Woolgoolga

April 11, 2014 4:00pm

I biked south 55k today to the beach town of Woolgoolga. Just as I’d been told, the town is wide open for free camping on nice manicured lawns with picnic tables and shade trees. I cooked up a nice lunch of pasta with meat sauce and washed it down with two cold local beers. I felt like cycling longer today but just can’t pass up this premium camping spot so I’ll put in a longer day tomorrow. So far I spent a total of $7 today but I am craving some sort of sweets so may go into town and pick up a fruit cake. I bought one four days ago for $3.50 which lasted until yesterday. The thing weighed 800 grams and was chock full of raisins and dried fruit and molasses. The birds here are super friendly. A couple of parrot looking birds just flew over and sat next to me on the park bench. I tried giving them some granola but they just seemed happy to sit next to me and didn’t touch the food.

I haven’t setup camp yet and plan to visit the public restrooms in town and stock up on water before 6:00. Then I’ll return and pitch the tent at this spot. The ground is nice and level and the mosquitoes are few. There is very little traffic on the beach road so this place is quiet with the exception of all the bird songs. There is a pathway that leads to the beach and miles of coastline which is virtually void of people. I feel like I have the whole place to myself. The nights are warm and I have only been using my sleeping bag liner until early morning when it chills down a bit. It was a good day. I just checked out the local park facilities and Wow! The bathrooms all have free showers, the picnic areas have free power and running water and there is an excellent view of the ocean. I charged up my Anker battery and filled up all the water containers for tonight. Word has it that one of the city council members owns a large blueberry farm and during harvest season he hires backpackers for minimum wage to hand pick the blueberries. These backpackers need a cheap place to stay so the councilman arranged for a lot of free camping areas in Woolgoolga. A smart move for his farm and the town in general.