Trip North, February 2015

After a wonderful few weeks in and around Sydney catching up with family and friends, it was time for us to head north to catch some sun, and relax by the beach in search of that Endless Summer. Along the way, we reflected on how lucky we are to have such an amazing, and ever growing, network of family and friends, that make our travels all the more special. Still the most asked question we receive is, "how long do you think you will keep travelling?" After four years the answer remains the same, "until we stop enjoying it!" There is no end in sight!

The Lake Entrance Forster/Tuncurry.

Dinner with Dianne & Peter.

The first stop on the trip north was Forster. There can be no doubt that the waters around Forster, make it one of the prettiest spots on the NSW Coast. As you drive across that long low bridge that separates Forster and Tuncurry, the water just sparkles, framed between the rock walls of the breakwater. We are again staying at the Forster Beach Caravan Park, purely on the basis of its wonderful location, wedged in between the breakwall, the surf Beach and town. Sadly, the same manager is in residence. Our booking has been lost, our

Forster to Tuncurry Bridge.

Breakfast at Tartt Cafe Forster.

requested large site with no trees, is in fact a small site surrounded by trees, so after three goes, we finally tell him which site we will be on, and get settled in. We are only here for 3 nights. We want to catch up with Dianne & Peter Balle, who we met when staying here, back in year 2. They have been holidaying here for years, and have now settled in Forster. They are a lovely couple, and such fun to be around. They have now retired, and just traded in their old van, on a new Retreat Off Roader, and will be hitting the great out doors later in the year. We enjoyed a visit to their lovely, newly renovated home, and a nice dinner down by the river. It was quite funny really. We arrived at the restaurant around 7.15pm, just as the owner was closing up! Said she had no bookings, but gladly opened up for us! We were also pleased to find that the lovely Tartt Cafe, was still churning out excellent food and coffee. Great breakfasts!!

Marg & Carolyn at Badminton.

Picking strawberries at Riccardo's.

Next stop wasn't far up the road. Port Macquarie is another favourite. We got a good spot at The Sundowner Breakwall Caravan Park. We like this park, even though it has gone downhill a bit as regards presentation. At least this time the ground maintenance was being done! We like the walks along the river and the coast. There are heaps of good coffee spots, and of course there are Charlie & Marg to catch up with. It didn't take Marg long to get Carolyn organised, and next morning they were off to

Along the Hastings River.

Surprise visit with Lindsay & Myrelle.

Badminton. The weather sparkled while we were in Port Macquarie. We walked, and took a drive out to Riccardo's Tomato & Strawberry Farm. We just have to go here. The tomatoes are to die for, as is Grandpas Tomato Chutney, and the strawberries you pick yourself are just yummy. Talk about smart marketing, letting you pick your own! We always pick too many, but they are so sweet, we have no trouble eating them. On the Saturday, Carolyn announced that she needed to go back to Forster. For some

The Coastal walk.

Sundowner Breakwall Caravan Park.

strange reason, she had shown restraint whilst shopping, but had now been overcome with grief, and needed to rectify this sudden lapse in concentration. I agreed, but only if we could have breakfast at Tartt Cafe! God, we can justify anything!! So off we went. The clothes were still available at the shop, and breakfast was sensational. Mission accomplished! On the way home we decided to detour through Laurieton & North Haven, and in one of those "it was meant to be moments", drove by Lindsay & Myrelle's holiday

Chinese with Charlie, Marg & Arthur.

The lighthouse.

home, and there they were, mowing the lawn and doing the garden!! I don't know who got the biggest surprise! We stayed for lunch, and had an unlikely catch up.It was their first weekend off from the farm for 16 weeks, so Carolyn's late decision to go back to Forster was meant to be! That night we enjoyed a lovely Chinese meal with Charlie and Marg and Marg's brother Arthur. As usual, we were the last to leave. We tried to get a coffee, but no one in Port Macquarie was serving coffee at 9.30pm on a Saturday night, so we adjourned back to the caravan where John did coffees all round. It was lovely sitting down by the river on a warm balmy night. For our last night in Port Macquarie, we had a Mexican fix at a delightful little place called Poco Loco, out at Flynn's Beach. It was delicious, fantastic food.

With Julie & Ron at Hat Head.

The Inlet at Hat Head.

Leaving Port Macquarie, we were on our way to Hat Head for an overnight stop. Our North Haven friends Julie & Ron, were there, giving their caravan a shakedown trip after it had undergone a major repair resulting from severe hail damage last year. We had never been to Hat Head, and were pleasantly surprised at what a lovely spot it is. The caravan park is right on the beach, and wasn't very crowded. The sites were very poorly marked. We had booked a sight so we wouldn't have to unhook from the car for just one night. It was hot, and I had just finished hooking up power and water and putting the support legs down, when one of the staff who had been watching and talking to a guy across the road, came over and told me I would have to move the caravan one metre to the right! I said you've got to be kidding, the park is less than half full and we are only here for one night. He wasn't kidding. I hate people like him. Thankfully they are a minority, and probably trained by the guy from Forster!! The scenery is much better than the staff!! There is an inlet, a very protected beach, and a

Walking along the Inlet.

Protected corner of the beach.

Bowling Club right next door! There isn't much in town, not even a supermarket, but South West Rocks isn't too far away. We had a lovely catch up with Julie and Ron, who are loving their North Haven life. We enjoyed a swim in the warm waters and a walk around the beach, the inlet and the caravan park, and contemplated a week or more relaxing here at a future date. Unfortunately, we couldn't extend our stay as we were booked in at Coffs Harbour the next day to have our annexe repaired. We had to book well ahead for the appointment, and couldn't afford to put it off.

River front at Hacienda Holiday Park.

A great site on the river.

After a leisurely breakfast of tea and toast, courtesy of Julie, we were off to Coffs Harbour. Tony and the team at Coffs Canvas, needed o make some changes to our annexe, as a result of us having the awning replaced under warranty, after it got a small tear in it. The new awning was both longer and wider than the old one, meaning our walls had to be adjusted. Tony quickly did the measurements, and asked us to give him a couple of hours so he could cut and sew the walls. We headed down to the Marina area

More interesting locals.

Some interesting locals.

and had a nice lunch, then we were back to collect the annexe walls and back on the road. We were going to stop overnight at Coffs, but decided we would press on to Kingscliff, three and a half hours away. Friends Kerrie and Gary, with whom we had spent the Australia Day weekend, have a holiday unit at Kingscliff, at the well known Salt complex, and were there for the week. The further north we got the worse the weather was getting, and by the time we got to Kingscliff it was bucketing down.

With Kerry & Gary at Kingscliff.

From Kerry & Gary's balcony.

 We had phoned the caravan park we always stay at, but were surprised to hear that it was closed for a makeover! We phoned 4 other parks before finding a spot for two nights at Chinderah on the Tweed River, at the Hacienda Holiday Park. Being dark and after hours, our keys were under the mat, and it was teeming with rain. We backed in blind, hooked up power and water, and got the legs down in record time. Nonetheless, we were drenched. Carolyn managed to cook up a storm, the stormy weather was playing havoc with the satellite, so it was early to bed. In the morning we were surprised by a mostly fine day, and a lovely river view out the back! Our site was lovely, a River Frontage, with a lovely lawn area and gardens right to the river edge. There were also lots of water dragons of all sizes scurrying in all directions! A walk around the park revealed it to be a residential village, more akin to a movie set for a B grade movie! I was hearing banjo music at every turn!! We called Kerry and Gary, and headed over to their place for lunch. The weather was playing havoc with our plans for a swim, but it improved as the day went on, and culminated with some good take away Pizzas, courtesy of Galileo's Pizza Bar, at the picnic table behind our caravan, on the banks of the Tweed. We had a lovely long day with Kerry and Gary.

In the morning we were not in a rush. With no Daylight Saving north of the border, we were turning back time, and heading into Queensland, and the Sunshine Coast.