Our time in Port Macquarie comes to an end

Wherever we visit we always seem to find a market on at least one of the days of the week-end to visit.  It is always a good time to mix with both visitors and locals and of course there is the added advantage of fresh produce (normally) and the opportunity to view the handiwork of various local crafts people.

Port Macquarie was no different and on the second Saturday in each month there is a farmers and artists market on the foreshore.  The market commences at 8 a.m. but we are never out of the house that early (it is lucky if I am out of bed!) so we made our way to this market around 11 a.m.  The market is situated behind one of the sports clubs in town and has the marina behind it.  There were lots of people about and although it was a huge market it was interesting to wander.  It was a much cooler day and the wind was blowing so we didn't stay too long.

 Market and marina behind

Later in the evening we enjoyed a lovely dinner out at The Stunned Mullet above Town Beach.  This restaurant is a highly regarded dining destination in Port Macquarie and an early booking was necessary.  The food was beautiful and we really enjoyed our evening.

Before we knew it our time in Port Macquarie had come to an end, have our last breakfast on the deck and it was time to say good-bye to Penny and Cleo and briefly met the home owners on their early morning return from Darwin.  We had had a great time, but it was time to move on with only one night before we were due in Stanhope Gardens in Sydney.

  View from deck

We left Port Macquarie around 11 a.m. and drove to Forster/Tuncurry where we arrived in time for lunch.  We had previously camped next to a couple from this area and they had said how picturesque the area was so it was good to have time to visit.  Forster and Tuncurry are actually two separate towns with a long bridge joining the two towns.  It is a popular holiday area, four hours drive north of Sydney, with popular long beaches.

Forster is the larger of the two towns and is across the bridge from Tuncurry.  We drove out to Cape Hawke where there are stunning views, and again people were watching out for the whales (but we didn't see any).  We continued walking along the track and down the stairs to very sandy One Mile Beach - we could only but imagine how crowded this beach must get in summer.  There were quite a few swimmers out in the waves, surfing as well, and the ever present sunbathers.  Unfortunately we had some camera difficulties and all our photos from this area were not on the disc - just have to have that beach recorded to memory.

Back into Forster and we went to Main Beach and found a very popular cafe for lunch - it is five years today since my diagnosis with cancer and the commencement of my treatment.  However great it is to be able to have that period of time behind me and to be well enough to be out enjoying life with Peter and indulging in our shared passion for travel.  I will be forever grateful for this second chance.

Main Beach, Forster

  Cafe at Main Beach, Forster

We continued on the Central Coast Highway and stopped overnight at The Entrance.  We visited this popular holiday spot last year when we were travelling the East Coast.  We stayed overnight in a motel and next morning we were able to spend a couple of hours enjoying the waterfront park, with lots of cafes and restaurants.  There were lots of people about - mainly those in similar age to us with time to explore.  Fortunately we were just ahead of the school holidays - it would be much busier next week when all the local schools are closed for the holidays.

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