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Date: Tue, 15 Jul 1997 13:16:58 +1000 (EST)To: studio@toysatellite.org From: Don Pattenden <dpattenden@pegasus.com.au> Subject: The Central Coast (Part Two) Hello from Gosford, The past three nights I've been accommodated very royally thanks to my friends Joan & Peter, both of them contacts that I made through a ListServe discussion group called Click-On (a group of ABC Radio fans). I've been really badly spoiled and "softened" so that it's going to be hard to once again get used to the "rough & ready" accom. that I usually have to put up with while travelling, i.e. caravan parks & hostels. Anyway, back to my narrative: On Friday I departed from Manly around 1:30 PM on a fine but cloudy and very cold afternoon, headed for Palm Beach. But I didn't quite get that far. I could have got there easily before dark but the complication was accommodation, as often happens. I knew that there was nothing at all beyond Avalon Beach (about 10 km south of Palm Beach) unless of course I was prepared to chance it and camp unofficially near the ferry wharf, near the toilets. Far too cold to consider that. So instead, I stopped at Avalon & booked in at the Backpackers Hostel there. Ghastly place!! Just about the worst night I've ever spent since I started this trip. As was the case at the Manly Backpackers it was filled entirely with young surf-boarders, but unlike Manly, the management here were quite indifferent to my comfort or otherwise. All they said was "Just remember this is a young persons hostel and that it's Friday night. There may be a lot of noise." Then they gave me the key and more or less left me to fend for myself. What's more they had the hide to charge $18 per night plus $2 (compulsory) for clean linen. I wasn't allowed to use my YHA sheet. What a rip off!! To make it worse, there appeared to be no rules whatever. Total anarchy! First thing I noticed that everyone was smoking in the communal areas & carrying around stubbies of beer. Most hostels, even the roughest are very strict on alcohol and on smoking. I gather that smoking in bedrooms also goes totally unchecked. Management clearly don't give a stuff!! Fortunately, the three guys in my room were non-smokers & were quiet & friendly. Could have been much worse otherwise. I had no intention of going anywhere near the kitchen while it was full of smoke, so I cycled down the shopping area & got some fish & chips which I consumed in the bedroom (my room-mates being out at the time). Then I organised my things for the morning and turned into bed at around 8:30 listening to my earphone radio to drown out the noise, of which there was plenty. But not quite as bad as I feared it would be, and I slept relatively undisturbed until 1:30 when I suddenly found myself wide awake for no reason. It was totally silent at the time. So I decided to get up anyway and concentrate on getting myself out of the place just as soon as I couild. It was a non-yoga morning (just nowhere to do it) but apart from that I followed my usual routine -- coffee, toilet, shower, porridge etc etc. & was left more or less undisturbed. There was a group of revellers draped around on the couch near the fire at the other end of the recreation area, fairly fuddled from alcohol, but not especially noisy. My determination to get out of the place paid off: I actually started riding, all packed up at 9:30 AM which is really really early for me. Unheard of!! And what's more it was a glorious sunny day! Just gorgeous. Clear blue sky, not a cloud, and warm sunshine (as warm as it gets in winter!) The rest of the day was just magic: the most enjoyable day's riding of the entire trip, I think. I arrived at Palm Beach in plenty of time for the 11 AM ferry across to Patonga. I filled in the time by having a coffee & muffin & sat in the sun gazing out over Pittwater - to Lion Island & Barrenjoey lighthouse, very familiar landmarks (well known to me from regular family holidays spent in a resort called "The Basin", just over the water from Palm Beach. I've just been given the wind-up by Peter, so it's time to make tracks. Peter has things to do, so I need to get packed up in a hurry so he can drive me back to Woy Woy where my bike is -- at Joan's place, and where my journey ended on Saturday. So that's where I must continue from, in the direction of Newcastle (via Avoca, Terrigal, The Entrance etc etc.) So in brief:- Saturday: Avalon to Woy Woy, via Palm Beach & Patonga. (Wonderful ferry trip; water sparkling with sunshine; lunch in the sun at Patonga which I've never been to before, a really beautiful place for seaside holidays). At Woy Woy I was met by Joan who then escorted me to her place where I was to spend the night. Sunday: Poured with rain all day. Didn't poke a nose outside. Spent the day talking to Joan and playing around with her computer. Used Netscape to access my mail. At 5 PM she drove me over to Gosford (15 Km) to Peter's place where I spent the next 2 nights. Apart from helping me with setting up my Eudora floppy, Peter took me sight seeing so I could see those places I won't be passing through on my journey from Woy Woy north, bypassing Gosford. Monday: Spent the day with Peter, computering and sightseeing and talking (about Life the Universe and Everything.) Tuesday (today) Fine though cloudy & cool. Southerly change expected late in the day with the chance of a shower. Hope I get my tent up before that happens. Not sure how far I'll get today but since it's already 1:15 and I haven't yet had lunch or started packing, it won't be very far. Probably a caravan park, although there is a Backpackers at Terrigal. Lots more to tell you, but must rush now. I'm really enjoying this trip. It's so good to be travelling again. I was in Sydney far too long, although of course I'm glad I spent all that "quality time" with Heather.
Will keep you posted. |