Port Macquarie & Forster

PORT MACQUARIE

I will start with the usual park information and where we stayed; The park is called the Sundowner Breakwater Tourist Park and for obvious reasons (it sits on the breakwater for the slow thinking folk). It is tagged as a Big 4 and does at this stage carry the Big 4 banner, however the park has been recently acquired by the local council so it offers the Big 4 rates if you are a member but if you ask for a weekly rate it works out cheaper without a membership. The normal rate is $32 p/n or $189 for the week; if you quote your Big 4 membership the rate is $32 x 7 = $224 less 10% = $201.60.

The park is in a prime spot; from our site below you can just make out the rock on the breakwater in the background; the main town beach is approximately 200m from where we were parked. The amenities consisted of 4 blocks and they are average and a little dated and the quality in the 4 blocks varies by how much refurbishment work as been done. The park does have a large and very appealing pool so ideal for the non beach-goer (like me); the park is located right in the heart of town so the car can be left parked if you wish. All (99%) of the sites are grass and some are a reddy type soil so it would be best to pick your own site if possible as if it rains it does become quite messy (we fortunately missed the rain at this park). This park is not pet friendly but there are a couple of other parks that are. 

Above was our site. 

We were at Port Macquarie during the half iron man competition; I did enter and if you look closely you will see thats me in 5^th position. It was a hard race and gruelling race but I managed to take out 4^th spot (better luck next year).

I did find myself a surf board but and angle grinder to remove it was a little harder to locate (no power point to run it either). 

Linda found this big spinning top which proved a little hard to upright and get going; it is actually a “Folly”.

The history is that Windmill Hill was originally known as Gillman's Folly until Major Innes had a windmill built there in 1825 to grind wheat and corn for government contracts. The windmill had large canvas sails driving a hand-milled wooden shaft with a stone grinding wheel. The remains of the windmill were accidentally destroyed by fire in 1900. 

In 1971 the Port Macquarie Conservation campaigned to save the site from development and to turn this vantage point into a reserve. Windmill Hill is one of sixteen sites of heritage significance adopted by Port Macquarie-Hastings Council. 

 

Just out of Port Macquarie is a farm (Riccardo’s) that grows hydroponic tomatoes and strawberries; the tomatoes grown here are always in the top 3 winners for all the shows each year. You cannot pick the tomatoes but you can take a container and pick your own strawberries, there is no bending down as they are all grown on upright frames. When you have picked enough they are weighed and you pay for what you have got; I found it much more economical to just eat as many as you could without being sick and pay for bugger all. 

This large reptile was photographed near our site at Port; he was after the baby plovers and was about 1.4mt in length. 

FORSTER – TUNCURRY

What a great place this is and the park again was the pick for location; if anything it was only 100m to the beach and a nice one at that.

We stayed at the Forster Beach Caravan Park which is located on the southern side of the bridge that divides Forster and Tuncurry; price for the park is a flat $25p/n (no weekly rate), the amenities are very good and kept clean, the down side is it has timed showers but you do get plenty of time. The park is right in the Forster main township but if you want Woolies and Coles etc they are about a 5km drive.

The only down side to the sites is they tail down into the gutters quite sharply so with a large van be prepared to lift the front end quite significantly to level off, if your van is low to the ground you may scrape but they do have some boards for laying in the gutters on arrival and departure. Once in it is a great spot and we would definitely revisit here. This is a no pet park but for those with pets the Lakeside Caravan Park is quite nice and situated on the river in Tuncurry; the rate here is $175 a week.

Our site above; the gutters are quite deep. 

A view of the park from Pilot Hill; we are where the little white bubble is. 

Same picture showing more of the park as it looks over the Forster – Tuncurry bridge. 

Same area of Pilot Hill but taken looking north towards Coffs Harbour and also showing Tuncurry beach. 

Linda has been working on (and now completed) a Teddy for our Grandson, Jaxon; it has been made with love by Nanny Stevens so I thought it should be posted up for all to see.

We have been travelling up through the Hunter Valley and stayed at a friends place for a couple of nights at a place called Glendon (near Branxton) and are currently at Tamworth (bloody hot here).

We are leaving here on Wednesday 18^th November and heading up the “Fossickers Trail” so will post that one in a few weeks.

For those that are about in Brisbane we will be at Scarborough for Christmas from the 7^th December to the end of January 2010 (look forward to seeing you).

Love & best wishes – David & Linda – The DavLin Rig

Bexhill - Sawtell - Sth West Rocks

Well we finally left Tweed Heads and made our first stop at Lismore; we wanted to catch up with Robert, Kerry & Luke. We met up again with the rest of the family at a great barby held at Robert & Kerry’s place (thanks to you all for the hospitality & risotto pie recipe).

The Roadrunner Caravan Park has not changed much; the price is now $22 a night or $132 for the week. The 9 tourist sites are very nice and the view form all of these sites is as you see it below; the permanent sites are still pretty rough but all in all the park is the pick of the lot. This is a great place to stay for a period if you want to do the Nimbin, Bangalow and National Park trips. The park does not allow dogs. 

BEXHILL

Bexhill is approximately 15km east of Lismore as you head toward Bangalow; there is an outdoor cathedral which overlooks valleys to the east.

The seating is by way of what can only be described as horizontal telegraph post sections; the views from here are spectacular and is a must see if in the area. 

The sign above is as you first walk toward the cathedral; have a close look at who the caretaker is which is shown on the last line. Also at the site is a visitors book that can be signed and a secure box for donations.

SAWTELL

This place is a must see if you are heading down the coast; the town is situated about 12km south of Coffs Harbour and is a coastal township.

We stayed at the Sawtell Beach Caravan Park which is about a 10min stroll to the surf; the park does have its own private access to one part of the beach but the track was a little steep. The park is situated within a 5 minute walk and is next to the bowls club. This would be the pick of the 2 parks in Sawtell; very good amenities and they are cleaned at the times stated.

The park does not have it’s own pool but next door is the swimming centre; the cost for entry is $3.50 per person but the park will reimburse one admission per day per adult so not a bad deal. Although this is a top tourist and usually you only get discount with a membership card we secured a week here for $185 which is a one night free deal (always worth asking), maybe because it is off peak. The down side is there is only 5 slab sites, the others are all grass (so to speak) and are in some places difficult to level off unless you have ramps. This is a No pets park. 

Our site is shown above; we managed to get a slab as the mass exodus had just taken place with all the NSW schools heading back. 

The above is taken from the Sawtell lookout; the shot is looking north towards Coffs Harbour. 

The above is from the same lookout; the view is to the south and shows the Sawtell township. The area has a population of approximately 15000; the township is very village like and has some boutique type shops and cafes; the pub and the RSL reside in the same street. On leaving Sawtell for the suburb of Toormina (4km away) you come to a Centro shopping centre with the usual Kmart, Coles, Woolies etc. It seems like you move from a small country village to a major suburb in a matter of minutes.  

The birds above are a from a pair that nest in the same spot in the Sawtell main street every time; the day before this picture was taken 4 babies lived here; the day of the picture we were told one had flown the nest. Two days after the picture all of the babies had taken to the skies (or been eaten by a pussy cat); we prefer the “taken to the skies” story. 

On walking the Sawtell beach at the end you come to a timber stairway which leads up to a paved walking track; the track leads to the other side of the lookout to a small inlet. Quite a number of people walk this to swim on the incoming tide; The walk takes about 1.5hrs from the surf beach to the other side and back, some of it is quite steep but is very good exercise and well worth the trip. 

Above is a picture of the main divided street of the Sawtell township; very picturesque. 

We did do an overnight stop at South West Rocks which as you can see by the above shot is right on the beach; the park is called Horseshoe Bay Beach Park. We did want to stay and did book a full week but they messed up the booking; it is a long story but in the end we headed of the next day to Port Macquarie.

This would have to be the pick of the parks in South West Rocks purely for the location; the park is terraced and bigger caravans & 5^th wheelers can accommodate on the upper level (where we were; the picture is from our site). The amenities are average and most of the sites are grass with a few slabs; price is $32p/n or $189 for the week, the park is council owned and is pet friendly.

Be aware if you are going to this park that it is best to get confirmation of your booking; only 27 of the 67 sites have sullage so unless you specify you want sullage for a large van (or motor home) you may end up on a site having to empty a bucket positioned under your drainage point.

We would stay here again if we are down this way for a week or so but would be more aware of the blasé nature of the park management and staff.

We are currently in Port Macquarie and leaving for Forster on Wednesday 4^th November for more sun and sand (lucky me). From there we are then to Hawks Nest (more bloody sand); we will catch the ferry over for a day at Nelson Bay. On leaving here we will pick up the New England Highway heading for Singleton.

We will post up again in a few weeks time; until then hope you all stay well.

Love & regards – David & Linda – The DavLin Rig