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Published: July 14th 2012
Port Macquarie
Port Macquarie turning on some "great"weatherFriday 9th 2012.
After a quick pack and hitch up we were on our way, we were heading to Tea Gardens where we were meeting up with some friends of Mel Neals who had moved there, where they run a school camp. We arrived and Simone came and met us she said that since there was no kids at the camp at the moment we could stay in there, we went to the office and her husband Brad took us into the camp and showed us around as Simone had to go pick the kids up from school, we unhitched the van and got sorted out and arranged to go to Simone and Brads for dinner.
So after a quick photo opportunity with the local kangaroos, a shower and a quick detour to pick up some beer we headed off to Simone and Brads. It was lovely to have some adult conversation as well as the ability to stand upright and take more than two steps without running into something or someone. After dinner the kids watched a DVD, Simone and Mandy caught up on “all the goss” whilst Brad and I retired to the tv room to watch the Blues
Ricardo's Strawberry Farm
On the hunt for some strawberries v Cats accompanied by a beer or four. Unfortunately the blues lost but it was good to have a bit of male companionship after being surrounded by females for a few weeks.
Saturday 10th June 2012.
After waking up we took our time to hitch up and get organised, was feeling a bit seedy, the next destination was Port Macquarie. It rained off and on all the way to Port Macquarie, we arrived and set up camp, it is getting easier each time even Mandy instructions to me whilst I reverse the van in are getting better each time. I took the kids bikes off of the back of the van and they got to have a bit of a ride around the park, we had a quite rest of the day as Mandy caught up on some washing whilst the kids caught up on their diaries and homework which we had been a bit slack on as we had been so busy.
We checked out what to do whilst we were in town and picked a few things out we were not going to stress ourselves too much we had been flat out in Canberra and Sydney doing
Ricardo's Strawberry Farm
Maddy picking a strawberry stuff everyday so we were going to take it easy.
Sunday 11th June 2012.
Today we did not have anything planned, there was a Sunday market at the local high school so we walked up and had a look around, not much on offer so we headed back to the van. Mandy went to the shops to pick up some supplies. That afternoon we had a drive around the town to check it out, it rained and rained, it seems as though the Melbourne weather had been following us as we moved up the coast.
Monday 12th June 2012.
It had rained all night and it looked as though it was not going anywhere. We first headed to Ricardo’s Strawberry Farm just out of Port Macquarie, at the farm you just grab a bucket head into their green houses and pick as many strawberries as you can, and just pay for what you pick. Apparently they had just had a big harvest so the pickings were pretty slim, we managed to fill half a bucket, it was quite frustrating as every three seconds Chloe would say pointing at a green strawberry “this one daddy”, think I now
realise why had Mandy wandered off with Maddy and was three rows away, I need to check if there is an iphone app that answers kids questions when ask the same things over and over again, if not I could be on a winner….
After finishing our picking we also grabbed some beautiful organic tomatoes as well as some dipping chocolate to eat with our strawberries tonight after dinner, that is if there are any left after the kids have hoed into them on the way back to the van.
After a quick lunch we headed to the Koala Hospital, it is a volunteer group that looks after the sick and injured koalas in the area, we had a tour around the facilities and got to see some of the resident koalas, the one that are too injured to fend for themselves, up close.
That night I cooked up a roast pork in the parks camp kitchen a we finished up with some fresh strawberries dipped in chocolate.
Tuesday 12th June 2012.
Another crappy day in Port Macquarie, the weather was very Melbournish in that the sun would be out then it would rain, then the sun would come
out at it would be beautiful then it would start raining again. We stayed in the park all day, and the kids did some more school work.
Wednesday 13th June 2012.
Today we are off to Coffs Harbour, we checked the weather report and after today the weather was meant to get better, but that did not stop it raining off and on all the way to Coffs Harbour.
We arrived around lunch time and set up, as we were setting up a lady came over and introduced herself, she had two girls around the same age as Maddy and Tayla, she asked if the girls wanted to go play, so I got the bikes organised so the kids could go off with their new friends. We chatted to the lady for a while they were from Werribee and they were on their way back from a trip up to Cairns.
In the afternoon the rain had cleared a bit, and the kids played for the rest of the day, it was great to see them make some friends, and it was also great that they were out of our hair.
Thursday 14th June 2012.
Our first full
day on Coffs Harbour, the rain had finally buggered off and we had a nice sunny day for the first time in what felt like ages, after getting some much needed washing done we decided to have a look around Coffs and head down to the beach and jetty area. We walked along the jetty then decided to walk out along the wharf to Mutton Bird Island, we thought we would just walk to the island and the kids will be tired and want to go back. After getting to the base of the island and getting splashed by waves smashing into the rock wall as we walked along, the kids decided they wanted to walk to the top, it was a pretty steep climb, and Chloe needed to be carried some of the way, but we made it, the view back over the marina and towards Coffs was quite spectacular.
Since we had gone this far we decided to walk to the other side of the island, when we got there once again we were greeted with a spectacular view, this time looking out towards the open sea. We sat there for a while, rested and watched as the
waves crashed into the rocks below, I kept my eyes out for any whales as they often see them from here when they migrate up the coast but to no avail.
After a while it was time to make our way back, Chloe had had enough so I had to carry her most of the way back but the older two ran off still full of energy, well at least they will sleep well tonight.
Friday 15th June 2012
Again we kept what we were doing today from the kids, today we were going to Dolphin Marine Magic Park, needless to say that the kids were excited. We had arrived a little bit early, the shows started in the afternoon, so we had a look around.
We went to the dolphin pool and were surprised that unlike places such as Sea World we were able to stand right next to the pool and watch them swim around. We then looked around some more and saw the turtles, and seals, as we were walking back around to the main pool walked up a catwalk to get a look at the dolphins from above. I was looking to take a photo,
and I accidently knocked my sunglasses off of my head and they fell into the pool below, they were only a cheap pair of glasses and I was looking to buy a new pair so I was not that worried, I thought if you’re going to lose a pair of sunnies might as well be in a dolphin pool. Anyway as we were walking to the picnic area to have some lunch I thought I would just to be polite mention it to one of the employees.
Lunch was a funny affair we were sitting eating our homemade sandwiches and a peacock that had been hanging around looking for some scraps strutted up and stole Chloe’s vegemite sandwich right out from in front of her, needless to say Chloe was a little upset and hurled some abuse at the peacock. It came back for some more but I chased it away.
After lunch we went back to the dolphin pool as there was a few of the trainers swimming around looking for something I went over and asked them that is they were trying to find my glasses not to worry too much they were only cheapies, they said
Muttonbird Island
View from the top looking back over marina. that they had to find them as if the dolphins decided to eat them it could cause all sorts of damage to it, great now I felt like the world’s biggest tool. Anyway they managed to find them, the jets in the pool had pushed them over to the other side of the pool, I apologised for the thousandth time and got my glasses back.
Prior to the dolphin show they allowed you to have your photo taken with the dolphins, now this is an opportunity that doesn’t arise too often so we all had our photos taken, Chloe was a funny about it she kept saying “the dolphin kissed my hair”.
After the photos the show was ready to start the kids loved watching the dolphins jump and perform their tricks, and also laughed as the seals got up to their shenanigans. During the show I got to go up to the pool side and hold out a fish on a stick and the dolphin jumped out of the water and grabbed it, which was pretty cool. After the show we got to go down to the pool edge and pat the dolphins
To finish the day we got
to hand feed some of the fish as well as the fairy penguins. It was a great day and the kids had a ball it was amazing that we were able to get up close and see and touch some of these wonderful creatures. Needless to say that we were all pretty buggered by the end of the day.
Saturday 16 June 2012
Today was the BIG Day, no trip to Coffs Harbour is complete without a trip to the Big Banana, expectations were high and excitement filled the air as we drove there. We rounded the corner caught a glimpse of the infamous phallic shaped fruit, then proceeded to miss the turn off and drive straight passed it. We had to drive a further kilometre down the road before we could find somewhere to turn around and come back.
Once we parked up and disembarked we got to see the Big Banana, or Big Boooonaanaa as the kids called it, up close, and to tell the truth it was rather a disappointment it was big but not BIG. We did the obligatory family shot in front of it, and then had a wonder around, they had a multimedia
Muttonbird Island
Carrying Chloe after she had enough of walking presentation tour that we could go on but I failed to see the value of spending $60 odd to learn how the grow bananas. So we decided to walk up the hill on the walkway through the banana plantation, when we finally made it to the top we got a nice view of Coffs Harbour and the ocean, so after sitting back and taking in this beautiful vista (i.e resting and getting our breaths back) we headed back down the hill to sample some of the Big Bananas infamous chocolate coated bananas.
After munching on our chocolate coated bananas with added nuts (that sounds a little wrong) and purchasing some banana’s to take home we were all bananaed out and headed back to camp.
The park we were staying at was pretty flash and had a really nice pool with a few small water slides, the kids had been nagging me since we arrived wondering when they were going for a swim, so I finally relented and we got our swimming gear on and headed to the pool. I thought the kids would have learned their lesson from Merimbula, just because the suns out and there is a pool there
is does not mean that it’s time to go swimming. The water was freezing I conceded only going into the water so it was up to my knees and just wandered around the pool, the kids went and down and the water slides a few times I pulled the pin on it after a while as both Chloe and Tayla were turning blue, as we had to pack up and get organised as we were leaving the next day.
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