(2015/03/27) … exactly as the weather forecast had predicted, the temperature in the morning was cold, almost as cold as the last nights in New Zealand. After finishing the drive on the old Pacific Highway and having enough time for today, i turned left to The Lakes Way a scenic alternative to the Pacific Hwy, this lovely drive starts just after the small town of Bulahdelah and twists through Myall Lakes and Booti Booti National Parks to Froster, an 80km detour. It was a good alternative to the straight and less interesting A1, like the old PH, curvy and nice views to the lakes. Until i heard a strange sound from the car which i didn’t heard before, only happing when the surface of the road becomes rough and in a curve. On the next opportunity i decided to stop and figure out where this noise comes from while having a rest for myself.
Short after i got out of the car, i noticed a light smell of hot rubber and saw that my right rear tire had an puncture. There was no time for panic, it could be worse. I had luck that i noticed that early enough and not while driving a curve and then the tire said totally goodbye. The only thought was that the screws shouldn’t be rusty and easy to open.
After this short fix, my tour on The Lakes Way continued to Forster with an short stopover on a lookout at the Booti Booti NP. The rest of the tour wasn’t that spectacular and while driving alone there is not really time to take pictures from nice view of the cities or villages which i am passing. Some of them have bays, lakes, rivers and bridges who crosses these with really nice views. To stay in my time and distance schedule, i had to drive on anyways to Port Stephens and the Mount Tomaree. I arrived there in the late afternoon with perfect weather and the chance to get a good sunset on top of the mountain. Have yourself a look.
It was totally worth to climb up there and to stay till it was dark. All others disappeared there as the sun was behind the horizon, but they missed the beautiful after glowing and colour changing sky. About 2 hours driving in the dark was now on the list to reach my place for this night. A boat ramp in area of Newcastle, where already some campervans, RV and cars had parked. The lights of the harbour and the villages looked nice and were a good target for playing around with my Gopro in night mode…