A Kona Update and a Trip to Sapphire Beach

   Life has been pretty much the same here on the beach.   the wind has been blowing 10 to 15 out of the north for about three days, making the surface water cooler.  At least in Kailua it hasn't churned things up, so what fish there are have been delightfully visible.  And Sandra is keeping nice and warm in her shorty wet suit.
 
    The Christmas crowd is arriving and yesterday we had a chance to visit with our friends Cece and Gregg from PDX.  They're staying in Puako for a week or two and we are planning a swim and visit on Sunday.  Hopefully we will have some choice tidbits for you from the giant tidepool.

   Recognizing that this isn't much of a blog, I thought I would treat you to a tripadvisor review that they refused to publish, for heaven only knows what reason.  Their editorial staff was as enigmatic as the sphinx. 

Tripadvisor Review for  Sapphire Beach Holiday Park  

 Near the end of our two week drive around NSW we spent two nights in Coff's Harbour.  We stayed at the Sapphire Beach Holiday Park, about 5 km north of the small city.  My overall impression of Coff's Harbour in November, was that it reminded me of Hawaii, where I live.  The air was soft and warm.  Everywhere I turned I recognized plants like bougainvillea, various palms and tropical lilies thriving unattended.  

   

   The really cool thing was, that in some ways, the Sapphire Beach Holiday was way better than Hawaii!  

Home Sweet Home at Sapphire Beach

    We were given a small trailer for our two night stay.  Michelle, who was manning the desk upon our arrival, moved us down to the end of the row, which was a more peaceful location.  The trailer was clean.  Being from Hawaii, we understand how difficult it is to achieve immaculate in a seaside climate.  Most importantly, there were no bugs.  It was a bit small, but we payed less for our stay here than anywhere else on the trip.  And we were offered a larger trailer for a very reasonable rate.  

   

    You may get the sense that I take perverse pleasure in being thrifty, but at least I recognize what things are worth, and this small trailer was an incredible bargain.

     

The trailer had a comfortable double bed and a set of bunks, so I was afforded the opportunity to continue to bump my head while messing with the luggage.  It had a very nice dining table and chairs. Everything you could hope for was in the kitchen.  The WC was really small, but bigger than you would find on a sailboat.  Best of all, there was a modern recliner with a reading lamp.  Ahh! Home at last.  

Sandra enjoying beautiful Sapphire Beach

    Had we wished to sit outside in the evening, we had a small verandah with a view of the grassy car park that backed onto the barrier dunes.

The grounds of the Sapphire Holiday Park are amazing.   This is how a caravan park appears on the other side of the Pearly Gates.  There were large eucalyptus and other trees, neatly trimmed patches of grass and two welcoming pathways to the beach.  Our first morning I was returning through the far pathway when I encountered two kangaroos on the lawn!

There were birds to die for including a family of Black and Yellow Cockatoos. 

    On one of my morning strolls I was returning from the far end of the park. There  I had encountered a small swampy area with curiously croaking frogs (they made a double plopping noise) and a Shining Bronze Cuckoo.  By the trailers under the tall eucalypts, I ran into a nice gentleman a bit younger than myself.   Jacob was dressed Hawaiian style (sans chemise) and carrying a bowl of porridge.

The Red-backed Fairy Wren

   He was on his way to have breakfast at the beach, but he took time to say hello and introduce himself as the grounds keeper.  Seeing my binoculars, Jake told me of a small red bird in the dunes.  (Australians are much more interested in birds and bird watchers than people elsewhere.  It isn't particularly unusual to be walking with binoculars and be approached by a stranger who wants to talk to you about a local bird.)

We wandered through a small gap in the brush and over the dunes to where he had a plastic chair perched amid the heath with a killer view of the beach.

    Now most of you would be transfixed by this killer view.  Sapphire beach is a long sandy strand almost a kilometer in length.  A rocky cape to the right and an offshore island completed our view.  But just beside my guide's plastic seat appeared a family of Red Backed Wrens.  I am including a picture of this bird, so you can look for it, too.  Fairy wrens are one of the most prized birds in Australia and this one is dazzling.  The male raised the feathers on his red cape to make a more dramatic impression.  Wow!  (If this sizzling black a red number was back in Oregon he could replace the Blazer Dancers.  And the world would be a better place for it!)

    As if this was not enough,  Sam and her husband have created a lagoon in the back of the park.  Sandra and I wandered back there after dinner our second night and were treated to a Buff Banded Rail strolling nonchalantly beneath the trees by the water.

Buff Banded Rail stalks the trailer park lagoon

    At this juncture, I must tell you about the welcoming owners.  Sam and her husband (whose name I never got... shame on me!) are incredible hosts.  Not only that, but they maintain great control over the park.  While we were staying, a group 16 year old  girls from the Presbyterian Ladies College of Armidale, NSW were in several of the park trailers.  They were remarkably well behaved and quiet at night.  While this might speak to the fine breeding afforded by the Church of Scotland, I think the firm guidance of the park managers played a hand in our evening tranquility.  Kudos to the young Presbyterians and to Sam and her husband!

    Our hosts had great suggestions for local pursuits and were just plain fun to talk to.  And one of the things we discussed at some length was the highway situation....

    Two negatives must be addressed that have nothing to do with this nirvana of a holiday park.  First is the traffic situation.  Being from the United States, where the automobile is king, I was flabbergasted by Australian roads.  The lanes are narrow and they are poorly marked.  Coff's Harbour

lies on the Pacific Highway, the main road between Brisbane and Sydney, a distance of about 600 miles.  Back in Estados Unidos, this would merit two to  four spacious, fast moving lanes in each direction, uninterrupted by cities large or small.   On this Australian artery,  we encountered two lanes occasionally.  As one traverses the length of Coff's Harbour, he  is reduced to driving on city streets for several kms.  Getting to Sapphire Beach from what might be deemed the freeway had, during the period of our visit, been rewritten as a Shakespearean comedy.  So poorly marked were the turns required when arriving from the south, that we did it correctly only on our fourth attempt.  Sam and her husband were very patient with us, explaining just how to negotiate this Aussie maze. 

    This may be better by the time you visit, but the Australians do not build roads fast and it may persist in some peculiar fashion for quite a while.

    I suppose you will say that this is the beauty of foreign travel.  To some extent you would be correct.  But I gotta tell ya, the roads are way better in Mexico.  Not necessarily safer, but wider and better marked. Viva la revolución!

    Whew!   I got a little carried away there.   

Sam's Office.  Let's hope its there for years to come.

    

Last, I need to tell you about the development.  Some of my Aussie acquaintances made the point that this is a poor country and that explains the poor roads.  I submit that it is not a poor country, but one that prioritizes differently.  Building fast roads efficiently is not a high priority.  Having a big brother traffic camera and ticketing program is.  

  As Exhibit A for national wealth,  I will direct your attention to the fancy development that has crowded down upon the Sapphire Beach Holiday Park on all three sides.  There is a lot of filthy lucre represented in this development and I assume that somehow or another the Australian government taxes these wealthy home owners.   

    Back in the land of unbridled development, one could hear the death knell for our beachside oasis.  And you wouldn't need to listen all that carefully, either.   I suspect that moneyed interests have their sights set on this choice property with the nefarious aim of turning it into a dozen luxury home sites.  Rather obviously, a 150 foot ocean front lot would sell for millions.  I mean, that is one spectacular beach and God ain't makin' no more a them.   Sadly, the recent development will surely decrease the amount of wildlife in the park.

    So my advice to you readers is this:  the Sapphire Beach Holiday Park represents a tremendous bargain in travel.  There aren't too many places in the whole wide world where the sea and the hospitality come together in such unpretentious harmony.  I would make my reservation and grab a memory while the opportunity still exists.

    I can't imagine why Tripadvisor would not publish that review.  Are they the lackeys of the Australian Public Works Department?  Are they worried about a backlash from Young Presbyterian Ladies?  At any rate, I hope you enjoyed it.  If you would like to read more about our Australia trip, the next blog will might be entitled, "How I Spent my Summer Vacation Birdwatching Around Coff's Harbour."  Or something like that.

just keep swimming,
jeff