Blogs from Port Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia, Oceania - page 8

moin moin, jup wieder nen bisschen zeitvergangen und viel gemacht und viel gesehen. also wo war ich stehen geblieben. jaja newcastle ist also eine wunderschoene stadt mit einem tollen strand "nobby's beach", welcher mit einem leuchtturm endet und natuerlich perfekt zum surfen ist. wir blieben noch zwei tage laenger, um uns ein wwoofing-buch zu kaufen. was ist wwoofing?? es ist die abkuerzung fuer willing workers on organic farms, d.h. man arbeitet 4-6 stunden am tag auf ner bio-bzw.oekofarm und erhaelt dafuer einen schlafplatz (meist sehr viel angenehmer als jedes hostel) und gutes essen (und damit meine ich gutes australisches essen). die eigentliche idee ist aber der kulturelle austausch zw. den nationalitaeten und nicht die wirtschaftliche komponente. trotzdem ist es nicht schlecht auf diesem weg ein wenig geld zu sparen. da ich bis newcastle nur gereist war ... read more

We had no definite plans for the day so spent the morning driving around beaches in the Port Stevens area. Shoal Bay was a lovely big stretch of white sand, so bright that I had to put my sunglasses on. The bay was sheltered so it looked good for swimming, and the water was a lovely fresh blue. The houses around the bay all had great views from their first floor sundecks - I could just imagine sitting on one of those enjoying a glass of wine. Next we stopped briefly at Zenith Beach - it wasn’t mentioned in any guides we’d read but we saw the sign and decided to give it a go. After clambering over a steep dune we expected a spectacular scene, but it was small, a bit grassy and not as ... read more

Back on the greyhound, another funny driver and a big relief to leave Newcastle behind, heading north to warmer lands and a koala hospital. Unknown to us we were in for a big treat first, after an hour on the coach we pulled into a roadside café, not just any café but the Ayres rock café, in the shape and colour of the famous mountain. Perfect for my birthday dinner, definitely one to remember. Back on the bus again and it was time for a change of driver and a new film. We had a small kid to keep us company, him and his mum were travelling from Melbourne to Brisbane non-stop, a trip that had already taken over a day and they still had a good 12 hours to go. We all wondered why they ... read more

Hello All, Well, what an interesting week we've just had!! We arrived in Port Macquarie at 5am on Tuesday morning last week and were planning to head to Port Macquarie Backpackers where we were getting picked up for our week on the farm. The overnight greyhound wasn't great, everytime I nodded off to sleep the bus driver stopped and made us all get out at every rest stop! It was pitch black when we arrived so off we headed with our heavy backpacks walking the streets looking for this hostel. We managed to get lost and had been wandering around for 25 minutes when a nice man stopped in his truck and offered to take us - I'm getting very trusting these days!! Obviously the place was all locked up as we weren't actually staying there ... read more

Or you'll keep getting told off like I do. They are in fact the children of very hairy parents Australians force to live in trees until they go bald and end up playing for the Rabbitohs. I guess the first thing their folks must tell them is make sure you're highest in the tree, because, if the ones we saw are anything to go by, a poo on the head is pretty likely otherwise. The good news is that all that eucalyptus dries you out, so they bounce off in an very amusing fashion rather than making a sticky mess, which is pretty handy if you're as furry as a koala. Their fur is incredible stuff; the wildlife park we went to let you pat the little fellas, so you got to feel just how thick ... read more