Koala Corridor

You may recall that when we visited the Koala Hospital in Port Macquarie (which was only about two kilometres from the house we were staying in) we were told that the area around the Koala Hospital was a koala corridor and that over the years if a koala could not successfully be rehabilitated to its original area but was able to remain in the wild it was released in the area around the hospital.

As the road passes the koala hospital there are signs of koalas warning drivers of the possibility of koala in the area.  Now we have seen those signs in many areas as we have lived and travelled throughout Australia.  Have we seen a koala previously in the wild (not taking into account our visits to Pound Bend in Warrandyte in Victoria when we specially went looking for them knowing they were in the area)?  No, no, no.

So when Peter was sitting at the dining room table in the house working away at the computer and said to me that there was a koala in the tree opposite I said to him, "don't be stupid, that isn't even a gum tree".  He was determined there was a koala, and I was just as determined he was making it up.  It sounded too similar to the "there are whales out there" that he often commented on as he picked up the binoculars to confirm his statement, but I still hadn't seen any whales.  So to prove him wrong, I said I was going out to see, so out I went. (Goes to show I was Probably right about the whales as well :-) )

I have to say I was wrong - now that is a big statement for me!  Sure enough, in the frangipani tree opposite (and definitely not a gum tree) was sitting a koala.  How Peter saw it from inside the house, but he was definitely correct.

Now how impressive was that - not only was this koala in the wild, but it was directly opposite the house we were staying in.

I then got concerned for it (of course after I had to call my apology to Peter who wasn't going to be happy until I had).  Was it in danger, had it got lost, it was small had it separated from the mother?  All I could think of was "should I report this to the koala hospital?".  There was no one about so I decided to knock on the door of the house where the tree was and see if anyone was home.  Sure enough there was a lady home, she had not seen the koala but came to check it out.

She didn't go near the koala, as they are wild and have very sharp claws, but considered that the koala was okay.  As this is a koala corridor they periodically get a koala moving from tree to tree or wandering up the street and said that one often spends quite a bit of time in one of the trees in the garden of where we were staying.

The koala was tagged with a yellow tag so was known to the hospital (as all animals who have been treated are tagged for future reference),

While we chatted the koala came further down the tree, and before long when it thought we weren't watching it jumped down and scrambled off down the street towards another tree.  It was quite safe, there were no cars around, and did not show any distress at all.

It was a wonderful encounter with a koala going about its normal day and a real treat and a superb memory of Port Macquarie.  And yes, Peter was right!

Finishing the coastal walk

We decided that as our time in Port Macquarie was fast coming to an end that we had better complete the coastal walk without delay.  Of course any mention of the word "walk" and Penny was not going to be left behind.

Penny in car waiting

We drove to Nobby's Beach which is very close to where we were staying.  This is the only beach on the coastal walk where dogs are allowed on the sand and Penny knew she was back at one of her favourite places.  We commenced our walk at the Nobby Head Obelisk and we were quite surprised to see some guys down on the rocks below fishing with the waves breaking around them.  Keen fishermen obviously.

Fishermen near Nobby's Beach

We walked towards Shelly Beach.  Here we had to leave the track as the track took walkers along the beach and signage made it very clear that dogs were not allowed on that section of the beach. Although there was no one else on the beach, we respected the no dogs rule and made our way back up to the roadway.

Shelley Beach

We continued our walk along the road until we came to Harry's Lookout where we again could enter. This spot is just a lookout point but possibly a very popular one especially with weddings parties. There was some interesting structures which would have made for unique photos.

Harry's Lookout

We finished our walk at Miners Beach and of course from there we had to turn around and repeat our walk back to the car.  Still it was really pleasant walking so we weren't unhappy about that.  The trees along the way were in flower and very pretty.

Variety of plants along the way

We had now completed the coastal walk, albeit in stages, from Town Green in the city all the way to Lighthouse Beach.  It is certainly a great asset to the area.

Coastal views

Continuing the coastal walk

We had walked the start of the coastal walk from Town Green on the foreshore along the breakwater to Town Beach a few days earlier.  On Sunday afternoon we took the car to Town Beach and parked up and started our walk from that point.

Town Beach

It was a lovely afternoon and there were many people on the beach and even some in the water - certainly not warm enough at 28 degrees for me as the water would have been cold, I am sure. Instead with Penny along for the walk we commenced and walked from Town Beach to Oxley Beach.  The walkway is mostly bitumen at this point and meanders up and down the coastline hills.  It is easy walking and in some of the steeper areas there are steps.  Of course, because we had parked the car at Town Beach we had to walk both directions, not a hardship as the views were amazing.

We kept an eye out to sea as it is whale migration time, but the whales were obviously well away from the coastline.  Although a number of people stood and pointed saying they could see the whales, neither of us could.  You could say this is poor eyesight, age or whatever, but we clearly missed out.  I am still not encouraged sufficiently to get on one of the whale boats - there were far too many white caps for me to venture off shore!

However, we did see some wildlife - some geckos were interrupted from sunning themselves as we walked along.  They can certainly move fast when they want to get out of the way of human or dog traffic.

 Gecko

The coastal walk is about nine kilometres long and is quite a rocky coastline in parts - we had walked less than half the distance from the town end so it was just as well there were more days ahead of us to continue.

Coastline

Lily Pond Reserve

A check of the local tourism publications recommended a visit to Lilypond Reserve.  There was no mention that dogs were not allowed to visit so with Penny came along for the ride.  Lilypond Reserve is within just three or four kilometres from where we were staying.

This reserve is 1.25 hectares and has a natural spring fed lily pond with an elevated boardwalk.  It was a much smaller reserve than we initially thought and our walk was so short that we repeated the board walk twice and then still had to walk a kilometre or so up the side road (up hill I must say) to achieve a reasonable walk for Penny.

 Boardwalk at Lilypond Reserve

Along the boardwalk there is an observation deck overlooking the pond which is a breeding ground for several types of waterbird species including waterhens, ducks, coots and moorhens.  I am sure there were eels and the likes in the murky water also.  There was some brightly coloured lichen on some of the fallen trees which brightened up the reserve.

Lilypond

Lichen

Apparently this reserve is a popular spot for school trips and the like as there is an adjacent park with a few picnic tables and play equipment.  The reserve was originally established with the assistance of volunteers and now appears somewhat overgrown and in need of some more volunteer labour. Certainly not the most memorable of reserves we have visited and in hindsight would not have been on our list of "must dos".  Not surprisingly, we were the only visitors at the time we were there.

A ride on the ferry

When we are in a new area we like to have a local map and often drive around the area checking it out.  On one of the days when we were out and about we had seen a sign to Settlement Point so checked it out and decided that it would worth a second visit.  We had taken Penny along for the ride, in preparation for a walk.  She is obviously very used to travelling in a vehicle and as soon as the door is opened jumps in and climbs over the back.

The road to Settlement Point borders the Hastings River where it enters the sea.  In addition to the line of houses along the coast road there is a new shopping centre (Settlement City Shopping Centre) which has all the major retailers and there is a large Panthers Club complex.  This is in a beautiful setting on the river bank. Over the last few years many new homes have been built in the area along man made canals and these look particularly impressive especially as many have large boats tied up to personal pontoons.

However, it wasn't shops or houses that took us back to the area but the vehicle ferry which comes into a jetty at the end of the road.  There is a park in this area and also a boat house where a variety of small boats are available for hire.

Ferry building

The ferry operates twenty four hours per day, seven days a week and provides a service for residents who live on the north shore, not an island as we originally thought.  It is possible to get a regular's concession for frequent travellers - we paid the visitor's price of $3.40 per trip.  The ferry leaves with no regular timetable but when it is full or as in our case, when there is only one vehicle waiting.  The trip across the river is quick as the ferry is pulled across with a cable.

Ferry

We drove a few kilometres in one direction and to our surprise found a second ferry jetty - this is the Hibbard ferry and crosses Hastings River just a few kilometres up the river further.  We were most surprised that the river crossing warranted two ferries.  I walked along the jetty to see them load the waiting truck on board and head off across the river.

We slowly made our way back to our ferry stop (we could have caught either but we wanted to further explore), with a stop to see the mussel farming.

We continued on past where our ferry was waiting and made our way to the sea coast.  Four wheel driving on the beach is allowed in this area, and the tracks along the beach made no secret of this.  We are no longer the owners of a four wheel drive so instead it was up to us to walk as the Falcon certainly wouldn't have made very much traction in the deep sand.  We started off with Penny on a lead, and soon realised that wasn't really very fair and she would much prefer to be able to run free.  She is well trained and with a call agreed reluctantly not to jump in the waves.  Instead the drift wood became a game and she just loved it and it was great to see she had had enough exercise for the day as she lay in the scrub panting.

Penny on beach

There was a lovely view of Port Macquarie across the bay and when we later drove out to near the end of the breakwater we could see where we had walked in the wind past the caravan park to Town Beach.  The beach where we walked is quite impressive - a lovely long coastline here on the Central Coast.

View of Port Macquarie and coast

So eventually we headed back to the ferry - this time we were the only ones on.  Great service, we just had to wait for it to arrive and the cars drive off, we drove on and it left immediately.

On ferry

Time for some healthy food direct from the grower

We were enjoying staying in a lovely home in Port Macquarie - the house was in the midst of being renovated but fortunately the area completed included the kitchen and family room and the bathroom.  The house had two road frontages and the owners were in the process of changing the internal layout so that it faced the sea view rather than a busy road.  I have already mentioned the lovely deck off the family room - this had an electric awning which we could put out when it wasn't windy and made the deck a very pleasant place to enjoy meals.

We are always grateful when homeowners entrust the care of their home and pets to us - a great win/win for both parties.

While in Port Macquarie I had seen on the local television an advertisement for Ricardoes Tomatoes and Strawberries.  This is located about ten minutes driving north of Port Macquarie on a side road.  Fresh strawberries are always a draw card and with the bonus of great tomatoes we planned a day out.  We joined a farm tour so that we could learn a little more of the growing process and soon realised that another couple and us had been joined with a Probus group who were touring from Sydney.  The majority of that group would be lucky to see eighty again!  We didn't feel right at home.

One of the property owners explained that they originally farmed the land and they grew tomatoes for their personal use.  When they had too many they sold the spares from the farm gate.  They got so many requests for their tomatoes they decided to build a tunnel house and commence growing tomatoes hydroponically commercially.  They now have a number of tunnel houses and they source the seed from Holland, which are grown to seedling size off the property and then planted. They produce tomatoes all year around by controlling the temperature in the tunnel houses.  The use of a plastic curve that was placed to help with the weight of the truss fruit was very interesting. The tomatoes are trained along the framework so that the ripe tomatoes are at chest height for picking.

Once the tomato business was viable the gift shop and cafe was built but as tomatoes are not particularly interesting to visitors they had to think of a way to encourage day visitors and families. This is where the idea of the strawberries came from, and so tunnel houses were built to hydroponically grow the strawberries.  The difference with this property is that the strawberries are not grown at ground level but on frames made from piping which the plants are grown in and fed from.  This allows for maintenance of the plants and picking standing up and without any back strain from bending - quite ingenious.

As for the strawberries - they were huge and very tasty.  The other thing that was huge was the price at $16.00 a kilogram for the strawberries.  It would have been very easy to arrive at the scales in the gift shop and have a hefty dollar to pay.  We were each given a container and scissors - no using your nail or just pulling these strawberries they had to be cut off the plant with the scissors provided.

I also found it interesting at the gift shop counter that they had a sample of chocolate for dipping strawberries, but the strawberries were not provided.  To sample you had to take one of the strawberries you had paid for and dip.  There certainly wasn't any eat as you pick, and lots of signs up to say this was definitely not allowed.  Perhaps not an ideal place to bring the children after all as the temptation to pick and sample would be huge.

A few hydroponically grown lettuces are also produced.  We were lucky that they had some of these for sale in the gift shop so were able to buy a couple.  So finally we left with lettuces, tomatoes and strawberries but left behind the jams and relishes etc.  I have to say we enjoyed the lettuce and tomatoes over the next few days but the strawberries didn't make it home.

From here we ventured further west a little way to the small town of Wauchope.  It was originally a timber town and now has a heritage theme park based around the logging industry.  There are static displays of timber machinery and attractions such as a steam train, bullock team and stage coach.  We decided to give this attraction a miss.  Instead, we enjoyed a wander down the small shopping strip and chose one of the many cafes for a late lunch.  The area has become very popular for gourmet produce, including cheeses, wines, organic fruit and vegetables and of course the bed and breakfast establishments to go along with that. The town has a population of just 7500.  The Hastings River is at the northern end of the town and the area has been subjected to a number of catastrophic floods.

We decided that we had made a healthy choice with our visit to the tomato and strawberry farm, and a healthy lunch so instead it was time to visit the fudge shop - can't miss out on all the good things in life.
As we pulled into the carpark our friendly Probus group were just boarding their bus - obviously sweet treats were necessary with them as well.

So nougat and fudge was in the shopping basket from this outlet - shall I say all for Peter as I don't like nougat and one or two small pieces of fudge are more than enough for me and the sample plates provided were enough for me.

We had enjoyed a great day out and it was time to head home - exercise was next so dog walking filled the first hour or so on our return to Port Macquarie which was just twenty odd kilometres from Wauchope.