Through my Lens – Sugar Loaf Point Lighthouse

Join me on our travels further south down the New South Wales coast to the little town of Seal Rocks and the Sugar Loaf Point Lighthouse. I had discovered this little gem of a place whilst surfing the net one evening and suggested that we make it a point to visit on our road trip.
Unfortunately I didn’t take photos of the village (because it is not big enough to be a town) of Seal Rocks itself  that consisted of many holiday homes, beach shacks and a general store/post office. We had a mission to reach Sydney by nightfall so if we wished to explore the lighthouse, then we needed to forgo further sightseeing as I had already wasted valuable time that morning in the book fair. 😉
The road into Seal Rocks was a pleasant drive along a narrow, tree canopied, winding road that offered occasional glimpses of the ocean through the foliage as we neared Seal Rocks.
Parking for the Sugar Loaf Point Lighthouse is available in a car park on the edge of town and access to the lighthouse proper is along a bitumened track that meanders through gum trees, banksias and other native shrubbery.
The track is popular with walker and joggers as it rises to the point where the lighthouse is situated.
A pleasant place to stop and admire the view is on the left where a  gorge funnels the tidal sea through it’s narrow opening.

Situated a little further uphill are the lighthouse buildings that are no longer used as keeper’s cottages but as accommodation for those wishing a quiet and relaxing getaway. These buildings are particularly popular during the annual whale migration up the east coast of Australia where the view from the lighthouse is magnificent.

Uphill of the buildings, there is a steep climb to the lighthouse itself. Thank goodness for graduated steps and a railing to hang on to!! The Tween ran up the stairs and then back down to join me until I pointed out the sign asking children not to run up and down. She just shrugged.
I stopped several times on the way up (ostensibly to take photos of the view) that allowed me time to get my breath back and give my knees a rest. It is days like this that I wish I still had the body and fitness of my time as a personal trainer.

The lighthouse itself is quite small however the short climb to the top still made me dizzy (have I mentioned that I have this little fear of heights). The wind was quite gusty and strong but I backed into the doorway and took many more photos looking south.
The Garden Gnome has taken photos of me climbing the stairs and standing at the top taking photos but I’ll save them for the family album and share instead one of him taking photos from up top 😉

We spent some time looking out to sea and spotted several pods of whales in the distance. My zoom lens could record them only as a faint spash in the distance and we regretted not bringing the binoculars from the car in order to see the whales a little more clearly.

The walk back down was much easier and we spent time around the cottages taking more photos before beginning our walk back along the track where birdsong accompanied the sounds of chattering tourists and heavy footfalls. We stopped to photograph the track leading down to the beach but time did not permit us exploring any further on this occasion.

Passing back through the partially burned scrub near the car park (it was black on one side and green on the other) we reached our car once more.
We agreed that this was definitely a detour in from the main road that was worth taking.

Advertisements