Belmont

 23 - 25 February 2025

We left Myola and headed north towards Sydney, but turned off to take the scenic route through Kangaroo Valley. Mick wanted to stop at Nepean Dam for some birding and we arrived there in time for a slightly late morning tea. We had a look and realised that the spot we should be in was a bit further on towards the dam wall so drove the short distance down there.

Mick spent a fair bit of time but was unsuccessful in finding the bird he was after. It was a nice spot anyway and we stayed there to have our picnic lunch. From there it was on through Sydney - not something I was looking forward to, but glad we had been able to time it for a Sunday afternoon.

We returned to the motorway and found the drive easier than I had expected - especially the North Connex tunnel that completely cuts out the nightmare that was Pennant Hills Road. If you've ever driven that way, you'll know what I'm talking about. We continued on towards Newcastle and checked in to the caravan park on Lake Macquarie.

The park is in a lovely spot right on the lake so we went for a walk to see if there were any interesting birds - there weren't. Just the usual ducks and black swans. In the morning we set off to do some sightseeing, but first we had to go to Nords Wharf to look for the Glossy black cockatoos.

When we found the spot we realised someone had put the marker on private property so we wouldn't be able to look for them. We decided to move on to one of the beaches, but on the way back to the highway we made a snap decision to drive down to Cams Wharf. This time we were in luck - a pair of Glossy blacks flew right across in front of the car. We turned around and, as luck would have it, there was a place to park right near where the birds had landed. Mick was very happy with this serendipitous find.

From there we drove out to Swansea Heads and went for a short walk, then on to Caves Beach. The tide was low enough for us to be able to walk to the caves, and to walk through. Again, it's a very pretty spot, but also very popular so quite crowded, even on a week day.

You can walk into and through
the network of caves

The weather had been quite hot, and a bit windy, but the worst part was having to pack up in the rain. When we woke up in the morning, there were a couple of spits of rain, but nothing to be concerned about. We set about packing up, and were interrupted by a friendly neighbour who stopped for a chat. That was our big mistake. By the time he had left the rain had arrived and everything was wet and so in the end we just had to deal with it. We would be spending the next three nights with friends and we didn't think we'd be able to set the camper up to dry it out. 

We left Belmont and drove along the Newcastle Bypass and on towards Fingal Bay where we would spend the next three nights with Anne and Stephen.