We rarely ventured more than a few kilometres from water. New Zealand made that pretty easy, being composed of islands after all. We also stuck to a rather narrow band of eastern Australia beginning with Sydney and driving north along the coast for about three hours. Almost every scenic vista we found included a body of water, a harbour, a bay or even the open ocean photo-bombing the background.
Auckland Harbour
The waterfront beckoned almost from the initial moment we arrived in Auckland after our long flight from the U.S. Not the very first moment of course because that involved a much needed nap after we found our rental apartment. However, once revived, we walked along Hobson Street downhill towards the harbour where we grabbed lunch. It didn’t feel like lunchtime because of the sixteen hour timezone difference. Still, we ate as we gazed upon the bustling port (map).
It started raining more steadily so it seemed like a good idea to duck into a safely dry building that turned out to be the New Zealand Maritime Museum. The exhibits really connected us to the significance of the sea to these islands, from the Maori people who landed there long before Europeans knew they existed all the way to the recent string of New Zealand victories in the America’s Cup yacht races.
My younger son chatted about souvenirs he wanted to find during our trip, discussing what he could get in New Zealand versus Australia. He’s still young enough to collect small stuffed animals and of course he wanted a Kiwi and a Kangaroo. He exclaimed, “I like Kiwis better,” which got a nice smile and a thumbs up from one of the museum staffers. More than once we saw that people in New Zealand seemed to relish their friendly rivalry with their more populous neighbours across the Tasman Sea.
Devonport
The village of Devonport sat at the tip of a peninsula northeast of Auckland, just across the harbour (map). I suppose we could have driven there although the ferry seemed a more enjoyable option. The name sounded familiar as I conducted research ahead of time. Then I remembered it appeared in an earlier Twelve Mile Circle article called “Recent NIMBY.”
This quaint seaside village featured commanding views of Auckland across the water although it felt a world away. Attractive shops and restaurants lined its primary road heading away from the ferry terminal. We also visited the New Zealand Navy Museum, a fifteen minute walk along Torpedo Bay’s waterfront. The museum didn’t charge admission either, a pleasant surprise.
Stockton Beach
True beaches came in closer proximity to our intended route as we arrived in Australia. We landed in Sydney and headed immediately to the Port Stephens area near the mouth of the Karuah River (map). There we found Worimi National Park, a place of endless sand and rolling dunes under the stewardship of the Worimi Local Aboriginal Land Council.
Beautiful Stockton Beach hugged the coastline there for 30 kilometres (18.6 miles) in a long unbroken string. Four wheel drive vehicles could access the beach using restricted corridors if they had the right permits. We didn’t have such a vehicle nor such a permit so we visited as most tourists did, in a specially modified bus (some visitors arrived on camelback!). I supposed nobody wanted to visit a beach in the middle of winter so we got what amounted to a private tour.
I considered Tin City (map) the most interesting feature on Stockton Beach. Tin City originated during the Great Depression of the 1930’s when squatters built rustic shacks amid the dunes out of poverty and necessity, surviving on the ocean’s bounty. The community remained completely “off the grid” without electricity, running water or formal roads.
The homes became mostly weekend getaways in recent decades, modified with solar panels and satellite dishes. However, because the land underneath them transferred to the Worimi, Tin City and its rustic shacks live on borrowed time. They cannot be sold — only passed down — and they cannot be rebuilt if destroyed by the storms or shifting sand. Once gone, they will be gone forever. Tin City and its surrounding dunes also became a favored filming location as a proxy for desert scenes. Apparently the original 1979 Mad Max movie filmed a few scenes there. Maybe I should watch that old movie again and see if I can find it.
Sydney Harbour
I couldn’t decide which photo to use to represent Sydney Harbour, one of Australia’s most iconic and picturesque places. Eventually I chose the one posted above with the promise that I will include several others in subsequent articles. Don’t worry, the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House will both appear soon enough.
The harbour served as the city’s beating heart, a place of constant activity and motion. It interwove with our narrative in so many ways; as a pleasant place for a stroll, as a dining spot, as a transportation hub, as a lesson in Australian history, as a backdrop for photos. Everything seemed to begin and end with Sydney and its beautiful harbour during this portion of the trip. It seemed just as remarkable in 2018 as it had during my initial visit twenty one years ago.
Manly Beach
My younger son loves the beach. Unfortunately he comes from a family where two members have fair skin and avoid direct sunlight (wife and older son) and one who gets too bored to sit on a beach for long (me). Generally we don’t do beach vacations. However, he’d been begging for some playtime in the waves and we always seemed to have an excuse. Even the trip to Stockton Beach didn’t offer enough for his tastes because we took a tour; we barely waded up to our ankles.
I felt bad for him so we switched some plans on our final full day in Australia. He got his beach time instead of having to tour through museums in Sydney. I recalled the 12MC article that mentioned Manly Beach. We could reach Manly quickly from Sydney’s Circular Quay on the Fast Ferry (map). So I took him to Manly. The water wasn’t any colder than California in the summertime or so he claimed.
He got his playtime and I found a brewpub. It seemed a fine trade-off.
Articles in the Australasian Adventures Series:
- Preparations and Arrival
- On the Waterfront
- Vistas
- Geothermal
- Heading Inland
- The Hunter Region
- Wild Animal Encounters
- Captive Animal Encounters
- Epic Runs
- Breweries
- Lists
- Changes
See Also: The Complete Photo Album on Flickr
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