No it's not cod, or our new favourite, barramundi… the catch of the day today is, well, us…

Confused? We were a too…

The day started with a beautiful drive from the Hunter Valley, past typical Aussie bungalows (complete with rocking chairs on the verandas). After a couple of hours we arrived in the seaside town of Port Stephens - just a little North of Syndey, it's a popular place for people from the city to come on holiday.

We first drove to a beautiful viewpoint on top of a hill just outside the main town - it was just incredible. We could see the gorgeous beaches, as well as the bush further inland, beneath us. We just could wait to head down the road to explore it. Although we didn't plan to stay too long in Port Stephens, hoping to get to Port Macquarie by the end of the day, something told us we might be charmed into staying the night..

Once at the harbour we wasted no time, though, in booking on to a dolphin watching cruise. Before it departed we had just enough time to take a stroll along the beach in the sun.

Back at the harbour we boarded the boat with a handful of Chinese tourists, and a couple from Sydney. It was nice that it was so quiet, so we didn't have to jostle for a good view when we spotted our first dolphins within a few minutes. Our guide told us the dolphins were sleeping as they glided in and out of the water beside us. Apparently when dolphins are catching forty winks, they keep half of their brains alert to predators while the other half is snoozing… (We know you love our random facts!)

As the boat carried on following the pod we were asked if we wanted to get into the water and go boom netting. Neither of us had heard of boom netting, but we agreed to give it a go. None of the Chinese tourists were keen, so it was just us and the Aussie couple. A large net was lowered into the water from the side of the boat, which we were to climb into. It seemed a bit odd, just bobbing around in this really uncomfortable net, but it was pretty cool when the dolphins came to swim alongside us…

But then the boat started moving as the guide searched for more dolphins. We were being dragged along by the boat; unable to move with the strength of the water pushing against us… It was a very strange and odd thing to do, but it was fun all the same. And we seemed to provide some amusing entertainment for the Chinese tourists who photographed us the whole time (they seemed more keen on us than the dolphins!)

Back on dry land we went for lunch at a fish and chip shop and half expected the menu to read: Fish of the day - Bret and Natalie. The fish we chose was delicious though. After that we decided to take a walk to the lighthouse at the other end of the harbour. When we got there, all hot and sweaty, we found out the lighthouse doesn't really exist anymore. Great!

Instead, though, there is a command post run by volunteers. The lovely men noticed our disappointment and invited us into the building and showed us the computers and equipment they use to help guide in ships.

By now it was clear we were not going to leave Port Stephens tonight - we just needed somewhere to stay. It's not exactly clear where we can park in Australia overnight. Officially it's illegal to park in any old car park, but everyone seems to tell us it's OK to park anywhere for just one night. Still pondering where we should bed down for the night, we thought we should take a short drive to some nearby sand dunes...

There we found a couple setting up their van for the night, so we thought why not do the same. There was a public toilet on the beach that opened until nine so we'd only need to keep our legs crossed until sunrise when it would open again, and there was a cold shower too. So after a lovely sunset stroll along the beach, we cooked a chorizo omelette-type thing on the gas stove right there in the carpark - our free home for the night. People would pay good money to have a view like the one we're enjoying right now… Oh, how we love our campervan!