Forster NSW

We are really starting to get use to this holiday/travel thing! Every day we get to wake up and chat about what we want to do that day, sometimes we just potter along and do not much at all, but that’s the best part. Having no worries in the world, just living and experiencing day by day has been awesome. We will eventually do a post about why we think this is such a great experience to do at any age, but for now I’ll get on with our recent travels.

After South West Rocks we were on our way to catch up with fellow Troopy lovers at the Troop Carriers of Australia Summer Soiree, but before that stop we had 2 places we wanted to check out first. We did a couple of detour trips, the first being Crescent Head NSW (east of Kempsey), Zac mentioned stopping into this place, and I had never heard of it before so I wasn’t really expecting much. But WOW the view from the top of the hill is stunning, it brings you out on a cliff that overlooks 2 beaches, and even better, there is a golf course right there as well. We met a lovely couple here that told us that we HAD to check out the local bakery ‘Barnett’s’.  To date we have been mindful of our spending and haven’t eaten out at all, but who can say no to a pie (ps it was so worth it)!

Next sneaky stop on our way south was Port Macquarie, I loved the cool rocks along the break wall that people have painted on, it however was a lot more commercialised with bigger shops and not as  ….. We were running out of time so didn’t explore too much …but .

While in Port it was a great opportunity to do our 1^st shop since leaving home. Our new friends from SW Rocks Jules and Mike told us if we wanted to shop on the cheap we had to do it at Aldi, the best value for money they had found. It also doubled as a one stop shop, in NSW they have Aldi Liquor which has cheap drinks so we were keen on that.  All up our weeks food and alcohol came to $132!

 

Short drive from Port we arrived at Swans Crossing Camping Ground for the Troopy catch up (ps FREE CAMP). Time to set up and unpack our groceries and the caravan fridge doesn’t work, Aaahh. We thought maybe the intense road we had travelled here did something to it (last 10km to the camp was gravel), so with an hour of trying to fix it we gave up, put what we could in the Waeco fridge and sat around the fire.  The next day we went with some fellow troopy friends for a drive up to the Comboyne Rock Lookout, most went the extreme 4wd track but we took the easy track as we still had too much stored on our roof (I still needed to get out and lock in the hubs). All in all, a lovely stop off to meet some new people, but our stay was short to make it further south to Forster, NSW.

We tried to get back to see family of Zac’s at their holiday house in Forster but we had just missed them, however we are so very lucky, they were kind enough to let us back into their driveway and stay for a few days. This worked perfectly as their house is only one street away from everything, so it was time to get our dusty bikes down to explore. There is so much to see in Forster, and most that is so close as well, we rode our bikes everywhere and only drove the car when I got too stuffed from riding…haha. Our favourite location that we have checked out here is Bennetts head lookout, and from there we spotted a secluded water hole to swim in, which we did on our way back.

We also checked out Lakeside Tavern, Seven Mile Beach, Tuncurry Rock pools and the massive Wallis Lake (it is 25km long and 9km wide), there is a great view of this at the Great Lakes Sailing Club. And if you are staying around the area, and aren’t as lucky as us you could stay for free (if you are sneaky) behind the sailing club or down the road at The Ruins Campground  which is part of the Booti Booti National Park (this is our pick for best budget camp in Forster). Oh and there was also some good snorkeling at what they call ‘The Tanks’ (just south of Pebbly Beach).

Since we left off on our adventure with not as much preparation as other for a trip like this, we have had a few hiccups. We have to remember that this stuff happens, especially in the 1^st couple of weeks as we use everything properly for the first time, haha. Here are some of the hurdles we have jumped over so far, hopefully not too many more, but will take it with a grain of salt if they do.

• New Troopy Battery needed
• Wiring for the lights in the Caravan need replacing, a torch is our best friend atm.
• Caravan fridge stopped working, now magically works again.
• Radiator had a small leak, fixed current one (Zac pulled it out in the car park of a radiator shop so they could repair it), now better than new!

We cannot thank Zac’s Family Alex, Biddy and Heath, for letting us stay here, the hot showers were fabulous.

Holly xx

 

Camp Location:  Family Holiday House

Cost = FREE #winning

 Travelled From: Swans Crossing Campground, NSW

Distance Travelled:  93 kilometres

Next Stop: Anna Bay, NSW