A Day in Port Macquarie

We left Sydney Friday afternoon following a delicious lunch at the coffee shop on the wharf just below Andy's apartment. Sydney is large; it took us about an hour and a half just to get to the end of the suburbs. It was a nice drive that took us about five hours.

Arriving in Port Macquarie, a lovely resort town, we found our hotel and went out to a grocery to pick up a few items for a light supper in our room.

Saturday morning we headed to the downtown area on the wharf, full of restaurants and touristy shops, with lots of pedestrian-friendly streets. We had breakfast in a pancake house, then went to the wharf where several companies have cruise offices. We signed up for an afternoon tea river "eco" cruise, then found a nearby barber shop where Dan could have a haircut.

The cruise was mostly enjoyable, but the only "eco" thing about it was when the pilot pointed out an eagle (I think, I could barely hear him) sitting on the top of the tree. The river banks were both covered with huge, often garish, homes situated about one foot apart. They all had concrete pathways going into the water for launching their boats. Unfortunately, about a half hour before the end of the two-hour cruise, it began to rain. By the time we got back, it was pouring quite hard. We dashed the best we could to our car and came back to the hotel to dry out.

When we went back downtown for dinner, we had hoped to go to a Thai restaurant, but it was fully booked. So we crossed the street to a pub and had a decent dinner anyway. Today we head further north to Mullumbimby, where our friend Marti lives.

Chinese junk used for some river cruises

The boat we went on

McMansions

Beautiful storm clouds