LAWRENCE
7 AUGUST 20920
We left Hawks Nest for Lawrence to visit family in Lawrence
on the North Coast of NSW.
The drive up was in cool to wet weather.
We arrived in Lawrence in the late afternoon with a light
rain.
8 AUGUST 2020
A lazy day chatting and relaxing. I tried my hand at fishing
( I am not a fisherman) and decided that he definitely is not my forte.
In the evening, we had a huge bonfire and drank wine.
Probably too much of the latter part.
9 AUGUST 2020
I woke and decided on a loop bike ride from the house along
Back Kings Creek Road and around the town of Lawrence and back.
The wind was getting progressively stronger so progress was
a little slow. The tarred road turned to dirt and the dirt turned to mud.
Progress was even slower.
About halfway, I reached an area of tress where the wind was
blocked and the road was much more drier.
It was a good ride.
On return we set off in T and B’s car to tour the local
sites.
First treat was the car ferry across the Clarence River. One
of those things thgat may be obsolute one day.
Next we drove to Shark Creek to view one of the old family
homes. The area was very swamp and wet. The old home was high on a hill but now
right next to the new highway and bridge. Not so pretty anymore as most of the
vegetation had been cleared resulting in a bleak outlook. A bit of tree
planting was in need. The road gradually narrowed and swamp became even
swampier.
We stopped at the sight of a pioneer memorial which had some
family names on it. It was erected by the children of Shark Creek Primary
School which no longer exists.
Into Maclean for coffee.
Next stop was back to Lawrence, where we bought lunch –
fish, chips and chico rolls for lunch. I hadn’t had a chico roll in years and I
loved it.
10 AUGUST 2020
A cool night with a possible storm in the afternoon.
I drove off to The Everlasting Swamp National Park.
It was a short drive which followed the shoreline of
Sportsman Creek. The road was tarred and turned into dirt. There were a couple
of grates to cross and a few locked gates to pass through.
Soon, I reached the swamp. The main swamp was a flat open
area with shallow water in the centre. There were a number of birds around the
water’s edge. My first great site was a pair of brolgas slowly ascending in
flight. The birds are large and the wings flapped slowly and gracefully till
they reached their desired height.
I wasn’t sure of kayak or a bike ride. The distance clouds
looked like they were getting closer so I settled for a bike ride. The track
was really a grassed road between the swamps and the creeks. It was a hard
pedal over grass.
Along the way, there were a number of sluices directing
water to irrigation channels and under dirt roads to continue the creeks. There
were many birds in the swamps and in the trees surrounding the swamps.
After the ride, I drove back to Lawrence to visit the local
swamp on private property. Once again there were heaps of birds.
11 AUGUST 2020
Jacinta and B and T went into Maclean while I went for a
bike ride.
They were a bit more successful but I had a disaster (to a
degress). I drove to Bom Bom Stae Forest on the south side of Grafton. It
looked okay so I got the bike off the van... flat tyre. No worries. I’ll fix
that ... no I wont the tyre had a large tear along the side ... needed a new
tyre ... Putting it back on ... my hand slipped and hit the disk of the brakes
.. a deep cut into my finger and blood steadily pouring out ... medical kit
wasn’t in the van ... back to Lawrence as I finally took the hint that this
wasn’t to be a bike day.
We celebrated tonight as it was the official day of Jacinta’s
retirement.
12 AUGUST 2020
Breakfast and after a bit of chatting we finally set off to
Lennox Head.
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