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We had been worried about the rain in the morning but thankfully it held off while we packed up and didn't start again until we were on our way. We had an uneventful drive to Kempsey where we had booked in for the week over the Easter holiday period. It had rained nearly all the way but once again we were blessed when it stopped 15kms outside of Kempsey and didn't start up again until we were well and truly set up. The park where we are staying isn't anything fancy but the sites are all grassed and drive through so we are are happy here. The rates were very good considering we were staying over the Easter period and the amenities and camp kitchen are clean and well maintained.
Because we are here for the week I spent today doing much needed cleaning of the van, with all the rain we have had the floors inside the van were quite revolting, I also washed all the linen while I had the chance. When I was finished we drove into town to do a bit of shopping before driving to the Visitor Centre to pick up some information for the next week. We had a bit of a drive around town to get our bearings and see if there is anywhere we need to return to and then drove back to the van. When I get a chance I will sit down and plan our days ahead, tomorrow is Good Friday so we may not find much open but we will give Port Macquarie a visit because this might be our best chance.
Today we drove into Port Macquarie and our first destination was Salty Crew Kiosk to grab a coffee to start our day. The Kiosk was really busy but Robb found a couple of seats at a table with another couple, they didn't need the seats so he sat while I went up to order the coffees. The coffee shop is at the front of the Marine Rescue Centre so we had fantastic views over the beach with a very wide scope. We could see over the beach to the left of us, the ocean straight ahead and the rocks to the right, it was a spectacular area and I loved taking many photos here. The ocean was quite wild and the swimming area between the flags would only have been 30-40 foot but it was very busy and it wasn't that warm today, there were a few people out surfing and we saw one boat battling the waves to come into a safe harbour. From here we drove up to Gaol Point Lookout where we were looking out to much the same view but at a higher position we could see much further over the water. We noticed that one of the breakwaters had a bit of decorative graffiti on it which we could see a bit better from this higher point. We drove from here to the Maritime Museum which wasn't open so proceeded up to the Flagstaff Point Lookout, we had eight flights of steps up to the flagstaff itself but it was worth the walk, the views from here gave us another perspective of the coastline. It was getting later and Robb wanted to visit an Oyster outlet we had seen on our way in to Port Macquarie so we thought if we enter our caravan park in Kempsey into the GPS we should pass it on the way out and we did. We parked and walked over the walkway into the outlet where we found a good range of seafood on offer and came away with a good selection of oysters, prawns and calamari. Our last stop for the day was to be Ricardoes Tomatoes and Strawberries farm, this had been recommended to us by the lady at the Visitor Centre. This is a huge complex with many hothouses, a shop and a restaurant, we wanted to purchase strawberries which you need to pick yourself, you are given a bucket and a pair of scissors and sent on your way. it didn't take us long to fill our bucket which we took back to the shop to be weighed and costed, there were also loose tomatoes at the counter and I picked up four of these which turned out to be 1KG they were so big. There was also a wide range of sauces, soups, pickles and relishes on offer, we picked up a bottle of tomato sauce and completed our purchases before leaving and heading off home. We drove past the showgrounds before returning to camp because I had tried to book a site here but was told there was a show on but when we drove past it was obvious the show wasn't on this weekend so we went in to check with the manager and apparently the show is on next weekend. Never mind, I thought it might have been fun to visit the show but we will have moved on by then.
We started the day with a coffee at home and a bit of a read. At our permanent home I belong to a local Book Club and I have organised while I am away to receive my monthly read by eBook, which was ok for the first book but the following month the book 'Gulliver's Wife' was not available on eBooks from the CAE who organise the issue of our books each month but I did find a copy at the library at Ulladulla so I signed up here as a member and have accessed a copy of the book, unfortunately I have an allocated time to finish it and I don't read much while nomading so I appreciated having the short time this morning to knock off a few chapters. Our plans for the day are very modest starting with a visit to The Slim Dusty Centre, a museum to the pride and joy of Kempsie, and then a visit to Bucket Brewery. I have to say straight up that we are not country music fans but we did have the pleasure of sitting next to Slim Dusty and his daughter Anne Kirkpatrick at an Aria awards ceremony we attended and it is such an impressive looking centre that it inspires you to visit. It was well worth it and very well set out and we came away with a new appreciation of this man who achieved so much in his lifetime and was loved by so many people from different backgrounds. There was a photographic display in the other room of the Visitor Centre so we took a walk around here before leaving, there were beautiful photographs of the Australian wildlife from a few local photographers. From here we drove to Bucket Brewery in South Kempsie, we had a little bit of difficulty finding it but finally drove into the car park where there were two people walking around looking like they were setting up for the day. We hopped out of the car but were unsure if they were open or not so we enquired and were told they certainly were and we were invited inside. We walked in and Robb found a seat at a table that was already occupied and I went up to order our drinks. I had a fancy for a tasting paddle and chose four drinks that suited our palette and after paying took them back to try. We introduced ourselves to the other person at the table who we discovered had been at a training sessions all day for the RFS the NSW equivalent of the CFA so it was easy for Robb, and as we discovered, Paul, to have an enjoyable discussion for the next hour or so. It was a very pleasant experience with the manager of the brewery giving us a list of things to do while here and in the end Robb and Paul swapping caps from the RFS and the CFA. This is one of the best aspects of travelling around, the people you meet and the amazing experiences you have. We drove from here around to the footbridge to take a look and took a few photos.
Today our plan was to take the Tourist Drive to Crescent Head and find somewhere to have breakfast before following the tourist circuit back to Kempsey. Unfortunately when we arrived in Crescent Head it was so busy everywhere there wasn't any chance we would find a table at any of the cafes for breakfast. We found a parking spot at the Bakery and went in to order a coffee thinking we might find somewhere else in our travels for brunch, I must say it was an excellent coffee so it wasn't a complete waste. We drove from here around to the beach, I don't know anything about surfing so I had never heard of Crescent Head but this would have to be the busiest surfing beach I have ever seen, there would have been at least 100 people out in the water waiting to catch a wave and others coming and going on the beach and walkways. We sat on one of the bench seats on the path with our coffees enjoying watching all the activity. From here we drove through Gladstone where we found some great old buildings and there was a market on in town and we tried to find somewhere to park here to take a look around but it started raining and the closest park we could get was a couple of kilometres away so we kept on driving. We drove on towards Hat Head, there wasn't a lot to see here so we drove back taking a short diversion to The Gap which was well worth the stop. I took a few photos here over the ocean and the dramatic rocks leading down to the ocean. We took up the Tourist Route again heading towards South West Rocks and just before we arrived we took the turn off to Smoky Cape Lighthouse where we parked and commenced the grueling walk up to the lighthouse itself. I am not joking about the walk up here, we took a couple of breaks on the way and were so thankful to make it to the top, it felt like a huge achievement to us, at times it was so steep we were bent over pulling ourselves up on the hand rail. The views when we arrived at the top were magnificent and well worth the effort, walking back down wasn't easy either and I had to hold onto the hand rail so that I didn't get a run up. We drove from here around to Trial Bay Gaol ruins which were another amazing treat for us. I had seen aerial5 photos of the ruins and wasn't expecting them to be much but they were well worth the visit and we spent a good hour and a half here wandering through the building and reading the information as we went. We still hadn't found anywhere to eat so decided to skip driving into South West Rocks and just to drive home and have lunch there, it was already 1.45pm and we weren't that far away from Kempsie, we will look for somewhere for breakfast tomorrow.
We have planned a much easier day today, hopefully starting with breakfast somewhere in Kempsey. I couldn't find anything in the information I had so as a last resort I googled - somewhere for breakfast in Kempsey - and the only place I found that was open for Easter Monday that looked good was Lou's Cafe and Restaurant on the main street, so Lou's it was. How pleasantly surprised I was when we walked into this American styled cafe with alfresco seating and two rooms of seating inside. The walls are covered with movie and music memorabilia and the booths add another dimension to the retro old America styling. I was feeling very good about this experience and when we were told to find seating I let Robb choose where he felt best. We had a wait person come around to take out order and the meals were delivered to our table. We both chose Eggs Benedict and a large flat white coffee, because, well really, this is what we always choose. The meal was good, the eggs cooked well as was the bacon, the Hollandaise sauce was the type that comes from a bottle but still good, the only objection I had was that there was avocado on the dish, my fault because I hadn't checked the menu just ordered off the top of my head, I quickly moved this over to Robb's plate, I did however appreciate that you could cut through the bread that they used as a base because quite often you have to saw through it. After breakfast we drove to Fredrickton only 7kms down the road, we just wanted to take a look around but also there was an old Cheese Factory there and supposedly we would find The Garden Bar and Kitchen open in the building where we could sit out on the deck overlooking the river and have a wine. Unfortunately it looks like this venue has closed down. From here we drove to Eungai Buffalo Farm hoping to try their cheeses and once again sit out on the deck to enjoy the view. No luck this time either but I did manage a couple of photos of their resident peacocks. We weren't left with many choices after this but one on my list was the Kempsey RSL that overlooks the bridge in town and the river, surely that will be open and thankfully it was. We registered at the desk and then walked upstairs to the bar and dining room and found a table overlooking the bridge and the river where we sat enjoying a quiet drink before moving on home. It won't hurt us to have an early day and maybe we can take the time to plan for tomorrow.
Our today was to drive to Port Macquarie to pick up a few items we needed. One was our grandsons birthday present which proved to be completely sold out everywhere. We then moved on to the other items we needed and our thoughts were after that we would do the break wall walk before returning to camp. Unfortunately by the time we had completed all out errands it was getting late so we ended up just returning to camp. We are moving on tomorrow so we planned to pack up a few items we didn't need to save time in the morning. We unpacked everything when we returned and then had lunch before starting to pack up. We are both looking forward to moving on to somewhere new tomorrow.
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