Sunshine Coast to Sydney bike tour, days 13 TO 17: Angourie to Nambuccca Heads

10 June: Angourie to Yuragir beach camp
From the mosquito woodlands near Angourie I had to bike back to Yamba after deciding against trying the coastal walking route. 

In Yambda the locals were out surfing by the breakwater and I took the opportunity for a swim and a rinse of dirty clothes, first in the sea and then in a beach shower. Then the clothes were attached to the back of the bike to dry off. This process is satisfying in a couple of ways, first you are getting yourself and your clothes adequately clean, second you are bathing in a beautiful location, and third this is all being completed without spending a penny.
I felt invigorated after this and began the ride inland across the various waterways before cutting through to the next road back to the coast. There was uncertainty looming ahead in the continuing effort to avoid the Pacific Highway. This time my plan was to bike into Yuragir National Park, cycle two long beaches and cross an estuary (did not know how I was going to do this) before popping out at Minnie Water.
The 20 km ride along Brooms Head Road headed into the untouched coastal bush of Yuragir National Park before arriving in the small village of Brooms Head. It was late afternoon, I rode straight through the village and campground and up to the headland to a lookout where I could assess the ride ahead.

At this point I decided to camp somewhere isolated about halfway up the beach if the beach was rideable. I had to walk the bike and gear down a path and some stairs to get onto the northern end of the beach and with great joy found the sand packed at lowish tide.

It was easily rideable and setting off south along the empty beach I felt like I had some kind of superpower, gently gliding along the sand with the crashing waves on my left and the sun setting behind the coastal scrub on my right. After about 4km of beach cycling I found a place to camp on the upper beach. It was a bit windy to start with and while making dinner I sheltered between some sand cliffs eroded from the storm several days ago. It was another stunning starlit night. It had been a great day but I had concerns for tomorrow where the Sandon River estuary would have to be crossed. My thinking was that because there was a hiking route along this coast (I’d seen in a park brochure), there must be some way for hikers (and therefore me and my bike) to cross the estuary. “Perhaps it will be just shallow water and I can carry the bike across” I thought.

11 June: Yuragir, Sandon crossing, to Forest camp

A beautiful sunrise and there was a sun dog:

After packing up I rode 4 km south along the beach at low tide and arrived at a campground on the northern side of Sandon River.

There was not much happening here at these early hours and as I rode across the shell-covered sand to the river it became immediately clear that it would not be possible to walk across the estuary. On the far bank there were a couple of people but not much happening on the north bank. I considered alternative routes, there was a possible long detour through park tracks inland but it might add a day of cycling. I considered trying to float the bike across on my air-filled pannier bags but after emptying the bags and getting some air inside, the bags did not hold the air in. That was not going to work. Next a fishing couple came down with a boat. Perhaps they could give me a quick lift across. I talked to the lady and explained that I was trying to get across. She gave no indication of willingness to give me a lift across. After that it dawned on me that perhaps I could use my Thermorest air mattress to float the bike across. So I blew it up and strapped the bike to it with my two bungy cords. Slipping this raft into the water was one of the great moments of this tour, it floated great and it was amazingly simple to swim it across. At the other end two locals watched with amusement and I was laughing with disbelief as I emerged on the other side. I now had a frigging boat! I told the two strangers I had never done it before, they had assumed I had known what I was doing from previous experience. Of course I had to time-lapse it.

or https://www.facebook.com/christopher.chambers1/videos/10154350724261869/
Two more swims across got all my gear across and one of the guys offered me a rinsing shower and a tour of the small community nestled on the southern outlet of Sandon River. I was told that I had been lucky with the timing of the crossing of the estuary because there are strong currents at other points in the tide. I was also told that sharks had been sighted in the channel, however I’d be surprised if they hadn’t in a place like this. He told me the humpback whales were currently migrating up the coast. I liked the idea of biking south along this coasts with the whales doing the same somewhere offshore.

The tide had now turned and I needed to get down the next beach before it became unrideable. This involved walking the bike down a short sand filled 4wd track to the beach. Time was ticking so I biked at a decent pace down this 10 km long beach riding along the tops of the wave run-up.
It was fun and again with the protected bush on the right. I was not alone for all of it though, there were one or two 4wd cars on this beach and I was faced at one time in the strange situation of following two 4wd trucks over some rocks on the beach.

I left the beach at Minnie Water camping area, checked out the village before heading inland on the road back to the highway. I ended up camping in a forest a few km before the road meets the highway.

12 June to Coffs Harbour
Well there was no choice but to return to the highway and it was a long highway bash on this day. I was mostly on the A1 or on nearby roads for 75 km before reaching Coffs Harbour where I stayed in the cheapest motel I could find. I bought one of those full cooked chickens which I immediately regretted. Oh and yes I did see the Big Banana.

13 June Coffs Harbour to Nambucca Heads
Tough going along the A1, some sections without a shoulder, plenty of trucks, and also sections of roadworks, stressful. Decided to turn off and look for a place to camp at Nambucca Heads. From here there were some amazing views up the coast in both directions but especially to the south where a large river met the sea through bushland and sandbars. Everything closed, turned out Queen’s Birthday holiday, had no idea at the time, went to a Big 4 holiday park, they were asking something like $36 so headed to another much nicer place on the cliff top, much nicer in fact.

14 June: In Nambucca Heads
I liked the cliff top holiday park so much that I decided to take the day off. I ended up spending the day enjoying beautiful Nambucca Heads, here are some pictures:

http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/fullscreen/1183597885/