NEXT STOP PORT MACQUARIE
NEXT STOP PORT MACQUARIE
We had one more breakfast at Dave's in Yamba before taking the road out of town only stopping to buy a bottle of chardonnay at the Liquor Store and a peaked hat for David with Yamba written on it. Back on the freeway, we were at last beyond the roadworks so were able to go at full speed.
En route we stopped at Coff's Harbour. This was somewhere that we had considered staying, but everybody told us to avoid the place. Nontheless, we took the sign for the jetty and went through an industrial part of town, not very pretty, but arrived at the jetty. At the Surf Club there was a sign saying coffee served all day. They lied, the coffee shop shut at 4 pm and it was now nearly 4.30.
We were soon back on the freeway, glad that we hadn't stayed there. The journey was quite short and pretty soon we were turning into Hastings River Drive, towards our hotel - Sails by Rydges. Ultra modern design and very welcoming.
Our room was on the ground floor, with a small patio overlooking the marina. We felt very comfortable and were happy to be there for the next four nights. The swimming pool was inviting and included a Jacuzzi.
One reason we were in Port Macquarie was to meet up again with Wendy Bedford's sister, Kay Swift who had recently had a significant birthday. We were hoping to play golf with her too. We decided to have dinner in the hotel and were hoping we wouldn't be alone. Apart from a Christmas dinner party for around 12 people, we were the only ones there which was a shame, because the food was good and the waitress was very knowledgeable about wine. We were able to quiz her about our upcoming visit to Hunter Valley.
After breakfast the next day, we decided to take the 15 minute walk into the town, along the front. Port Macquarie is an elegant provincial seaside town. It has nice shops and a very good shopping mall and we hoped to replace our suitcases which were not wearing well. On our return to the hotel, we passed the Bowls Club where the Ladies were dressed up in Christmas gear and playing their annual game just like we would be at the golf club for our 'Turkey Trot' (sorry not able to download pictures of this one).
We had lunch with Kay at the golf club. I had never met her but she had played golf with Linda and the Friday girls. The conversation flowed like we had only seen her yesterday. We broached the idea of golf and arranged to play after the Ladies competition the next day.
After lunch, Kay took us to the Koala hospital, where she used to volunteer and where the public are allowed to visit. A number of koalas had been burnt in the recent bush fires. They were kept hidden from the public as there were hopes that they could be readmitted to the wild. Only those koalas that could not go back to their normal habitat were on display. These included a number that had been affected by conjunctivitis and were blind or near blind (see picture right). The hospital does great work.
The next day we played golf, but only 9 holes, as we were unable to get buggies and had to walk (I only had a push trolley)and a bunch of 12 idiots playing in front of us. After lunch we couldn't wait to get back for a swim. That evening we returned to H&G, a nearby restaurant, which we had been to the previous night but this time we did the restaurant proud with a full menu and loads of wine.
On our final day, we visited the Port Macquarie rain forest, not far from the golf course. This made a an interesting comparison with the Daintree rain forest in Port Douglas as it is one of the few rainforests edging a coast and being directly affected by the salty sea air . Sitting back on the hotel patio after lunch, Linda was visited by a little friend (see picture left).
We decided to go further afield for a meal that night and found the Whalebone Wharf on the river just outside of town. Linda enjoyed her oysters (see picture above right) and we both enjoyed the fish.
Well, it was soon time to move on, but not before taking a picture of us around another Christmas tree (see picture right).
Next stop Hunter Valley.
We had one more breakfast at Dave's in Yamba before taking the road out of town only stopping to buy a bottle of chardonnay at the Liquor Store and a peaked hat for David with Yamba written on it. Back on the freeway, we were at last beyond the roadworks so were able to go at full speed.
En route we stopped at Coff's Harbour. This was somewhere that we had considered staying, but everybody told us to avoid the place. Nontheless, we took the sign for the jetty and went through an industrial part of town, not very pretty, but arrived at the jetty. At the Surf Club there was a sign saying coffee served all day. They lied, the coffee shop shut at 4 pm and it was now nearly 4.30.
We were soon back on the freeway, glad that we hadn't stayed there. The journey was quite short and pretty soon we were turning into Hastings River Drive, towards our hotel - Sails by Rydges. Ultra modern design and very welcoming.
Our room was on the ground floor, with a small patio overlooking the marina. We felt very comfortable and were happy to be there for the next four nights. The swimming pool was inviting and included a Jacuzzi.
One reason we were in Port Macquarie was to meet up again with Wendy Bedford's sister, Kay Swift who had recently had a significant birthday. We were hoping to play golf with her too. We decided to have dinner in the hotel and were hoping we wouldn't be alone. Apart from a Christmas dinner party for around 12 people, we were the only ones there which was a shame, because the food was good and the waitress was very knowledgeable about wine. We were able to quiz her about our upcoming visit to Hunter Valley.
After breakfast the next day, we decided to take the 15 minute walk into the town, along the front. Port Macquarie is an elegant provincial seaside town. It has nice shops and a very good shopping mall and we hoped to replace our suitcases which were not wearing well. On our return to the hotel, we passed the Bowls Club where the Ladies were dressed up in Christmas gear and playing their annual game just like we would be at the golf club for our 'Turkey Trot' (sorry not able to download pictures of this one).
We had lunch with Kay at the golf club. I had never met her but she had played golf with Linda and the Friday girls. The conversation flowed like we had only seen her yesterday. We broached the idea of golf and arranged to play after the Ladies competition the next day.
After lunch, Kay took us to the Koala hospital, where she used to volunteer and where the public are allowed to visit. A number of koalas had been burnt in the recent bush fires. They were kept hidden from the public as there were hopes that they could be readmitted to the wild. Only those koalas that could not go back to their normal habitat were on display. These included a number that had been affected by conjunctivitis and were blind or near blind (see picture right). The hospital does great work.The next day we played golf, but only 9 holes, as we were unable to get buggies and had to walk (I only had a push trolley)and a bunch of 12 idiots playing in front of us. After lunch we couldn't wait to get back for a swim. That evening we returned to H&G, a nearby restaurant, which we had been to the previous night but this time we did the restaurant proud with a full menu and loads of wine.
On our final day, we visited the Port Macquarie rain forest, not far from the golf course. This made a an interesting comparison with the Daintree rain forest in Port Douglas as it is one of the few rainforests edging a coast and being directly affected by the salty sea air . Sitting back on the hotel patio after lunch, Linda was visited by a little friend (see picture left).
We decided to go further afield for a meal that night and found the Whalebone Wharf on the river just outside of town. Linda enjoyed her oysters (see picture above right) and we both enjoyed the fish.Well, it was soon time to move on, but not before taking a picture of us around another Christmas tree (see picture right).
Next stop Hunter Valley.
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