Change of plans

We'd been looking forward to a 12 night stay at Burleigh Heads (Queensland) this month but with most of Australia in the grip of fear watching Victoria deal with its COVID-19 disaster, and borders closing all around us, we decided to cut our losses and head for Port Macquarie instead - for 6 nights.

We had our own small CV-19 scare too with Rob developing (slight) cold symptoms, resulting in a hurried dash to the drive through testing centre at Canberra's EPIC last Friday. The results were negative (of course) but hardly a great start to feeling in the holiday mood for us!

Anyway, after 7 hours of fairly easy driving north up the M1 and the A1 last Wednesday we got here .... to Port Macquarie ..... only 48 years after our first visit, for our HONEYMOON, in January 1972.

This is where we're staying at the Sandcastle Apartments for the next 6 nights, not too far at all from the 1960s era Beach Front Motel (now long gone) where we stayed in 1972.We do love a bedroom with a sea view!

Town Beach at sunset (just over the road from our apartment).

After our long day's drive we really enjoyed our walk from Town Beach, right around to Town Green on the Hastings River at the magic sunset hour on Wednesday night.

We were thrilled to find ourselves walking past Bill's Fishhouse and Bar on Clarence St on our way back to the Sandcastle Apartments - one of Port Macquarie's best restaurants - with a table free! it meant we had to sit outside on a rather cool coastal night but we're totally ok with that in these socially distanced times.

We enjoyed a fabulous meal at Bill's - mulloway (jewfish), saffron and mussels for me and salmon for Rob (and chips!).

Thursday dawned a spectacular clear sky day so we didn't waste too much time getting out in our walking gear to experience the first southern leg of Port Macquarie's famous 9klm long coastal walking trail.

This is me against a beautiful background of Town Beach, assorted rocky coves, the Hastings River entrance and the mountainous hinterland beyond.

This is Rob standing on the lookout at Flagstaff Hill. i took a picture of him in about the same spot in 1972 - but he and the lookout looked a lot different then.

Walking down from Flagstaff Hill towards Oxley Beach.......

We're up high here, taken from Windmill Hill Reserve, looking south towards the distinctive Nobbys Beach headland.

Looking down on Rocky Beach .......

and looking back on one of the wild, inaccessible little bays of Rocky Beach ......

.... and on to our end point (for today) Flynns Beach .......

... and coffee at the busy Sandbox Cafe, Flynns Beach.

Best spot for a morning coffee .......... (even better than Hassett's Park?)

Knowing that rain was coming for the rest of our stay (maybe?) we wasted no time after our morning walk in heading out for more sightseeing while the skies stayed so clear.

I'd remembered a stunning lookout near Laurieton from our visit in 1972 so on Thursday afternoon we headed south, along the coast road, past Lake Cathie, Bonny Hills, Grants Beach, turning west at North Haven, on the way to North Brother Mountain in the Dooragan National Park.

On the way I happened to see a turn off to Armstong Oysters, on the Camden Haven River. Armstrong Oysters are one of the largest (family owned and operated too) producers of Sydney Rock Oysters in NSW with an annual production of 3-4 million oysters per year with leases across the Camden Haven, Nambucca and Macleay Rivers. Today, things were pretty quiet at the Camden Haven lease, so quiet that the pelicans were very excited to see us and gave us a warm (but ultimately disappointed) welcome.

The North Brother Mountain summit lookout looks vastly different to how it looked 48 years ago, having been declared a National Park since 1997. A perfect spot to quaff my half dozen Sydney Rock Oysters from Armstrong's!

This is the view i remembered ....... down to North Haven, Camden Head, Laurieton and the beautiful Pacific Ocean.

... and looking north back towards Port Macquarie ......

We met a lovely group of young girls who'd climbed up to the North Brother summit lookout on the steep walking trail up from Laurieton (3km one way). After catching their breath from the steep climb they offered to take pics of us here together to commemorate our 48 year Port Macquarie anniversary!

This was the view looking south - towards South Brother and Middle Brother Mountains - powerful places in the local Birpai people's dreaming stories.

We ended our sightseeing with a stop off at Lighthouse Beach (12klm south of our Town Beach) - and a very late lunch for Rob (fish and chips) by the ocean.

By mid afternoon, the ocean breeze was turning pretty cold - we could tell a real weather change was in the air!