South West Rocks

It was one of those particular days when we can not agree where to go next so we need to be alert not to miss any road signs that may lead to a good rest area or camp site. With 2 GPS systems in tow we still can not fully rely on technology because they most often than not,  led us to the wrong place. Driving more than an hour from Coffs Harbour, the editor turned left at a turn off to South West Rocks, about 15 kms off the Pacific Highway. The camp site we are heading to is in Arakoon State Conservation Area which is located 3 kms east of South West Rocks. The reserve is home to Trial Bay Gaol, a jail ruin surrounded by rocky foreshores and pleasant sandy beaches. This camp site is the best that we have been so far!



The local skippies welcomed us in numbers.

  Camp facilities are average and the site itself is well maintained but it is the whole town itself that really amazes me. The jail ruin is just metres away, there's a lighthouse not far and the beach and river view is perfect! Its a perfect tourist destination. For $28 (off-peak) a night for powered sites, I'd say it is great value. We should have stayed longer but the four-night experience in South West Rocks ROCKED!
 

View of the camp ground from the town's main beach.

 

We sat in the grass and enjoyed not just the view of the beach 
but also a pod of dolphins playing less than a stone's throw away.

The busy part of the beach.


Driving around town we looked for a tackle shop so we can finally fish! We tried doing it in the rocky part of the beach one day but we were unsuccessful and we even got soaked because the waves suddenly swelled. Anyway, the editor decided we just hire a tinny and fish in the river. He said it is cheaper to hire a boat since we don't have to buy baits and lures all the time because I always lose them. Well I say its always part of fishing.

This is where we fished.

Getting ready!!!

Do I look excited? Well I am very excited for my first catch.

My first catch was a flathead!

I caught a little bream.

The editor caught a flathead too.

Our 2nd day in South West Rocks was spent touring the jail ruins and the lighthouse. These two historical structures are very popular tourist attractions in NSW. Trial Bay Gaol opened in 1886 as a works prison and was utilised in World War 1 as a German internment camp. It was closed in 1918. The jail and museum entry is $7.50 per adult. Smoky Cape lighthouse which is 10-minute drive away is free entrance. But they have bed and breakfast there if you want to stay overnight. I posted several good pictures so you too can enjoy a tour of the lighthouse and jail ruins. Have a look.

Smoky Cape Lighthouse.

140 metre above sea level - it is the
highest lighthouse in NSW.