Port Macquarie, and the funny stones

After leaving the campsite in Port Stevens, we drove through Myall Lakes National Park, which was all very lovely.  Along the drive, several lakes would just appear on the side of the road, some of which were gorgeous.  We got out at one, and had a paddle, and then drove on again.  We also stopped at Boomerang beach, which was beautiful, and Elizabeth beach, which had red water!  Weird.  I'm not sure why.  Rick was surprised, and not at all unhappy to find that we drove through Booti Booti National Park (the photo says it all!).  We were going to go to 7 Mile Beach, but were told by a lady in the supermarket not to bother.  So we drove on to Forster, and sat by the water to have some lunch - it was a really pretty little town as well.  I was really liking this place.  We watched a pelican swim about a bit, and I found a statue of a large turtle attempting to jump into the water.  It was all so lovely.  And the weather, of course, was something else - belting sunshine and a bright blue sky.  Nice.

We drove on to Port Macquarie, where we checked into our campsite.  After having a look at a koala in the tree at the entrance, we headed back into the town to have a look around.  There was a breakwall at the beach that, due to a recent tradition of picking a stone and painting it, provided a very colourful backdrop to the ocean ahead.  The stones were painted with allsorts, from Irish flags and Union Jacks of fellow backpackers to 'RIP Steve Irwin' memorials.  It was unusual, but definitely very cool.

Back at the campsite, we had some dinner (we were beginning to make more use of our tiny van kitchen than any of the hostel ones), sat around chatting, and then went to bed.

Click here for the Port Macquarie photos