So, we left the fabulous Northern NSW Coast line behind us and travelled south giving Crescent Head a miss as the winds and weather wasn't right to surf.

Traveling south on the Pacific Highway was a real eye-opener. The massive roadworks going on, for miles and miles and miles.   In talking to one of the guys in Corindi, working on one part of the upgrade, he said the completion is scheduled for the end of 2020. Each upgrade section has its own cement plant and gravel plant crushing and grading all the gravel. New roads are being cut through hills, numerous new overpasses, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, bridges, bridges and more bridges with kilometres of new roads in various stages of (in)completion. The new roads which have opened, mostly in the northern stretch of the highway, are superb.

On to Bonny Hills which was a pretty little place, still on the Coast, but decided to continue on to Forster which is in the Great Lakes region on the mid –northern NSW coast. Plenty to do here and in her twin town of Tuncurry.  

What a fantastic place !    The bridge over the estuary to Wallis Lake, from Tuncurry to Forster, is a great sight. Well maintained concrete bridge built in 1959. Dare I say it, but Bill can remember family holidays, for some years, as a boy when the punt was the only way to cross the span of water.

With sparkling turquoise waters, deepening to dark blue and pure white sand, this area is so pristine.   Well, it has to be – Lake Wallis, one of the big 3 lakes, is home to some serious oyster farms.   You can't grow these big, plump and creamy Sydney Rock Oysters in crap water. They are the biggest rock oysters we have seen in a very long time, the Sunshine Coast version being a lot smaller.

On Saturday we took the kayaks down to the lake and paddled around for a while, checking out where we could fish the next day. We drove down the Coast to Cellito beach and sandbar. A little slice of heaven down a dirt road and then a 400 metre stroll on the boardwalk to a   surprising beach. We headed back to Forster but stopped in at Blueys and Boomerang beaches, set side-by-side.   Great surf spot,like Cellito, with a headland on the northern side affording great protection from winds.   Bill wants to holiday here – forever I think.   What a great spot with many amenities and pristine beaches also great for swimming.

The weather is absolutely fabulous, but hot. Many beers and G & T consumption going on. We walked everywhere checking out the beaches and ended up swimming at Tuncurry, where they have a perfect beach area netted off from sharks and huge ocean waves. Awesome! The caravan park sites are fairly close and there were only 5 of the 160 van sites left when we checked in so it was pretty chocka.