Sealy Lookout, Coffs Harbour

I had really been looking forward to Coffs Harbour as it is a big tourist destination.  I expected a beach town, but what I found was a much bigger town than I expected that happens to be on the coast.  Not much of a beach feel to it, not helped by the winter weather while we were there.  The caravan park we stayed at was quite large with a water park and big playground and heaps of vans coming and going every day. While in Coffs Harbour we drove to Sealy Lookout.  It’s a short drive and the road goes right up to the lookout, no hiking involved. I find references to Queen Elizabeth II 1970 visit to Australia all over the place.  She must have had quite the itinerary during her trip here.  Her visit was in connection with the bicentenary of Captain Cook’s sailing up the east coast of Australia.  According to the information board she visited Sealy Lookout, though the Forest Sky Pier wouldn’t have been here then. The pier itself is gorgeous.  The design is really offset by the vegetation. The views are great on a clear day. That island on the left is Muttonbird Island which we would later visit.  See that somewhat enclosed area next to it?  We’d heard on the news that the beach at Coffs Harbour was closed due to sharks.  There’s a lovely pier in there that’s fun for jumping off, but that’s apparently the area that was closed.  It’s also a popular fishing spot, and too much fish cleaning in the area meant sharks had come in looking for crumbs. There were signs at the lookout to point out the various sights so you knew what you were looking at.  Always helpful! The surrounding vegetation was nice to look at, with ferns peaking through.  The lookout is definitely worth the short drive.  There’s also a picnic area and some trails.  We got caught in the rain while we were there, so it was back in the car for us. There are several banana plantations as you drive to the lookout.  It was interesting to see how they go right up the steep mountainside.  What a job that would be to care for those trees! Many of the bananas were covered in bags while still on the tree, I suppose to protect them from the winter weather. While in Coffs Harbour we caught up on some schoolwork.  Lots of rain means time inside, the perfect time to do some work.  We don’t do heaps, but they still have to do their reading and writing and arithmetic.  🙂 JitterBug has been anxious to learn cursive.  He was so excited to finish his last handwriting book and get started with his new one. And he was still enjoying his first lost tooth.  🙂 I have the ebook version of Our Sunburnt Country (you can get it here).  It’s an overview of Aussie history in a narrative form that we are slowly reading through.