Day - 57. Port Macquarie (8)

Sadly this is our last day in Port Macquarie.  We took a walk along the full length of Shelly Beach and back, leaving our footprints in the sand where they should stay until the tide comes in.  There were many surfers and sun bakers on the beach, so one can't help but wonder why they weren't at work.

There are six beaches very close to the town of Port Macquarie.  This is one of them but not the longest.

This is the end of Shelly Beach where we walked the full length (about 1km each way).

Day - 56. Port Macquarie (7)

We took a look at a very old local house, known as Roto House, which was like a step back in time.  It was built by John Flynn in 1891, and has 11 rooms.  It is constructed of local red mahogany, and the Flynn family lived there until 1979.  The house is decorated as it would have been a very long time ago, and included hand painted china, family photographs, and even a butter churn and a set of bellows.  The property is now maintained by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, which receives much help from enthusiastic volunteers.

Nearby is the koala hospital, which receives about 250 injured or ill koalas each year.  The small staff and volunteers are doing a fantastic job treating the animals, and running the hospital with no government finance.  Their funding comes from donations, gifts, sale of items from the small shop, and generous assistance from wealthier people who have a keen interest in the welfare of koalas.  A male koala can live for about 20 years if he has sufficient food and does not succumb to illness or predators (dogs, foxes, and dingoes).  It takes about one year for a newborn koala to grow big enough to suckle efficiently in the pouch, but cannot ride on mum's back until much older. The gestation period for a koala is 35 days and after birth the tiny new born instinctively reaches the pouch.

This hospital is a very important hub for people to call if they see a koala injured or in trouble.  It is a wonderful example of what donors and volunteers can do to assist wildlife.

Roto House, Port Macquarie.

Koala Hospital, Port Macquarie.

A volunteer feeding a blind male koala a mixture of Soy milk with an eye dropper.  He is fed this mixture twice each day.

This one has only three legs and one eye after being hit by a car.  She had a baby on her back, which needed to be separated to give mum a chance to have her rear leg amputated and then recover.  She will not be able to be released because of her vulnerability, but she is content in the location of the hospital.

Most of these koalas will spend the rest of their lives here as they cannot defend themselves from the predators in the wild.

The three legged one again.

Fresh eucalyptus leaves ara harvested each day and fed to the koalas.

Koalas sleep 20 hours each day and 4 hours eating.

Most have conjunctivitis and are partially blind or have chlamydia. ( A bacterial infection which is serious for the koalas)

Day - 55. Port Macquarie (6)

Ricardoes is one of our favourite places, where you can be given a bucket and scissors to harvest your own ripe, sweet strawberries.  They are grown hydroponically in very long hothouses with 10 rows in each.  There are four of these long hothouses, which are alternated by the grower for the pickers.

The same farm also produces delicious fresh tomatoes.

There is a small cafe, and a very large range of provisions made on site such as jams, chutneys, pickles, sauces, oils, honey, as well as fresh vegetables and eggs.

Ricardoes is located only about 10km out of Port Douglas.

Picking strawberries at Ricardoes.  You can see in the photograph how long the hothouse is, and also the white hydroponic pipes and clusters of strawberries.

Day - 54. Port Macquarie (5)

We took a drive to the Sea Acres Rainforest today, and walked along the elevated boardwalk through the trees and undergrowth.  Signage markers were present along the way, identifying various examples of the huge range of plants.  A recent serious storm has damaged the area and blown down a few of the extremely large trees with their attached vines.  The tree ferns (elk horns and birds' nests) were extremely high and HUGE.  Sometimes they become so heavy that they fall off the tree to the ground.

We were warned to be careful when holding the handrails, because there are numerous jumping ants which can give a very painful bite.

After the rainforest we drove to Tacking Point Lighthouse and a view of the beautiful sandy beach there.

A walk through the Sea Acres Rainforest was a pleasant experience today.

The elevated boardwalk and signage was very well done.

Even a place to take a rest under the canopy of the forest!!

The bird life in this relatively small area of native rainforest is diverse.

All within a few hundred metres of the ocean and only 10 kms from Port Macquarie.  This is Shelly Beach.

Day - 53. Port Macquarie (4)

The Uniting Church holds a market once a month, which was today.  We visited just for fun, enjoyed the church band playing, and ended up buying two (cheap) canvases to grace our walls at home.  Also a $4 maxi-skirt which may not fit.  In any case we have made donations to benefit the church.

Mid afternoon we took a walk through the caravan park and along the rock wall.  It was very windy and cool, but refreshing to be in the outdoors.

Scattered throughout the town are MANY koala statues, each about 1m tall.  All have been attractively painted and decorated, so perhaps there is some kind of competition for "best koala" in Port Macquarie.

The church band playing at the market today.

The bagpiper and the band playing a Scottish number.

One of the many decorated "koala statues".

The rooftop of our building has a hot tub, BBQ and deck furniture.

View of the caravan park looking across the breakwater to another sandy beach.

Day - 52. Port Macquarie (3)

Drove out to Timbertown near Wauchope which is about 20 km inland from Port Macquarie today.  The purpose was to visit the historic timber settlement as it was in colonial days.

Little has changed since it was a working logging town, although the buildings are now very old and tired.  It was interesting to watch a demonstration of a bullock team going through its routine of dragging logs out of the forest and pulling the timber jinker around as was done in days gone past.

A tour of the settlement included carpenters' workshops, a blacksmith's shop, fire station, living quarters, printing press, movie theatre, steam engine to haul logs, a working sawmill, hotel, school and many items of equipment from the past.

Then we went to the RSL at Wauchope for lunch.  The same people were still sitting at the poker machines, same people slouching at the bar, and a room full of women were yelling out "bingo" every so often.  Nothing much has changed since our last visit several years ago.

The sawmill settlement at Timbertown just outside Wauchope.

The bullock team getting ready for the demonstration.

The bullock train leader knew each bullock by name and they obeyed his commands extremely well.

The tiny school where 10 children could be taught at the settlement.  The hitching rail was for the kids who rode their horses to school each day.

Logs being sawn with a 3 bladed saw driven by steam.

A circular saw used to cut the timber into usable sizes for house building.

The fire station.

The blacksmith making anything including shovels, crowbars, barb wire, horse shoes or clothes lines.

The steam locomotive used to drag the logs into the sawmill.

Day - 51. Port Macquarie (2)

Port Macquarie was a penal settlement which was established in 1821.  It is named after the Governor of NSW, Lachlan Macquarie.  The older buildings were built by those convicts.  Australia's 5th oldest church is located here and still in use.  

The area is renowned for its oyster beds, seafood, fishing and boating.  

We walked along the marina today, and visited a shopping centre for dinner supplies.  By using our own kitchen and eating at "home" we save many $.  Tonight was lobster tails cooked in garlic, lemon juice and butter, plus vegetables.

Not far from the marina we saw a pod of dolphins frolicking in the water.

School sport activities included kayaking today.  The teacher was drenched by the students splashing him - same tricks by teenagers as in all schools !!!

This was the plane that could have taken us high above Port Macquarie.  Next time maybe !

The rock wall along the river at the caravan park.  Painted and decorated.

Many beaches in and around Port Macquarie.

This is where we are staying, on the top floor with the corner Windows.  It is a good location near the beaches, shops and restaurants.