Aussie Roadtrip: Port Macquarie

Saying goodbye to Andrea we hopped in the car for a rather lengthy drive to Port Macquarie. We had a delightful morning bakery stop in the seaside village of Lennox Head and made a snap judgement that we’d like to visit again. I couldn’t help but feeling that although Byron was nice, the traffic congestion and other minor issues might too easily getting in the way of a relaxing beach day. Lennox Head is smaller and the pace seems slower (as evidenced by the time we spent buying postal stamps!). As a Victorian I would wager that Lennox Head is to Apollo Bay as Byron is to Lorne. (Obviously there are differences and loyalists to any of these towns will likely be offended by my statements!)

Lennox Head 

Aside from Rob trying to eat a BIG BANANA on the way through, it was then pretty much full steam ahead to Port Macquarie. We did make a few short stops along the way, the most notable being at the Honey Place (a bee museum/café in Urgunga). I knew bees were amazing but the video and hive there refreshed my love of bees -as did the honeycomb we feasted on. What other animals perform beautiful and complicated dances to share the proximity and direction of food? Actually, if you know of one please let me know!

Hooray I am going to eat a big banana today!

Oh no! I shut my mouth at the wrong time!

I will keep it open in case we find the big pineapple!

Busy little bee

In Port Mac we stayed at a campsite next to Flynn’s Beach. (Also located near a street with a wonderful name –see photo below!) The weather on our first full day in town was not the clear sky and sun we had become accustomed to since leaving Sydney. It wasn’t terrible either. We had a slow morning, took some walks and read our books at a park overlooking one of the nine local beaches.  

An excited Chalmersarian

Traditional tent photo 

Near our campsite was a koala hospital that ran tours at 3pm. It included detail about the various ailments and diseases koalas suffer from (road accidents and chlamydia common) and an introduction to current residents. A few koalas will be there until they die but, where possible, the aim of the centre is to rehabilitate koalas back into the wild. One of the koalas lost a leg and the vets weren’t sure if she would be able to look after her joey. Usually a joey will receive pap from their mother whilst in the pouch. Pap, decomposed elements of eucalyptus leaves, helps joeys develop a taste for the leaves, provides adequate nutrition and included a specific gut bacteria needed for a koalas digestion of the gum leaves. In this case, the Mother managed to fulfil this role despite her challenges, the joey was released into the wild and Mum continued on, amazingly mobile. Then there was a big storm and she fell from her tree onto a clothesline damaging her eyes and losing her sight. She is apparently the most popular koala at the centre – what a trooper. It was sad hearing about the declining koala count due to loss of suitable environments.

Koala hospital

Food time

Yummy!

A climber

Munch munch munch

In the evening we went on sunset and dolphin cruise, recommended by our travel friends Jenny and Ben. They had missed out on seeing dolphins but we went one worse and didn’t have a visible sunset either! It was still fun seeing a bit of the way of life around the port and rivers. We had a much loved dog for our neighbour who was happy as he scored a few scooby snacks along the way. A young sea-goer (aged 5 or 6) was thrilled at the opportunity to steer the boat.

"Must love dogs"

Waking up to a roasting warm tent, Rob and I suspected that outside would be much cooler. It usually is. It always seems to me like the tent is trying to trick you into thinking it is a good beach day. Today it was actually warm again! We celebrated with yoga on the beach and some rough body boarding at Flynn’s beach.

Flynn's beach from the roadside 

In the afternoon we learnt about the area’s history and the town museum. The highlight was learning about how Edmund Barton had come to town to encourage a vote for federation. Previously the town members were rather ambivalent on the matter. In an unrelated somewhat random display on infants and motherhood, I also learnt that the invention of a banana shaped milk bottle for feeding babies reduced the amount of bacterial infection. The previous bottle was not on display but it apparently had some sort of tube for bacteria to build up in. I had never really thought about the fact that bottles might have been shaped in anything other than an upright position. There you go!

A dinner picnic overlooking the port was a lovely way to spend our final evening and discover that the town can indeed put on a sunset.

Moody sunset