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!!!