Seal Rocks, New Year 2015

When we decided to spend a few days camping at this time of year we knew we could be disappointed in where where would be accepted, given the late notice.  We were prepared to accept holiday prices but we were shocked to discover that some campgrounds were asking as much as $70 per camp site for two adults per night.

When our children were at home camping was the one holiday we could afford and we looked forward to our times at the beach for that is where we inevitably headed for our vacations.  I cannot imagine the expense of taking a large family camping today with the grossly inflated prices that many local government campgrounds charge.  Fortunately we were able to secure an unpowered campsite at a campsite in Seal Rocks for four nights at a reasonable cost.

The writing fellowship I joined when I was thinking of writing my personal story had small groups to cater for the genres of writing members wished to explore.  I joined the non-fiction group.  It was there, listening to one another’s stories,  I first heard of a place on the mid-north coast of New South Wales called Seal Rocks.  I have wanted to visit since then and what a lovely way to start a brand new year.

Sugarloaf Point Lighthouse (Seal Rocks Lighthouse)

Seal Rocks is a small, sleepy and isolated beach village two hours north of our home in Lake Macquarie.  It is renowned for the beautiful lighthouse, built towards the end of the nineteenth century, and the sense of isolation.  It has a small stable population which swells to thousands during summer months where bathers revel on one of three pristine beaches (Treachery, Lighthouse and Yagon) and surfers enjoy a range of surfing conditions.

The area takes its name from a colony of Australian fur seals that were once seen on the rocks near the lighthouse.  Sadly, the colony was lost until in recent times sightings suggest these seals are in habitats around the Port Stephens area.