A bucket list location when we left home was to take the Sea Cliff Bridge between Wollongong and Sydney. knowing we had a long drive, and making the detour to the bridge, we had an early start. It took nearly 2 hours with plenty of coastal scenery, but we made it. Unfortunately we were unable to find a place to park, so couldn’t get any photos (except for from the car). It was a pretty incredible road, protruding out over the cliffs and waves below. It may only be 665m long, but it’s worth the detour!
Our next big challenge was to navigate through Sydney and up to the Central Coast. We decided to take the Western Freeway, the M7, onto the M2 and finally the North Connex Tunnel. This proved to be a costly experience, and a mistake we won’t make again. Our trip cost $64.61. Unfortunately the signs on the motorways are extremely misleading, and caravans are not charged as a ’trailer’ as per registration, but as a Heavy Commercial Vehicle. If you are travelling this way, take every precaution you can to ensure you steer clear of all toll roads in NSW.
Arriving in Toukley, we checked into Canton Beach Holiday Park. It is located on Tuggerah Lake, and our base for the week. Unfortunately the weather had other ideas with torrential rain, which meant a few days stuck inside. We made the most of the rain-free time we had. Right near the park is Norah Head Lighthouse. From here you can walk down to the rockpools. The dogs really enjoyed jumping in those.
We caught up with a friend from Newcastle, who took us on a hometown tour. We visited all the local beaches (which are super dog friendly) as well as the history and heritage of Newcastle. We even visted a free wildlife park in town – Blackbutt Nature Reserve. They have Wombats, Koalas, Kangaroos and plenty of native birds. It’s open everyday for visitors, and in holidays they also have shows. We really enjoyed our day exploring Newcastle.
What would a trip to Sydney be without visiting ’Summer Bay’. We planned to drive through all the northern beaches, so started at the top at Palm Beach. Our original plan was to hike up to the lighthouse, however it is not a dog friendly walk. Instead we continued our drive along the beaches down to Manly and around to Balgowlah Heights. We had a nice day visiting the beaches, and we found a few off leash parks for dogs.
Over a few days we explored the Central Coast, visiting most of the beaches and surrounding suburbs. We were lucky enough to do a few walks around the lake from our camp. It’s a great place for dogs, but would have been better with less rain!
