Leaving Stuarts Point today left us feeling good - in that we'd been able to help our sister in law with some cleaning up around her house & yard - something that started as an enormous task and gradually got chipped away - we felt like we'd accomplished something . Hitting the highway and heading further up the coast , we cruised through Coffs Harbour , only getting about 4 red lights - a good run !! The highway has changed a bit since we were last on it , dual lanes go right through and now bypass South Grafton . The new bridge over the Clarence River is also new to us , and what a difference it makes as well - it also features in photo's further down the page .
But first , we arrived and found we could only stay at the Greyhound club till Saturday - they had some racing on and no-one was permitted to stay . No problem to us , we wanted to get the ute serviced as we'd just ticked over 200,000 kms . We rang 6 different places , and had 6 knock backs - Hmmm , what to do ? Further up the road is Casino , so rang there and could get it serviced next Thursday , we were booked in ! The Lismore floods are still causing problems , even though the flood was months ago - car yards & mechanics haven't reopened yet , so people are getting their cars serviced wherever they can .
Next day we headed into town and found our way to the new bridge , deciding we'd go for a walk across it . On the way there we found Fig Tree Avenue - a street with fig trees planted down either side of the road , creating a canopy over the road .
We parked and found our way up & onto the walkway across the new bridge - it was interesting to look at the old bridge from the side - you would think that traffic would be travelling through the middle of the bridge - no , traffic goes on top of the bridge and trains use the middle section .
It was an opening bridge when it was first built in the 1930's , however it didn't get used that much due to rail taking over from boat transport . It hasn't opened since early in the 1940's . This is , or was , the opening section of the bridge - it opened and went 90 degrees to the normal level section of the bridge .
This is the old operating section , even has traffic lights for the ships !
Continuing our walk , we arrived at the other side and wandered down the path , around and onto the old bridge . Here's a river view from that side .
The old bridge was assembled in sections on a barge , then floated into position and joined up . The new bridge was also taken out on barges , but a crane was used to lift sections up to the new bridge height . Here's a picture of the peculiarity of the old bridge - the train deck also has water mains and telecommunication cables going across it . You can see the section above - that's the roadway and it turns and goes off to the left of the train tracks , and if you've ever driven across it , you will understand how awkward it is to drive around that corner . If there's a truck coming either way , all the opposite traffic will stop to allow it to get around the corner without squashing the cars on the corner . It's a horrible corner to tow a van around , so it was with great pleasure when we drove over the new bridge .
The pylons under the road section have been decorated by street artists , making it into a good looking area .
I noticed the roadway from underneath , checking out the brickwork .
Here's a closer look , in between the steel rsj sections , they have bricked it up in a dome type installation - not sure if it's for noise suppression or not , but it's a hell of a job !
Here's one of the towns pubs at Weilly's Corner .
This is See Park a nice small park on the northern side of the railway .
We caught up with a few friends while we were in town , Mark & Wendy who live in town , then Debbie & Jeff who live about 25 mins out of town . The following photo's have been taken at their property - it's only just starting to dry out enough for them to be able to drive their cars into the house yard after all the rain they've had ! Fungus is growing madly on anything that isn't moving at the moment .
Dams are full and creeks are flowing , grass is growing madly - probably only just starting to slow down with the colder weather that's now arriving .
It can be difficult to drag ourselves away from friends , but we can always come back for further visits . Tomorrow we head north again , more family & friends to catch up with . Here's a map link :- https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1x8kCLtCyF1bEdUxz0voTQJSHKP2hlmw&usp=sharing
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