A lovely coastal town of around 80,000 people at the mouth of the Hastings River, Port Macquarie has become a favourite spot for retirees. It is sufficiently close to Sydney and Newcastle and is well serviced for medical practitioners. The climate is sufficiently different to Sydney to attract downsizers and sea-changers alike.
We took the scenic walk along the beaches heading south today. There’s a well marked trail that offers great views of Port Macquarie and the surrounding beaches.
This is Birpai Country. White settlers first discovered the area in the early 1800‘s through the efforts of John Oxley who followed the Hunter River to its mouth. There are a number of historical places of interest including a museum on the area. The old courthouse has been preserved and sits low, surrounded by tall modern buildings in the city centre.
Built in 1840 this Wesleyan Church still stands adjacent to a KFC.
It’s funny how things work out some times. I brought a surfboard on this trip with visions of getting back into it. I’ve been moving it around the inside of the motorhome at least twice each day. It take up lot of room in the vehicle. It was not until today that conditions were even close to being ok for me.
We left the park early in the afternoon. We are visiting friends Sue and David at Lighthouse Beach for dinner and thought that since we have a mobile home, we could take our home with us and camp on the street. Another Sydney couple, Hilary and Steve were also there. We had a great dinner, lots of good conversation and catching up, and then a mostly relaxing sleep until the traffic started at about 6:15am. ?
As we decided to leave the motorhome on the side of the road outside Sue and David’s and across the road from the SLSC building, I decided that I should lock all the external compartments. Given that we’ve been staying in van parks I hadn’t previously bothered to lock the compartment doors. There are 3 external compartments on this motorhome, one for all of the connectors/hoses for water, grey water and the extension for electricity, one for LP Gas and another for general storage. Of those, the most important one for us is the one with connectors/hoses as each time we setup we plumb in and connect to power. One of the locks on this door is faulty and now won’t open. Leaving us without a water and grey water hose. Thankfully I was still connected to power when I tested the lock so we have the extension lead. I’ve had to call Cruisin’s Roadside assistance and will receive instructions on where to go to have it fixed on Monday. Grrrr!