A day in Forster: McDonalds, the supermarket and the beach - 27th Dec

So far the three campsites we have been to have all had very different clientèle despite being of a similar cost, range of facilities and size.

The campsite we were stopping in yesterday and today had a large number of 'residential' plots, i.e. people who return holiday after holiday to the same place and have loaded their plot with even more household equipment than the nomadic Aussie holiday makers. However, unlike the other two sites we had been in, that also were heavily 'residential based', this site was the domain of the river watersport lover as there was all sorts of boats, jet-skis, water-skis etc. etc. Most of them were blinged up with great paint jobs and flash chrome.

We awoke after having a small lie in to find that a lot of the boaters were actually on there way back having been out on the water already. I could not ascertain whether this was due to the fact that a lot of them had been fishing at dawn, were worried about spending time with the family, getting back to watch the Ashes on their 40 inch flat screen or needed to start drinking their quota of stubbies for the day.

Talking of the Ashes, we put the TV on over breakfast to watch a couple of overs of the morning session – Emma insisted! Unlike back home it is on free to air TV over here. Another big difference from the UK coverage is the style of adverts that they put on after every couple of overs. In the UK it would be predominantly beer adverts whereas here in Australia you could not move for hardware store adverts or alike...

(Out of interest, it was only the second day of the test but England were already odds on winners.)

After breakfast we drove straight to the local McDonalds, not for another breakfast but a milkshake and use of their free wifi. In keeping with our trip so far in Australia we needed to work out and book where we were going to be staying 48 hours from now. An hour later and after a Flat White and Latte from the McCafe we had booked another two nights, this time in the small town of Uranga.

With a sigh of relief we headed to the supermarket bought some food and a boogie board. When we say a boogie board it would be more correct to say a child's boogie board but a boogie board nonetheless.

We then headed to the south side of One Mile Beach in Forster and put the board to work.

Me teaching the locals how it is supposed to be done!

After an hour or two catching the waves we jumped back in the van and headed along the coast to the campsite, but not before a couple of stops to see more local wildlife and the surfers on Nine Mile beach, Tuncurry. It was getting dark by the time we pulled on to our plot, which was just as well as it would have been more than embarrassing if the local clientèle had set eyes on our watersports equipment.

SHARK!!!*

"Where?"*

*A dolphin really.