Forster Through Until Xmas

Bushfire around Wallis Lake Forster.

Our last few days at Forster were fine and warm, in fact quite hot. The southern sky filled with smoke, and the air was pierced by sirens, as we were given a stark reminder that the dreaded bushfire season was near. It wasn't threatening the town, but burning in rugged bushland on the far side of the lake, and as the sun started to set, it made a spectacular site. Thankfully, it was under control in a couple of days.

Harrington from the Lookout.

We took a drive north up to the holiday villages of Harrington and Crowdy Head. The last time I had been here was 1969 when as a pimply faced teenager I came with schoolmates in a clapped out Morris Minor that constantly over heated. We camped on the beach at Crowdy Head and surfed, and lived on hamburgers, fresh prawns off the trawlers and beer! There was a caravan park a few old shacks, a general store and take away shop, and a pub right on the water. Boy has it changed!! Now there is a marina at Crowdy Head and lots of expensive homes, and Harrington has a waterways housing estate, a shopping mall and a championship golf course. Progress?? The pub is still there, albeit swamped by development, and the caravan park is still in the same location. It was a nice nostalgic day. We also drove out to Halliday's Point, another popular holiday spot, that has undergone some significant development.

One evening at Happy Hour, a new neighbour dropped by for a chat. His name was Stan Christie, and he introduced himself as a Philosopher and Poet who was 78 years young. I thought, "here we go, I'm about to be conscripted into some obscure religious order", but thankfully I was wrong. What an interesting bloke. He entertained us for quite a while with his adventures around Australia and overseas. He still back packs, and has seen much of South & North America, Asia, Africa and Europe, as well as almost everywhere in Australia. He had some wonderful enlarged photographs, from around the world. He has published a book of poetry and inspiration, a calendar and photographs, and there is no doubt that if more people followed his philosophies on life, the world would be a better place. A quote from his book:

A SMILE.

A smile costs nothing,
It enriches who receives,
When given, only takes a moment,
But, the memory can sometimes last forever.

A smile creates happiness,
It brings rest to the weary,
Cheer to the discouraged,
Sunshine to the sad,
So give someone a smile,
It's easy.

Yes, our time talking to Stan passed very quickly, and was most entertaining. He pottered off in his battered old caravan the next day, in search of his next adventure.

Tallwoods Golf Resort.

On the tee at the 14th.

For our last day in Forster, we decided on a game of golf at the nearby Tallwoods Golf Resort. It is a lovely layout in a housing estate development near Halliday's Point. It started probably 20 year ago in boom times when Real Estate Agents could sell anything for crazy prices, but has managed to survive, even though the estate appears still less than half sold. The golf course is good, set among the valleys and hills of the estate. We had a lovely round of golf. We almost had the course to ourselves, which is a leisurely way to play. There was lots of bird life, especially parrots and kookaburras.

Happy Birthday to You!

Bobby, Cheryl and Carolyn.

Leaving Forster we headed back to Camden, to surprise our dear friend Cheryl, who was about to join the 60 brigade. A surprise party had been planned and we wouldn't have missed it for the world. It was a fantastic night, held at Enzo's Italian Restaurant at Camden. There was plenty of good food and wine, being shared by Cheryl and her family and friends. Those Radford's sure know how to put on a good party! Friend Vicki had done a beautiful birthday cake, that tasted even better than its amazing looks. The big night got bigger, with after drinks back at Cheryl's place, and it was a pretty late night for us 60 pluses!!

John's new BBQ Apron.

The rest of the week was a round of hectic activities, that included moving all our personal effects out of Mum's garage and into a storage unit we will share with my brother Neil. What a day! We were exhausted by the time we got home. There was an ill fated golf game back at my home course at Moore Park. We left Camden at 7.00am to meet my 8.45am tee time, but arrived at 9.15am and caught up with my group at the third green!! God we don't miss Sydney traffic!! No, my score was nothing to write home about! After Golf Carolyn picked me up and we headed to the dentist for another dose of pain! Still we did manage to catch up with Nancy & Keith. While I was being punished, Carolyn & Nancy did lunch at the Wentworth Hotel. As always, it is great to catch up with mum. We had a nice lunch at Oatley and caught up on all the family news.

Fred with a couple of good Morwong!

The Double/Double Hook up!

From Camden it was across to our other "home", Shellharbour. As you all know, it is one of our favourites, right on the waterfront. We get to catch up with Bev & Fred. This year we are having Christmas Lunch with Bev & Fred and their daughter Katrina and her fiance Malek. We are really looking forward to it. In the lead up to Christmas we have managed to finish our shopping, as well as fit in a round of social engagements, that sets a punishing pace! Fred & I have managed to get in a spot of fishing, and the good news is we haven't lost our touch. In fact, we may have found the secret to successful fishing, as on our last trip we managed a double, double hook up, whilst eating our lunch, and no hands on the rods!! That's right, whilst we ate our sandwich and downed a cold beverage, the bloody fish caught themselves! Whilst we fish, the girls Bingo at the club, and this week with some success. Tuesday Bev won two games and Wednesday Carolyn won her first ever game, which she quickly followed with another win. The purses are full of Shopping Vouchers. Well done girls!! We have been having some lovely evenings both at Bev & Fred's and down here at the caravan park, where Xmas preparations are well under way. The Xmas lights are increasing every night, and you can feel the fun in the air.

On Friday, we did the pensioner thing and caught the train (no more bloody traffic!) from nearby Oak Flats, up to Sydney, to have a Xmas lunch with Nancy & Keith at City Tattersalls Club. The $2.50 fare almost makes it worthwhile being 60+! It is a lovely train trip up along the coast and through the National Park. The hour and 45 minutes flew by. Lunch was great, and it was a really nice catch up and we even had time to see the big city shop decorations and the Xmas Tree in Queen Victoria Building.

The only not so fun at the moment, is John's sister Jenny, who has just spent a week in hospital suffering horrendous migraine headaches. She has been given the all clear on anything major causing them, but it has been a bad time for her. She is home now, and knowing Jen, that will probably hasten the recovery. We hope so.

Stormy Shellharbour.

It is Christmas Eve in Shellharbour. As I write I look across an angry sea towards the harbour. People are running in all directions as the sky is full of lightning and thunder is rolling across the clouds. The heavens have opened, and we are in the midst of a terrific summer storm. We are tucked up under our awning watching the scene, with a glass of Moet in hand, and thoughts of all our family and friends both here and departed. We wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a hope that the next year will bring you all that you wish for. The journey has now started year three, and we will enjoy bringing you new adventures in 2013.

Merry Christmas to All from Carolyn & John.

Forster - Tuncurry

The bridge at Forster Tuncurry.

For those who've never been there, Forster - Tuncurry is a lovely seaside area, situated where the Wallis Lake meets the sea, only 4 hours north of Sydney. Forster is on the southern side, and Tuncurry the north, and they are linked by a long bridge that traverses the wide lake entrance. It is on the Lakes Way, a tourist drive that leaves the Pacific Hwy south of Taree, and rejoins it just north of Buladelah. There are a number of other lovely beach side places along the way, but Forster - Tuncurry is the main commercial and residential area.

Forster Beach Holiday Park.

The last time we holidayed at Forster was almost 30 years ago, when we were young and in love. We decided to see what it would be like now we are older, and still in love! Not a lot has changed. The beach is still the beach and the lake is still the lake. Town is now a one way street that has been well landscaped, and it has a nice cosmopolitan feel with lots of cafes and a good selection of shops. Like most of coastal Australia it has grown and spread. There is a high proportion of "retirees" , which is to be expected given the easy access to Newcastle and Sydney. There is no shortage of things to do. You can fish crab and prawn in the lake river or sea. There are three excellent golf courses to choose from, and countless beaches to swim at. It is flat and easy to walk and cycle around.

Carolyn with Diane and Peter.

We are at the Forster Beach Holiday Park, which is two minutes walk to the break wall and marina at the lake entrance, two minutes walk to the surf beach, and two minutes walk to the centre of town. Yes, it is a wonderful location, and the perfect place to relax. The park is older in style, but very clean and well maintained. It contains a lot of permanent holiday homes, and it is obvious that many of the caravans have been plonked for a good while. The coveted sites along the break wall side, are rarely available, other than for a day or two between long term bookings that go from year to year. The sites vary in size and elevation. The manager is very laid back, and because it wasn't overly busy, we had a choice, which was narrowed down due to our size. We eventually found a spot in the middle of the park on Bonito Ave (all the streets are named after fish!). Our neighbours, Diane and Peter, have been coming here for more than 30 years, so know everyone. We've struck up a nice friendship, and have had some great happy hours!

Tartt Cafe is good!

Since arriving, we have had a mixed bag of weather. Early on it was cool wet and windy, but over the last ten days it has been finally acting like summer. As usual, we have sussed out the coffee scene. Each morning, we set off for our walk, and there are lots of choices. We can head out along the break wall and across the beach to Beach Bums Cafe at the surf beach, where the coffee is pretty good, or we can walk across the bridge to Tuncurry and back and then choose from a host of options along the main street. Our favourites are Tartt, at the bridge end, and Grind Coffee at the opposite end, which wins our overall award for best coffee, and the fruit muffins are excellent! Tartt also does great pizza on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, which we can vouch for, as we whiled away a wet Friday night there early in our stay.

Typical Coastal Scene, Tuncurry.

Forster is not far from Gloucester, and John's cousin's dairy farm. We called Lindsay & Myrelle, and drove across for one weekend. I never get sick of driving out to the farm through the beautiful country framed by the Barrington Tops. I've always loved coming here, and always will! It is all about life's simple pleasures for us. Helping around the dairy, driving around the farm, dropping in on neighbours. This time Lindsay took me out to a farm sale on the Saturday. It was a full scale farm auction where they were selling everything on the farm from buckets of bolts to horse blankets to farm equipment and machinery, and even the farm!  There was a sausage sizzle in full swing, and at 10.00am the auctioneer started selling off the hundreds of lots. It was frantic with a couple of hundred people in attendance, looking for a bargain. I met a couple of new relations. I met John Relf, who is the current owner of the Rookhurst property that mum will fondly remember. We had a great old yarn trying to put branches on the family tree! We finally left around 1.30pm, loaded up with buckets of bolts and rabbit traps! There was still a lot of stuff to sell. That night the whole family came out to the farm for dinner. Margo and Adam with Alby and Ellie, and Michael & Wendy with Andrew and Samantha. We had a lovely time, sitting around the table just making family talk.

A little rain can't stop Happy Hour!

Back around Forster, we continued our lazy life. John headed out to the golf driving range to get the rust and cobwebs off his golf clubs, and Carolyn hit the shops. A small group from the Cronulla Caravan Club arrived one wet afternoon, and we laughed as they set up in the rain, and then set about Happy Hour. The circle became ever smaller as the rain intensified, but nothing was going to stop them, huddled under an awning, surrounded by umbrellas! 

Dave the Prawn Man.

A regular attraction around the Caravan Park is Dave the Prawn Man. He drives through the park in his little Noddy Car tooting the horn and yelling out "Fresh Prawns". He has medium king prawns at $20.00 per kg and they are delicious. He stops for a chat, and it is a great way to learn about the area.

Diane & Carolyn on the boat.

I mentioned our neighbours Diane & Peter. We've struck up a nice friendship. They currently live out at Narrabri in their new Retreat Caravan, where Peter works in a Coal Mine doing a 3 day weekend shift. They hail from Cessnock, where they have a home and their kids and grand kids live. They have been coming to this park for well over 30 years for holidays, and will eventually settle down here when they retire. We've really enjoyed their company, and have had quite a few  beers and wines, cups of tea and coffee, and walked across the bridge to the Thai Restaurant for dinner one night. I was doing well until Peter suggested a nightcap. Out came a rather large jar of port, which was excellent. I've been watching the tide go out in that jar ever since! 

Zooming across the Lake.

Back from the Lake trip.

They have a lovely Steber boat, and were kind enough to take us out on the lake to check their crab pots and generally have a look around the lake. It was a very still, late afternoon, and the water was like glass. It was a real treat for us. The whole place looks so much different, looking back from the water. Unfortunately, the crabs didn't cooperate on this trip!

As I write, they are very reluctantly packing up to head back to Narrabri. We will really miss their bright company. Our farewell dinner last night was a beauty. Weber BBQ'd Greek lamb, followed by Vanilla Slice, all washed down with some excellent wines, and punctuated with some lively conversation. The clock was past midnight when we finally turned out the light! 

There are pelicans everywhere.

Last weekend, we again caught up with Lindsay & Myrelle, this time at their Laurieton holiday house. We drove up from Forster, only about 45 minutes, and stayed two nights. Daughter Margo and hubby Adam came as well, with little Alby and Ellie. We had another great weekend at the beach and being lazy. The water was cold, until you got acclimatised, but on a hot day was beautiful. Little Alby loves the water, and even Carolyn got wet, well up to the waist! Lindsay always has something to do! We caught up with their friends Al and Cath, who were moving into their new home that weekend. Al is a local builder, and the house is spectacular, opposite the river in North Haven. For us caravan dwellers it seemed huge! Saturday night they joined us for a BBQ at Lindsay & Myrelle's, which was a relaxed and really enjoyable family evening, sitting out on the front veranda soaking up the warm balmy breeze.

Main Beach at Forster.

The rest of our stay will no doubt be more of the same. Probably include some fishing and some golf. If the weather can continue hot and sunny, as it has been for the last few days, we should be able to handle the pressure. December is now upon us. We will soon be on our way to Shellharbour and Christmas festivities with friends and family. The second anniversary of the start of our Big Caravan Adventure is only a week away. Where has that time gone!!!