Port Stephens - Base Camp

It was a fairly early rise today. We are setting up our bank accounts at 8am and I decide I will check out beforehand as I can’t be bothered to come back and shower, so am up all ready and checked out by about 7:30am. The group meets in the lobby and heads down to China Town to a local Commonwealth Bank branch. I applied online roughly a week ago as I was told to, so am expecting my card ready and waiting. It isn’t until the lady says okay all done that I realise this isn’t the case and apparently there is some tick box somewhere on the form I missed that means the card isn't waiting for you. But it’s not the end of the world as I can still put it in my Apple Pay wallet which I use for everything these days anyway, so basically I am good to go once I transfer some of my money over. After the bank I have a one-on-one booked with the Ultimate guys in the office: just a chance to pick their brains about some stuff like getting work in the state of Victoria vs New South Wales and other boring bits that might be helpful to me. After this I have some free time, we are heading to ‘Base Camp’ in Port Stephens later today. I meet up with Alex and Cedric, who have also just had their one to ones and we decide to kill the time with a couple games of pool and a beer or two so we head to a bar just down the road which I was in only a few days ago getting my arse kicked at pool by Sam my cousin. After a pint and two decisive victories in pool for me it is time to head back to the hostel and load onto the bus to base camp. It is a fairly easy ride, only about three hours but I stupidly leave my headphones in the bag packed under the bus so I am left to watch the world go by in silence, unsurprisingly I end up napping for a lot of the journey so it works out fine.

Once at Base Camp we are put into rooms of eight with no AC and only a single fan, so rather toasty considering the weather is staying at around the 30 degree mark. Once we have dropped bags and bits we are given another talk by the owner of the site about what to expect and the best ways to stay safe and avoid stuff that can kill you. It is a rather scary chat but I am pretty sure by the end most of the group are still excited to be here. The rest of the day is spent chilling out getting to know everyone, sharing pizzas, having drinks and playing games. It is during these drinks and games I meet the people on this tour who will be joining me for the next five weeks on the second part of the tour. There is Aron, Emily, Caitlin, Amy and Olivia. Caitlin, Amy and Olivia are part of a group of friends who have named themselves the Budget Babes, the final member being Phoebe who is staying in Sydney after this week but has already made arrangements with the girls to meet up after the tour. I find myself becoming a somewhat honorary member of the Budget Babes, although I reckon my spending habits will stop me from ever being able to become a fully fledged member! It is a fun night and it is nice to be able to have a few drinks with the group and get to know everyone before heading back to the hellish conditions which are the boiling hot rooms we are staying in.

Cedric, smiling through adversity

The next morning most of the group is up early and heads to the beach for first light and a sunrise paddle/swim. The views on the beach are gorgeous and the water, although a little cold, is incredibly refreshing. It is a lovely way to start the day and a great experience to share with new friends. After the swim we head back to camp and help ourselves to showers and breakfast. I have an apple and a cuppa not the most filling but it really hit the spot. I am really enjoying having regular access to good tea again. After breakfast it is time for our next adventure: we are loaded up into old army 4WDs and taken out onto the sand dunes of Tomaree National Park for sand boarding. It is very hot in the dunes but still a lot of fun boarding even if we weren’t allowed to stand on the boards. I try my best to get videos of everyone boarding down the dunes as well as giving it a good go myself. We are told we are lucky to be here as most of the land around us, including what we are on, was given back to local aboriginal tribes after they were able to prove lineage dating back tens of thousands of years. After talks the tribes agreed to keep the land as a public park working alongside the Australian government, so that everyone could enjoy the beauty of the beach fronts, sand dunes and natural wildlife areas.

Sand boarding
(click on the top right hand icon)

Meeting the locals – Giant Grey Huntsman

Tomaree National Park Sand Dunes

Arriving on the beach for sunrise

And hello to another local – the Pacific Golden Orb Weaver (Trichonephila Plumipes)

Marvellous views

Off to Tomaree National Park in the old army 4WDs

After the hike we are taken to the beach front for a short hike up Tomaree Head Summit which offers picturesque ocean views over Port Stephens, Nelson Bay, Shoal Bay, Shark Island and Fingal Bay. Our guide was one of the workers from our accommodation; he is clearly knowledgeable about the area and manages to do the entire hike bare foot. I join him bare foot for part of the hike as my flip flops, or thongs as they are called over here, start to get sweaty quick but I have to tap out on the metal stairs. Once up at the top all sweaty, our guide gives us the names and a brief overview of of everything we can see from the viewpoint – a mixture of beautiful beaches and islands. He also points out the area our dolphin spotting boat will be taking us tomorrow. It is beautiful up there and the group of course stop to take some photos. Once done we head back down and I rush ahead, I noticed a gelato place on the way up and boy do I want one. I get mango and vanilla in a cone as well as a much needed water; for some reason I still don’t have a water bottle.

Once back at the hostel and showered it is BBQ time. The owners have put on a BBQ for us and we eat a mixture of salads, chicken, steak and sausages, I am enjoying almost constant BBQ weather! After we have eaten it is time for shit shirt night. Some of the group have agreed to buy shirts for each other, that have to be worn. I paired up with Alex and we went a little harder than everyone else but, hey, it was a laugh and after some pictures there were drinks, games and a quiz that the Bargain Babes and I absolutely smashed. We see the night away with a few more games, drinks and conversation, and a promise to wake up for sunrise again.

And Hi to my first possum too!

Shit Shirts