two motels on the Central Coast that are on our blacklist. It’s not that either are disgusting. This latest one had good bones, a tidy reception area, an inviting on-site restaurant, and a promising room layout, but suffered from general neglect, inattention to cleanliness, and unexpected traffic noise. Sadly, it is not atypical of motels in this area. They are all showing their age and need energetic and cashed up ownership – and COVID shutdowns have not helped that situation. If you are hoping the accommodation will enhance your touring experience, and are seeking more than merely a bed for the night, then you are going to have to be selective (we thought we had, but clearly, we missed the mark there 🙂 ) or be prepared to pay resort-style prices. Having said that, there are also any number of AirBnBs, so if you are travelling with family, or planning to stay longer than our two nights, then I definitely recommend checking out that option.

Bill’s son is renting in a suburb called Gorokan. He lives in a small fibro shack that would have originally been built as a weekender in the 1950s, the kind of place that Mum, Dad and the kids would have escaped to for summer holidays, situated right on the shore of Lake Tuggerah. That’s part of the expansive lake system you can see in the below photo, immediately beside the Pacific Ocean. His place is around the bay to the right of the narrow strip of land that can be seen in the far distance. All the lake is tidal, and was also subject to the recent flooding events. Craig’s son was away in Queensland at the time, and a mate swung by to take photos of what was happening. Luckily, the house itself is built on a steep part of the block, with the land falling away sharply to the shore. The house was not flooded, but his outdoor furniture and a fire pit were submerged, and he is still dealing with the build up of seaweed that was swept inland.

During our brief stay we visited the Wyong Milk Factory. Now, I don’t wish to burst your bubble, but there are no cows (only plaster or metal ones), no milking, and no processing of milk products at the Wyong Milk Factory. But there used to be. In the old days, dating back from around 1907 onwards. Now the entire complex has been repurposed and offers many activities for people of all ages. It backs on to the Wyong River (yes – it flooded, sigh…) and offers a café, restaurant, tavern, kid’s playground, cheese shop, donut shop, artisan chocolate maker, a sports bar, a wood turner, a hair and beauty salon , a vet, kayak and rowboat hire – look, in short – it has a bit of an eclectic vibe.

At the rear of the complex, on the river, there is a race. It’s a kind of weir that acts as a way of separating salt water from the Pacific Ocean and the freshwater of the river. The dairy farmers co-operative extracted the fresh water for their operations all those years ago. The water tumbles over the obstructions on the weir, as you can see in the below photo. The very interesting point is that this forms a home for local platypuses. Not that we saw any of these shy creatures on our visit. If you ever did, it would be time to buy a lottery ticket because it would be your lucky day.

And just in case you didn’t know, a platypus is “a semiaquatic, duck-billed, beaver-tailed and otter-footed mammal.” The platypus, Ornithorhynchus anatinus, offers a combination of avian, reptilian, and mammalian features which puzzled nineteenth century naturalists and continues to fascinate people to this day. (The Paradoxical Platypus, Brian K. Hall, BioScience, Volume 49, Issue 3, March 1999, Pages 211–218, https://doi.org/10.2307/1313511 )

Beside this weir is, believe it or not, a gym – some of which is under cover, and some is semi outdoors. This is where Craig’s partner comes to maintain her trim and fit figure. Often times, those exercising are observed by the local lizards as they sun themselves on nearby rocks, and they too, can be rather fit and bulked up, as this out of focus zoomed-in shot from Bill’s phone camera demonstrates:

Well…there can be much worse things leering at you in a gym in my opinion. Gimme the lizard any day 🙂

17th/18th March 2022.