Forster

Hello again,

We arrived in Forster on Tuesday with about 20 other friends from the Adria Club. The caravan park here is very spacious with great facilities on the edge of Wallis Lake. 

We are right next to the camp kitchen which is one of the best I have seen. They even have herbs growing which is very convenient - I have used them a few times.

Wednesday was a free day to do our own thing. Time to do the washing etc. Thursday we went on a 2-1/2 hour lunch cruise on Wallis Lake. This lake is  one of the cleanest lakes in Australia, boasting crystal clear waters all year round. There is a maze of islands and sandbars and there is a complex system of lakes, rivers and interconnecting channels covering about 100 square kilometers. Wallis Lake is home to a rich seafood harvest including the famous Wallis Lake oyster. There is also a pelican breeding ground here which we saw on our cruise.

We also saw dolphins but they were a bit quick for me to photograph.

Friday we went to breakfast at Beach Bums for a delicious meal and a walk along the foreshore.

Then we went for a drive around the Forster area.

Later in the afternoon we went for another drive and could see a group of people looking out over the water at something so thought we would check it out. Just off the headland which wasn't visible from the road is a unique geological formation and with the large swells, water was crashing over these rocks. Many school kids were there climbing the rocks, waiting for the waves to push them off into a small pool of water. It looked quite dangerous but obviously the kids didn't think so. It was low tide. The following day at high tide they didn't attempt this. Apparently this is a popular thing to do when there are large swells.

The rain started Saturday but cleared by Sunday. We went to the Tuncurry markets Saturday morning. It was very windy and due to the weather probably wasn't as many stalls there as usual. Saturday night we all went to the local club for dinner. The meal was very tasty but the courtesy bus was very disorganised, however we did eventually get there and back.

Sunday was another free day. After church went shopping as I invited 3 other couples for dinner Sunday night, so spent the afternoon making salads etc. We had a lovely meal together.

Here it is now Monday and I can't believe how fast the week has gone. We pack up tomorrow and head home. 

Bye for now,

Lesley and Peter.

On the road Again

Hi everyone,

We left Friday and headed to Ballina for a couple of days. We had a family gathering at Bangolow on Saturday to present some Memorabilia to the Historical Society from the Goonengerry Church. There were about 18 cousins and 2 Aunties attended and we had a great day catching up. We had lunch at the local pub which was very tasty. Peter's Pork Ribs were huge.

And my steak was delicious- 

Here I am with Phillip and Gae.

Sunday we left Ballina and arrived at Nambucca Heads after lunch. Caught up with another cousin - Stephen and Linda for dinner as they were heading north and also staying here for the night. This was the beautiful sunset.

This morning we had a look around Nambucca. The beaches and views from the lookouts are beautiful.

I went for a walk along the breakwater which they call the V Wall. People are obviously encouraged to paint a rock on the V Wall at the Nambucca River entrance as shown in the photo below. Many regular visitors add to their rock each time they are in town and this colourful spectacle provides an interesting walk.

We leave here tomorrow for Forster where we will stay for a week with the Adria Club.

Bye for now,

Lesley and Peter.

Moruya Sunday 29th November

Hi,

Yesterday (Saturday) was a "rest" day with no planned outings with the group. We went to the local markets then Peter went to the high school where there was a display of  Classic cars. It was time for me to catch up on the "housework" again followed by some card making. After lunch we had our caravan meeting which is held at each rally. Last night we all went to the local bowls club for dinner. Yesterday was overcast and there was a small amount of rain early in the night. Today is a lovely day with a cool breeze.

Each day I walk over the bridge to town ( for exercise, not shopping). There are a number of wood carvings around the streets.

A view from the caravan park - the bridge to town-

This morning we went to church. This is a beautiful old church made of sandstone and granite. The sandstone from this area was used for the building of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

We then headed south to Narooma, about 45 kms from here, a beautiful little town on the coast.

The golf course at Narooma seems to go for miles. It is set amongst stunning scenery with amazing views over the water. This photo below shows part of the golf course with water views. There was a fairly good breeze today and I would say that it must have some effect on the game. Perhaps there are quite a few balls down over the cliffs and floating around the Pacific Ocean.

A bit further on from the golf course is the cemetry and there is a great view from here.

After lunch at Narooma, we headed back to Moruya. A storm started to develop in the area this afternoon so everyone quickly put down the awnings again. Didn't want to leave it till the last minute if it got a bit wild. It didn't end up being bad but better to be safe than sorry. We had a combined BBQ in the large camp kitchen with the group.

That's all today.

Bye from Lesley and Peter.

Friday 27th November 2015

Hi again,

What a difference a day makes! Yesterday morning we woke to hot gale force winds. The wind was getting worse and soon everyone was rushing to put down the awnings. About 6 men went from one van to another to help as the wind was so bad 2 people couldn't do it by themselves as they normally would. The temperature was about 30 degrees so quite hot for early in the morning.

We left to go to Mogo Zoo and about 20 minutes later got a message and photo showing a branch that fell down just where our car had been parked. We were very lucky we left when we did. It was windy all day. At the zoo there was a red panda in a tree which also fell down. Luckily a volunteer was walking past at the time as the branch fell over the fence. He quickly pushed the branch back with the panda on it, preventing it from escaping. 

Here are some of the animals.

By the afternoon the wind had subsided and it turned quite cold. This morning we woke to 9 degrees and has been cool most of the day.

Today we went to Bodalla, about 20 minutes south of here, to a tour of the gardens owned by Lelly Kershaw who was the 2014 winner of the ABC Gardener of the year. This was originally the rectory of All Saints Anglican Church and she renovated it a few years ago and also runs a B&B here. The gardens are huge and each year she adds another section and she does all the work herself. To enter the competition you have to do all the work and have no one to help. She started the gardens from scratch about 10 years ago.

This cow wasn't in the garden but on the other side of the fence.

From there we visited the church then onto the Bodalla Cheese factory for lunch, then an interesting talk from the cheese maker.

Then it was back to the park and soon it was time for happy hour.

That's all today.

Bye for now.

Lesley and Peter.

Moruya

Hi everyone,

We left home last Thursday to head to Moruya on the south coast of NSW, just south of Bateman's Bay. We stopped at Coffs Harbour for 2 nights. We had such a busy time before leaving it was lovely just to relax so didn't do much while there. Next stop was near Newcastle overnight before heading to Goulburn for the one night as well. Then we arrived at Moruya on Monday where we will stay till next Tuesday with the Adria club. The park here is lovely and spacious. We are right on the river and get quite a good breeze or should I say very windy at times. They must have had good rain recently as it's very green here.

Yesterday I caught up on the "housework", washing and shopping. Went to the local farmers market where they had such a variety of locally grown vegetables. Pity I didn't have room in the fridge to stock up. It all looked so fresh straight from the farm.

Today (Wednesday) we went to Bateman's Bay, about 20 minutes drive from here, on a 3 hour river cruise on the Clyde River. It was quite a hot day but a good breeze out on the river. This is the bridge as it is being lifted up to let the boats through.

Peter finding out all the local info from the captain.

We stopped at Nelligen - a quaint little village - for a quick look around and an ice cream before heading back to Bateman's Bay then back to the park to get ready for Happy Hour.

Tomorrow we are off to Mogo Zoo.

Bye for now,

Lesley and Peter.

Ballina

Hi,

I haven't had a lot to report over the past few days. With all the rain around a lot of our planned activities had to be cancelled and didn't venture too far. Friday and Saturday was very wet. This meant lots of time for socialising and drinking coffee and the occasional wine at happy hour.

Friday morning we went to the restaurant near the Trial Bay Gaol with the group for a very scrumptious breakfast.

Saturday night we had a spit roast dinner followed by a night of square dancing. This was great fun. Most had never done it before but there are 2 couples in the club who are experienced square dancers.






Yes, that's me dancing with one of the square dancers.

It continued raining on and off Sunday and Monday. I went for a few walks when the rain had cleared for a while. We invited 3 other couples to share dinner with us last night so was a nice way to finish our rally. We had more heavy rain overnight and this morning as we were packing ready to leave South West Rocks. The weather remained fine on our trip to Ballina where we are staying tonight before heading home tomorrow.

That's all for this time.
Bye from Lesley and Peter




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South West Rocks Thursday - part 2

I am having trouble sending this blog in one go so hopefully will do it in 2 parts.

We then drove to the lighthouse at Hat Head. It was a bit of a steep walk from the car park to the lighthouse, but good exercise.





















After lunch I went for another walk by myself (Peter had done enough for one day) to the town centre and back again to the park. A good round trip so I had my exercise for the day. It's now happy hour time - that will undo some of today's exercise. The weather looks like it is clearing for now but tomorrow might be different.

That's all today.
Bye for now,
Lesley and Peter.


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