Day 1, Sunday April 3, Broadbeach to Port Macquarie
We leave Broadbeach early, just as the second day of the Aussies is beginning. The Australian Surf Lifesaving Championships are the biggest surf lifesaving event in Australia, and indeed the world, and the 2022 event is being held on our local beach.
First stop is the Macadamia Castle near Byron Bay. This is the site of the first Tesla Supercharger in Australia, and we use the opportunity to top up our car’s battery.
Julie is a long-time volunteer at the Currumbin Wildlife Hospital and our real reason for being here is that the “Macca” is now the home of the Byron Bay Wildlife Hospital, a not-for-profit set up just 18 months ago which operates from a mobile clinic on site when not called out for emergencies elsewhere. We are fortunate to chat with CEO Dr Stephen Van Mil and Communication Director Russell Mills, along with Fundraiser Deb. Steve explains that the local flooding has caused most disruption to burrowing animals like echidnas and wombats and particularly platypuses which burrow below the waterline.
The group supporting the BBWH has also secured the Macadamia Castle property and business and have long term plans to transition it primarily towards a wildlife sanctuary. Steve’s knowledge and experience are in demand, and he intends to fly out that same day for western NSW and then on to WA to advise on setting up similar wildlife-focussed operations.
We leave the Macca headed for our first overnight, in Port Macquarie. The Pacific Highway is now flood-free but much of the surrounding fields are still well under water, a reminder of what the Lismore and the surrounding regions have just experienced – twice – within a month.
I grew up in Lismore and floods in February or March were not uncommon. It was well known which houses were a flooding risk and which, like ours, would remain flood-free. In those days flood recovery was a community effort and businesses were back in operation within a few days.
The flood of early March this year was different, with the water level reaching two meters above the previous record level from 1954. Our previous flood-free house would now be well under water. The severity of the flood caught most by surprise and sadly led to the death of several. Flood recovery is now well beyond the community’s ability to cope, and certainly not helped by yet another flooding event just a few weeks later.
After a brief stop in Coffs Harbour for lunch we make it to Port Macquarie late afternoon. After check-in and with the Tesla on overnight charge we try a 5k walk along the sea wall.
Day 2 & 3, Monday & Tuesday April 4 & 5, Port Macquarie to Port Stephens
After another walk along the sea wall, we are back on the road to the nearby Port Macquarie Koala Hospital in the grounds of Robo House arriving before they are due to open at 0830. Good timing since early morning is feeding time and the koalas are more active, and particularly so this morning since the koalas have yet to realise that daylight saving ended yesterday.
The hospital staff currently have injured koalas from as far away as Murwillumbah with the aim of returning them to the wild or, if that is not the best option, rehoming them in the sanctuary. The staff and volunteers are passionate about their daily tasks which includes sourcing fresh eucalypt leaves and, interestingly, counting the number of scat (poop) for each koala. Individual scat count should be in the range of 100-160, depending on sex and size and a low count implies ill health.
We learn that koalas live around the Australia coast from Cairns to Kangaroo Island in South Australia. We have almost 1,000 different varieties of Eucalypt tree but only around 100 of those are eaten by koalas. Individual koalas may choose to eat only a few types available in their location and the intestinal bacteria of koala infants develop from mother’s milk to well tolerate those types. Koalas are territorial animals and leaf preference may be part of that story.
We are soon off to Port Stephens, a delightful part of the NSW coast, with two nights planned at the Port Stephens Koala Sanctuary. We arrive to greet our nephew Michael, partner Amy and three-year-old son, Leeroy who have agreed to visit, and together take a guided tour of the facility. The sanctuary has an extensive educational area and soon young Leeroy is right into koalas. A total of 17 koalas are in permanent residence in a very natural, but protected, environment. The sanctuary adjoins a hospital for koalas and other wildlife.
Our accommodation for two nights is a very comfortable glamping “tent” and the staff of the sanctuary make every effort to make our stay memorable, including arranging access for vehicle charging. As well as koalas we use our time to trek through sand dunes to the nearby beaches.
On Tuesday, long-term friends John and Lynne De Ridder, who we met in Melbourne 40 years ago and who now live in the area, kindly take us out to lunch. It’s great to catch up after too long. John and Lynne are great travellers and their ambitious plans for 2022 are no exception.
Our stay at the sanctuary, and our earlier visit to the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital, reinforce our love of koalas, and our concern of their future. The biggest threats to koalas are disease (chlamydia) and habitat loss. A chlamydia vaccine for koalas is being trialled in Queensland, but habitat loss remains a challenge. The 2019/20 mega bush fires caused around one billion animals of all types to be lost, as well as 17 million hectares to be burnt, mostly wildlife habitat in NSW. Amazingly, despite the revision to the NSW Koala SEPP planning document introduced in late 2020, the redevelopment of koala habitat in NSW is still not prohibited. And koalas are forecast to likely be extinct in NSW by 2050.
Day 4, Wednesday 6 April, Port Stephens to Sydney
One last dash to the beach before the weather threatens to turn and we are off, stopping briefly at the Shark and Ray Rescue Centre on the way out of town. Sharks and stingrays that are caught in the nets of the local fisherman are brought to the centre for rehabilitation, before being passed to aquariums. Apparently return to the wild is not allowed by law, presumably because of the risk of introduced disease.
Next stop… Sydney.