Hi everyone : )

We had a big storm the night before we left Walcha (pronounced 'Wolka') and packed up a wet camper trailer tent before heading East to Apsley Falls. It's an incredible waterfall which plummets down huge 65 metre tall cliffs of granite and sandstone. From there we called into the Tia Falls. A 650 metre walk took us to the viewing platform. Water cascades down several teirs of rock, just as steep as the Apsley Falls...a beautiful area. Back onto the highway, and we were on our way to the Werrikimbe National Park. We set up camp at Moorabank Campground, set amongst the bush, with a small creek winding its way past our camp. As we set up camp we discovered leeches on the grass, then climbing onto our boots, and up the tent walls....arghhh!!! No use complaining...we'd no doubt have to deal with a lot worse up north. It was a lovely place (and the leeches didn't annoy us too much) and we had kangaroos hanging around during the day. We spent a few nights there, before heading to a different camp area called 'Brushy Mountain'. Whilst camped here we did a beautiful 3km walk through the rainforest. We stayed two nights before agreeing that it was too damn cold overnight (we were again at an altitude of around 1100m) and decided it was time to head to the coast.

We spent one night at North Haven, just south of Port Macquarie on the NSW coast. The next day we called into the Laurieton Market where we stocked up on some vegetables, and a bag full of fresh prawns for lunch...mmm...prawwnnns....tasty little critters!

We are now camped at Stuarts Point, north of Port Macquarie, on the banks of an estuary within a few metres of the waters edge....Paul has been fishing from our campsite, and so far has the tally of: 7 bream, 1 whiting, 2 diamond fish,1 flathead, a mullet and a garfish, and the worlds smallest rock cod...literally 2 inches long. We've eaten 2 bream, and there's a flathead in the fridge still which is still deciding if it would like to be cooked in lemon, or just butter. We've done a few walks along the beautiful beach which is accessed by walking across a footbridge over the estuary/inlet, then over a few hundred metres of land. So far we've had a mix of good and bad weather. A fair bit of wind has tested our patience, but overall we're not complaining too much...unfortunately my Birthday was a rainy old day...but we got out and about anyway by heading off to South West Rocks. The beaches there are beautiful, as are nearly all on the East Coast I guess. We did the touristy thing and went to the old Trial Bay Gaol, which was built in 1886. If you get a chance to go there, it is worth it. The old buildings, or now ruins, are made of granite. You can walk into the old cells, and climb the stairs to the guards' tower for a good view of the coast. We enjoyed a nice lunch at a close by cafe, then drove to the Smokey Bay Lighthouse where we walked up the extremely steep path up to the lighthouse....that's how you walk off your lunch!!! We have discovered that we're a lot fitter now than when we left Traralgon...a lot. We had a Gelato in South West Rocks on the way back through to Stuarts Point, sitting in the car while we ate it...bloody rain! I don't remember ordering a grey, raining day...nevermind. We had a good day none the less. Hopefully the weather will clear up a bit tomorrow....