My good wife tells me this should be here and not there (our biography)
so ive typed it all out again.Gawd this computer business is confusing.

John age 63 retired. wife Anne 56 working casual to pay for our trips.
Caravanning 12 months and managed 3 so far.1 week ballina 1 week Dubbo zoo and 6 weeks nsw and vic coast to Phillip Isl, G.O.R ,Mnt Gambier and home via the Grampions.
Leaving mid March for Emerald qld for 4-6 weeks depending on the weather.

Any suggestions of places and sights not to miss ?
Is the wet season a problem at that time of year?

Love this site and the friendly banter i have learned so much in just a couple of weeks

John and Anne

Hi John & Anne,
If the NSW north coast is the way you are going, spend some time at The Entrance and also Port Stephens area if you have not already visited.
They are great spots. The Entrance still only relatively uncommercialised, but as with Port Stephens area get a lot of city visitors during hols. Better in off school times/busy easter, christmas etc.
Forster - Lani's Holiday Park, we can recommend. Great area of the coast, nice spot, excellent staff and also dog friendly. Recommend highly. 

Thanks Peter
will probably go via the New England Hwy and return by the Great Inland Way,although i learned quickly not to plan to far ahead.Simply have a final destination,if you are on a limited time frame, which we are,we then have an excuse to go back one day to see anything we missed.
i agree the central coast is beautiful and plan to see it all on some shorter trips later.
have stayed at Forster twice now on our Ballina trip, Lakeside Resort.

Welcome to the forum,
I live in the Gemfields, another 60ks west of Emerald, this place is just starting to pick by mid march, normal population during summer is about 5000, winter it explodes to over 30000 as all the southerners arrive,
If your heading up no 1 stop in at Boultons crossing about 3 kx towards the coast from Macksville, toilets and tankwater, plus a few BIG flattie in the creek, which is a tributary of the Nambucca
M&J


enjoy your sunrises

Thanks M&J with that increase in population would you recomend we book somewhere in advance or take a punt? we have no problem staying 50 klm or more from Emerald and doing day trips. believe a place called Fairbairn Lake is worth the visit. Is the wet season a problem or just afurphy to keep us southerners away. John

whoops.
meant ,is the wet season a problem when we intend getting there .round the end of march/early april.

john

-- Edited by jandas fun at 21:55, 2009-01-22

Hi  Jandas fun
I dont consider floods a problem, had a wall of water 2 feet deep run throught my place this time last year, had a constant rainfall averaging about 3 inches a day for 4 days, then a downpour of 16 inches in 4 hours, the dam behind me overflowed the wall and the result was all the mines in the area collapsed, that was in Sapphire including mine ,enormous loss of machinary fortunatly no lives were lost 
the water continued down streams and creeks ending in the Nogae river at Emerald flooding the town, all he news people in the world got it
I was wandering in and around Kingaroy at the time
last time I was at Boultons crossing it was a freebie, but that has probably changed as it is such a nice spot,
Would suggest the park at the lake be booked, Dam is spectacular in flood,
coming to Sapphire the Lions park is a freebie as is the footy ground, and there is 3 caravan parks, dont bother to book, if you cannot get one , youlll get another
M&J



enjoy your sunrises

sorry, mid march the wet is over, tracks might be a little muddy so your car might get dirty ???? heh heh heh heh

most Southerners fear "the wet" but apart from a few minor inconveniences such as a flooded road or a wash away I love it, I once seen 4" come down in less than two hours while we were in cairns, never seen so much water in all my days, but it was all gone within half an hour but the spectacle of it was unforgettable, but a common sight for the locals I have actually deliberately set out on half a dozen occasions to catch the end of the wet just for the sounds, the sights, the smells of a big rainforest after heavy rain, nothing fills the senses more. if you leave in march then flooding and big rains will not be a problem I have been poo pooed on this forum many times for suggesting that folks go north during the wet, and I am glad that someone that lives up there is willing to take the same stance as me, so thanks for that Mike, anybody that has done the trip knows that it is fine, one may just have to wait for the water to subside, normally half a day is adequate, sometimes an entire road is gone, be prepared for that, get info before heading any big distance I believe in living every experience that Australia has to offer, the Kimberley's in the wet are indescribable but not recommended for a novice, the cooper in summer is amazing but it has killed people (the desert), we were there once when a flash flood came down and the one thing we did not expect was the snakes, they hide in the rubbish in the bottom of the creek off shoots and when the water comes down they get picked up and carried along port Lincoln and the west coast during winter is amazing, when the roaring forties are a little further north, crossing the nullaboar during a Gail, watching the play of the massive rollers breaking against the limestone cliffs, amazing stuff, wouldn't be dead for quids the west coast of tassie in the winter when the storms come in, lets you know you are alive

Right on Dave, I was in Herberton when Cyclone Larry hit, The noise was tremendous and the trees were falling around us like ninepins, fortunatly none hit the house, we went out when the eye passed over and it lasted for 1/2 hour, but bolted back inside when it had passed over, and we watched the wind finish the trees that had started to fall go the other way, A creek beside the house in the gully (normally only 2 feet wide swelled up to the top of the gully and tore a new path for itself, fortunatly on the other side from the house, Snakes, birds, a calf, and trees were swept down until a local rd was blocked the news dont see behind the scenes all that well so a lot was not reported, wouldnt have missed it for the world

I havent gathered enogh guts as yet to deliberately head in to a cyclone, but I would love to, I got a phone call from my mate in cairns one night, during the conversation I said to him that he had a cyclone heading his way, he calmly said "I'm watching it from my upstairs window right now, we just got a new shed, nup it's gone again, oop hang on now we got another fence nope thats gone, we just lost our palm thats a couple blocks up the road" he stayed on the phone all the while the thing was hitting cairns, he held the phone up to a partially cracked open window and the noise was deafening at my end so I couldnt imagine what it was like to be there

managed a couple of quick shots, , Green diamond back python marooned after the flood, and the front garden during the blow, the road under water, and the creek flooded to the garden boundary

thats a great spot you got there, great shots as well, just bag some of that wet stuff up and send her down here will you, havent seen any for a while she's a bit dry out the back!!