Ferry Park - Grafton - NSW Just a little bit north of Grafton and south of Ballina is Ferry Park. an absoluely ideal smoko spot. Of course the main attraction is the old vehicular ferry on display and what a ricketty piece of work it is too! We deliberately didn't put up any photos of the ferries to give you a good reason for visiting. Those as old as us can possibly remember stopping for ages at every northern river crossing waiting for a ferry. Must have been magic for the local fish and chip shops!

The parking areas are all bitumen and good provision is made for motorhomes and caravans, but not too good if you are towing a trailer. You have the choice of inside or outside toilets. You can get water outside the exceptionally clean toilets, but you will have to disobey a parking sign to fill up! There is an art gallery and small restaurant with rather stunning views of the Clarence River.

The photos above gives you a pretty good feel for what this place is really like. There's not a huge amount of room parking wise, but there are zero problems parking outside. Now there is no nearby bakery or fish and chip shop so just treat yourself to what they have on offer.

The Information Centre is absolutely tops, but leave your Bankcard at home as it has loads of magnificent pottery and other very crafty things! This spot is so popular they limit parking to 2 hours from 8AM to 6PM. It is well lit at night but some giude books suggest it is not an overnight stop.

Dining on the verandah overlooks the river. The staff in the visitor centre are absolutely fantastic and were an enourmous help to us even though we arrived at the crack of dawn and they were still opening up. The photo at the top of this story actually shows our fruit brekkie!

Suprise, suprise you can get on the Internet here! There are two computers - one in the restaurant and one in the Information Centre. Costs start at $2.00 for the first 15 minutes (the "norm" for NSW) There is however no sign posting outside on the road indicating this great feature. For more info try http://ferrypark.netfirms.com. Available 9-5 seven days. The "working" conditions are pretty terific as well.

There are however no signs phohibiting overnight stays, but don't forget though that it is almost right on the highway. We did however speak to a couple who had free camped on the other side of the river in a huge Jayco caravan - very easy to reach and the road hugs the river bank. Very interesting couple - they kept two cats in a draw, as well as a normal home type huge computer. That's them in the picture above - you meet so many interesting people on the road! Absolutely recommended. Bob & Chrissy Eustace HEMA 25 D 13