The Entrance - 5th August

We caught the bus and were met in Newcastle by Suzanne's dad's old school friend Dave, who took us about an hour south to his place at 'The Entrance', which is a small town nestled between the ocean and a huge lake.

Dave, his wife Kay and their dog Molly made us feel very welcome. They have a spacious open-plan house that they designed themselves.Dave is very knowledgeable about the area and was able to pass on facts on just about everything, so he's a great tour guide!We walked by the coast and lake and Dave told us of some funny stories about the childhood days of the wayward Randall gang in Beulah Hill (Streatham, UK) pig farm.Dave is a volunteer for the coastal patrol on the lake, so he had plenty of stories about that too.After lunch we walked up to the Lighthouse that was built in 1903 and then on to Norah Head, where we spotted some Whales heading north.On to Crackerneck lookout, where there were fantastic views out to sea, to the town below and further out to the lighthouse.We then went down to the lake to watch the sunset and see the pelicans waddling around.In the evening we headed in to town for dinner at the local RSL club.

We can really feel a change in the weather, as it is getting a lot colder the further south we travel.

6th August

Dave and Kay took us for a trip into the HunterValley for a bit of wine and cheese tasting. (This trip is hell!)The scenery on-route was fantastic. We travelled through green valleys and forests, and then on to the vineyards that run for miles.We stopped off at an old disused coal mine, which ceased working in the 1950's. We visited a number of vineyards for some tasting and managed to sip and nibble our way through the afternoon quite easily (…and of course, we didn't once use the spittoon!).Tasted some good grog, so we made a few purchases to polish off when we got home and also to give Dave (the designated driver) a chance to taste some too.