Boxing Day and on to Forster - 26th Dec

A Boxing Day morning like we'd never seen it before.

An Ibis

It was a lovely sunny morning and we took a walk around the campsite and marvelled at the elaborate set-up of some Aussie tents with huge awnings, banqueting tables and chairs and the fridge-freezers for the beers. There were some residential chalets on site who'd done some fun naming of their homes...

 

The site had a 3km 'koala board-walk' which we started to do but within 5 paces we met the fella in the picture below and that was it for my adventures – I was going no further. On hot days the snakes are more likely to come onto the board-walk and as this was a sunny morning I was venturing no further!

Heading north from bright Port Stephens we hit rain. We took a scenic route through the Booti Booti National Park but unfortunately missed many of the beautiful lakes and scenery because of the rain. Part way round we decided to tackle a partially unsealed road to Seals Rocks which was a little shaky in parts with the campervan and all its contents rattling about...got to the end said “oh what a lovely view” and then rattled back to the main road.

We took the Booti Booti route as there was a thin peninsular where we expected to be able to see lake one side and the Tasman Sea the other ….we saw neither not because of the rain but because of tall bushes either side. The only way we knew we were driving in-between water was from the sat-nav. We decided to stop anyway for lunch (crackers and cheese in the campervan) and then pass through the 'undergrowth' to the beach which was mainly deserted apart from a courting couple.

When we got to the campsite it was raining again so the Yahtzee championship continued until we got cabin fever and headed out to Forster at dusk. We decided to take a walk out on a breakwater and were treated to the site of at least 8 dolphins swimming and playing in the currents. It was truly mesmerising and somehow nicer seeing them completely natural rather than as part of a dolphin tour. We just sat for about half an hour watching them.

The Yahtzee Challenge in full swing

Dolphin-tastic

That was it for nature we thought until we saw a pelican on a lamp post …...now it's not often you get to see that !!!



Watch out for Pelican's crossing !!



We had a fish and chip feast for tea in the camper van overlooking the beach.