Forster with Jim

08/08/2012
  As we travel along the Buckett way approaching the city of Newcastle with Sydney just a short drive south of there, it is noticeable how much more traffic there is. We are close to the coast now and the main North/South  Pacific Highway so there is bound to be more traffic.  This is definitely as far south as we are going, tomorrow we start heading north with the first stop Forster.
 Right now we are at Cessnock, in the heart of the Hunter Valley. We arrived here in good time to do a quick visit to a couple of cellar doors for a sample or two. We looked at the winery of McWilliams at Mount Pleasant, tasted some nice whites at Lindemans and did a fantastic deal on a case of chardonnay, ( saved $125). We called in at the Gundog Hunter cellar just because I had never seen that particular label before. Their shiraz was really nice!!.
 The Hunter Valley is not a huge area but there are dozens of wineries with cellar door tastings, to do the job properly you need to go on an organised tour with a tea-total driver. Also it would be nice to see the place in the summer when the vines are in leaf and have fruit, right now they look skeletal and uninteresting. Maybe we can do a return trip sometime!

 09/08/2012
  For what seems like an age, today was the first morning there wasn’t a frost, it was a whole 7 degrees, positively tropical.
 We have made our way to Jim Briton’s lovely house at Forster on the N S W coast. To get here we had to drive on the Pacific Highway for a while, the nearest thing to a motorway here in Oz and I’m not used to it, far too much traffic.
 Once we left the highway the trip to Forster was very picturesque, travelling first through the hills then around the Great Lakes at Myall.
 Jims house is sat on a hill overlooking One Mile Beach, There is an avocado tree and a mango tree in the back yard and the whole house has just been renovated. It really is nice. We sat up until late chatting about old times and generally topping up the alcohol reserves.

 10/08/2012
  First hangover for some time, well deserved. After our cold nights and sunny days, the weather has changed completely. Today has been cold, wet and very windy scuppering our plans to go surfing ( yeah right), so we went for a walk and then for a drive instead.
  There is a really nice cliff top walk with lookouts over the bay. We were strolling along, keeping a weather eye on the storm clouds, when we came across a big snake across the path, Jim said he thought it was a carpet snake. It had obviously just eaten well as there was a cat sized lump in its belly. We gave it a wide berth after I had poked it with a stick and taken a couple of snaps.
 Jim took us out to Seal Rocks, a local beauty spot with a lighthouse but by that time the weather had set in making the walk up to the lighthouse a no go. We did manage to get out of the car to visit the Green Cathedral, an open air church by the side of the lake. It consisted of a few log benches, a stone pulpit and lectern all surrounded by palm trees. Weddings, blessings and other ceremonies are held here but not today thankfully. Forster is a pleasant town, different quirky little shops. Perhaps we will get to see more of it if this dreadful weather breaks.

 11/08/2012
No change in the weather, still wet and colder if anything, putting paid to our plans for a walk along the beach. Jim took us out to the unfortunately named Blackhead , a nice secluded bay with just a few houses, a surf club and a licensed café. The seas are big with the wind and squally weather whipping up good surf. We watched a few hardy souls surfing, blokes who obviously surf all year round judging by how good they were and they don’t seem to be phased by the cold. We watched them from the warm shelter of the café with a beer.
 Back at Jims house we did manage to sit on his deck for a while during the afternoon, all rugged up, naturally.
 Forster has an excellent RSL club, very big and well looked after. We had dinner there choosing from a good menu, and good value for money too.

  12/08/2012
 Back on the road again after a few days with Jim in his beautiful house, it was great having a bedroom and big bed to spread out in.
 We said goodbye hoping to meet up again in about 5 months and maybe get Jim to visit us in the UK next year.
 We are now moving north with the prospect of some warmer weather later in the week. On the way up we paid a quick visit to the seaside town of Old Bar and Wallabi Point, had a coffee and took some photo’s of  wild ocean, it really is kicking up today. Then it was back onto the Pacific Highway for a while until taking a detour out to Harrington and  Crowdy Bay. When we reached Crowdy Head we realised that we couldn’t go any further unless we took a narrow dirt track through the forest of Crowdy Bay National Park. It was either that or drive the hour or so back to where we started. I opted for the track which was a bit rough, wet and muddy, our van doesn’t do muddy very well, it tends to slide about a lot! The 20k drive was a bit hairy but it saved us a lot of time and diesel eventually spitting us out onto the highway.
 We finished the trip at Port Macquarie  jammed in a caravan park, our space so tight there wasn’t enough room to put the awning up. Not nice, we will move on tomorrow.