Port Macquarie, Anna Bay and Newcastle!
Trip Start
Jan 16, 2010
1
36
56
Trip End
Oct 19, 2010
Where I stayed
At the seafront beach carpark
Port Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
We arrived in Port Macquarie after taking a short ferry across the Hastings River. We drove around but there was little if no nightlife so we saw a car park along the beach with some campervans and followed suit. We made a yummy tuna macaroni and got chatting to Tom and Rachel from Jersey in the Wikid Campervan next to us. Anna was not feeling great, a little under the weather, but we were invited for alcoholic beverages and chat into the camper so we gladly accepted. We had not been in a Wikid Campervan before and it was surprisingly spacefull and cosy- not as good as our car which we love though! We had a really good night of exchanged stories and tips for travelling plus things we missed about home. Two more guys joined our little gathering that had also parked up. They both had a little scam going on taking the supermarkets “approaching out of date” stock they had chucked out the back for throwing. They had so much stock they gave us four boxes of Ferrier Roche Chocolates and a large box of crisps- so we had a yummy little party feast in the car park.
In the morning we woke to the crashing of waves on a beautiful sunny morning. We all ran into the sea for our daily morning shower and soon came out as it was rather chilly! We then used the public showers before saying goodbye to everyone and heading to “Ricardo’s Tomatoes” farm for some strawberry picking fun. Located in the countryside it wasn’t long before we were on site. Unfortunately due to some recent mass picking there weren’t many ripe strawberries to pick. However we made our fun playing a small game of hide and seek down the isles and tried some of the strawberries before heading back to town to visit the Koala hospital.
We had visited the Koala hospital in the morning to see if we could volunteer but they didn’t need anyone so we returned to see the guided tour. The tour was great and run by local volunteers. It gave us information on the hospital, past and present koala’s and the dangers they face. We have written a couple of the Koala’s stories beneath their photographs so if you click on them you can read them. Our favourite koala is Bea who gave us a little performance eating then climbing to the very end of a branch to curl up and go to sleep. Koala’s often look lifeless and in the situation where they are in captivity maybe even drugged. This is not the case; Koala’s live solely on Eucalyptus leaves, which gives them very little energy. They look very fat and cuddly but really they are fur and bones- very cute all the same!!We moved onto Anna Bay as Anna insisted in visiting her name bay. The town was small with many rock-pools to explore at the beach… so we read… but as we arrived after dark and planning on staying in Newcastle for the night there was very little we could see. So we moved on.
By the time we arrived in Newcastle Liam was very hungry- which is an understatement! It was quite interesting driving into Newcastle as it is the largest export for coal in the world. There are great machines, quite alien, and ship loaders and cranes lit up magnificently all along the river and seafront. After driving around for quite a while trying to find the main street we parked up.
We headed up to the high-street and decided on a fairly cheap fast food Indian place called ‘Raj’s Corner’, which had delicious food and generous portions; $9.80 for 3 dishes and rice! We then made our way to a pub with a 90’s type ‘disco’ nightclub upstairs- remember the disco man your parents hired for your 13th birthday with the crazy coloured lights and laser-beams shooting everywhere- this was him! Quite cool and retro though. We had a drink and headed for a bed before 12 evening. Before finding a place to stop and sleep for the night we drove round the hills and got a great lit up view of Newcastle and its coast.
In the morning we planned to get down to Wollongong by the end of the day so we wanted to leave by lunchtime. After the traditional Weetabix and banana cereal we have grown so used to we went to the Newcastle Baths to have a hot shower outside in quite cold weather- like our Newcastle weather actually but sunny all the same. The baths are like large swimming pools along the seafront in the sea- some brave swimmers baring the wind were doing lengths with waves frequently hitting the wall spilling over into the baths. We then made our way up to Nobby beach pier where we saw a warning sign about the risk of waves and ‘cross at your own risk.’ We watched the hard waves smash and catch the sunrays creating sporadic rainbows across the seawaters. The views were nice to see and on a hot day the hidden beach behind the hill near the pier would be a really nice private beach to spend the day.
The last bit of the coast before staying at Wollongong, where Anna’s cousin lives, was slightly sad. We have thoroughly enjoyed sleeping in our wonderful car, as it has been a real adventure and enjoyed the scenic drives. We can’t compare Australia to Asia as they are so completely different. We hope the next owners have as much fun with the car when we have to sell her.
We now have 6 weeks to find some cheeky work, stay with Helen and explore the Blue Mountains, South Coast and Sydney!
