Port Macquarie2 Nov 2006
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Lighthouse at Tacking point
Tacking point beach
| Port Macquarie (or 'Port' as it is known locally) Before leaving London my friend Kath relayed her experiences of her recent excursion to Port Macquarie. She had been here for a wedding and I feel her impression of Port was marred by the wedding atmosphere, food and dress she was forced to wear as bridesmaid. Although the weather forecast was for rain, the morning was clear so we took the opportunity to take the bikes for a much needed ride. This was a mistake as Port is very hilly especially south along the beach coast road which was our chosen route. There was few cycle tracks therefore we had to battle the road traffic. Fortunately at the crest of each hill we rode up on our 10km slog to the lighthouse, there were rest areas where we could sit, pant, drink and take in the view. The beaches were not strikingly beautifully but were rocky and on some there was strange claret coloured seaweed blanketing the otherwise deep blue waters along the shore. Occasionally we came across signs detailing the history of the Port which were interesting. At the southern extent of the ride was a small and unexceptional lighthouse, which, quite frankly, was a little disappointing after the effort exerted getting there. However there was a 10 mile beach extending further south from the lighthouse point to Laurieston and we spent 45 minutes watching dolphins and whales frolicking in the waters just off the point. As is always the case, the ride back to town seemed quicker. This gave us time to look around the commercial area of Port. Not much to report here as development has and is continuing. There were however some lovely colonial buildings now housing museums although the weather started to close in so we did not stop and see inside them. During the afternoon and evening, fierce winds and rain pounded the Van. Foolishly we had bought food for a BBQ and had to stand out in the wind (although under cover) cooking our meat on the slowest heating BBQ in the world. We tried pork chops / steaks for the second time only since arriving in Oz. Last time and on this occasion we thought that the pig taste was really overpowering - too 'piggy' - which either means it's meant to taste like that in the UK or pigs in Oz are injected with artificial swine flavouring. Next to us in the campsite was a single guy who had a beautifully restored 1970's Holden Panel Van. This will mean nothing to UK people but it is an iconic Australian car originally manufactured as a workman's vehicle, i.e. bench seat for three passengers and space for tools in the back which is fully covered unlike a ute or pick up. It is sort of like a Renault Kanga (small transit van but in the shape of a car). We spent the night reading, watching 24 and sleeping to the sound of wind and rain. TVR |
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