Goodbye Sydney Town

The camper was packed and we are ready to leave Sydney town. After nearly 5 weeks the feeling was a little despondent. Five weeks is time enough to get back into the swing of city life, but also time enough to be itching to hit the road again.
We have left a lot more socialised, a few kilos heavier (bound to happen when you have 15 days straight of lunch and dinner out) but tired and wanting the freedom of our travelling life. However, it was truly great to catch up with so many friends and family members and meet the new additions.
Sydney, one of the best cities in the world (not that we are biased) , has one of the most picturesque harbours too. Our reason for stopping back in Sydney again, the wedding after 17 years of courtship for Kellie and Dean, was aboard a boat.

The happy couple- finally!

The lights of Sydney provided the backdrop as we cruised the harbour and soaked up the familiar sights of our home town. The images and fun time we had will certainly last us for the next leg of our journey.
Having left Sydney we stopped on the Central Coast to catch up with my brother and family. With 3 little girls the visit was fun, but full on!

Kayla, Leisa & Aneika (nieces) having a tea party in the camper

Monday morning , time for kindy and school and our goodbye. As the road headed north of Newcastle, the buildings thinned out to be replaced by scrub and open pastures. We were ‘home’ once again. The sun was shining and we soon reached one of our favourite spots- Diamond Head Camp Ground in the Crowdy Head National Park. Nestled in the shadow of the Three Brothers Mountains, metres from the ocean the campsite is always grassy, with a smattering of Paperbark trees to provide shade. Mind you, it is a wonder that so much grass abounds, as the number of kangaroos that hang out all day is amazing!

Joey, playing near our camper

I wasn’t so enthralled by the HUGE goannas, but it was entertaining to see Dave leap ten feet in the air as one tried to jump for our rubbish bag.
During WWII, the author Kylie Tennant lived in a small timber hut on Diamond Head. She was taken with the beauty as we too are. It is not just the prolific wildlife, but the sweeping beaches (with pods of dolphins!), rugged headland formations, rainforest pockets, wetlands and coastal heath that has us so entranced.

Author Kylie Tennant's hut

Edging further up the coast, it appears the ‘scenery with personality’ is not unique to the Crowdy Head area. As we passed through North Haven, Bonny Hills and Lake Cathie we were similarly impressed. But our destination was Port Macquarie, to spend a couple of nights with Helen and David. Neither of us can remember holidaying at Port Macquarie, but we were certainly impressed. The foreshore is dotted with secret bays, giving many beach options depending on the swell.

Secret bay near lighthouse, Port Macquarie

The town is in a growth phase, complete with ‘The Glasshouse’. A state of the art theatre centre, it actually sent the council broke. Administrators were called in and for a time, Port Macquarie had no representatives at any level of government. However, like the Opera House, it will no doubt be appreciated in years to come.

Getting cosy with the locals, Port Macquarie

Our host Helen volunteers at the Koala Hospital and we found ourselves joining her tour to meet some of the ‘inmates’. Barry sat on his cushioned bough, ignoring us like the grumpy old man that he is. Birthday Girl is older, but she delighted in the attention- well why not, she looks very good for her age. Kaylee was asleep, drunk on a feed of leaf, but Bea was my favourite- lapping up her special milk, she had a playful look in her eye.

Bea having a snack

The rain persisted night and day, and we were glad to be in a house. It is still raining now, but we have moved onto Trial Bay, near South West Rocks. For now we are cosy in the camper, but are looking forward to exploring the 1886 gaol and National Park areas.

Shipwrecked

Toot, toot, honk, honk, beep, beep, crash, bang, thump. It was fast and furious, but we survived our ‘stopover in Sydney’. It was truly great to see friends and family, but now that we are ‘recovering’ in picturesque Kangaroo Valley, I know we are not ready to rejoin the city life just yet.
Leaving Sydney I did have some apprehension- are we doing the right thing, when will I see you all again, what is install for the future. As these thoughts raced through my mind, just south of Sydney the weather closed in. A thick fog blanketed our vision, and I couldn’t help but muse that it was rather symbolic of my state of mind. Then as we began to descend, the pea soup fog suddenly cleared and we were greeted with a view of a most glorious valley- so tranquil and serene. All of a sudden my dark mood lifted and I knew we were going to be OK.

Outhouse at the cop shop - heritage listed in Kangaroo Valley

Reflecting on the past week, a smile spreads wide across my face. The laughs between Chrissie (as she is now known), Haggis, Matt the Vet and Ivana. The surprise on Nat & Pete’s and Robin's face at the Oaks (we hadn’t told anyone we would be there). Sarah & Ameila, who went out of their way to see us, even if only briefly. Running into Nat- my friend from kindy right through to high school and beyond. The ‘day after’ giggles at lunch in Manly with V and Kiz. (We giggled at Dave who still had on some of his Jack Sparrow pirate outfit from the

Jack Sparrow and his wench- Jo's 40th

party the previous night). The generosity of Zelks, who moved out of his bedroom and onto the couch, for 3 nights, Sam & Michael pumping up our bed for a night and Jo & Jamie.
Jo is the reason we were back in Sydney- well her 40th Birthday party mainly. After a busy previous couple of days, I remember looking at my watch at 10.30pm and thinking, boy..... I am wrecked.... how am I going to last the night? Alas, the next time I looked at my watch it was 5am. Now I was thinking boy- WHAT A PARTY!! I was having so much fun the hours seemed to melt into minutes. Jo had set a J theme for her party. With limited time to arrange our costume, we went as pirates. Um... pirates start with a p...... oh well. But, I am cleverer than I think- we were congratulated on the ‘Jack Sparrow’ get ups! (Jack Sparrow was the pirate from the Pirates of the Caribbean movie). Yes.... I had planned that all along...... Some other very clever costumes arrived, including jellyfish, Jack & Jill, JFK & Jackie Onassis, Jihadists,

Manager display, Kangaroo Valley

The Jetsons, all topped off with Jo as ‘I dream of Jeannie’ and Jamie as a Jack in the Box. Some select pics have been uploaded for your viewing pleasure, some from the early hours of the morning are not (hee hee).

Jack in the Box Jamie and me- Jo's 40th



Jo and the Jetsons- Jo's 40th

Last but not least, it was great to see our family- my Mum, who especially stocked up on our choice of Lite & Easy meals (they are actually very good!!). Dave’s parents Don & Brenda, who washed our home and cooked a great roast. We also managed a visit to see Dave’s sister Merrilyn, nephew Sam and niece Abbey. On our way back into Sydney we had a night with my brother and Adrianna, and of course my 3 nieces- Aneika, Leisa and Kayla. Actually the night we stayed over (along with Mum), it was Aneika’s graduation from pre-school to ‘big’ school. The graduation was complete with black cap and performance. Being only five, it was a comedy of errors, but certainly a moment to treasure.


Aneika's kindergarten graduation

But, we are ‘back on track’ and are heading south for the summer. After a sojourn in Melbourne we cross the Bass Strait on December 27- the Apple Isle our next extended stay.