A dingo ate my… croc!

No kidding, this is a true story. We were having our last night at Point Plommer. There are a few signs up about dingoes being a bit of a pest around the place. And so were talking to the guys camped next to us who come there every year and they were saying that usually the dingoes are quite bad. Like, walking up and down the main drag in packs at night bad. But they were commenting that they didn’t seem to be around. Anyway, late that night we woke up to hear some howling in the bush around us. And the next morning we got up and started packing, and about 6 hours into the 8 hour packing ordeal (Ok, I exaggerate for effect, but it was hot and the kids were whining and it seemed to go on for hours) we discovered that my croc (rubber shoe for those not in the ‘know’) was all chewed up, beyond repair, and the other one had completely gone. And a little later on we discovered that a thong was missing too (the child footwear variety, not Tracy’s undergarment of choice). So, if you are ever wondering around the bush at Point Plommer, and find a half buried light tan croc, it belongs to me.

From Plommer we made our way into Port Macquarie. We were there pretty early, as the drive was just over an hour. On the way we listened to one of the Roald Dahl stories we have on CD – The Twits. That purchase was gold. Anyway, arriving in town (and I use that word loosely here) we headed to the banks to get our new replacement cards. Being down to $12 at that point meant that it was a timely acquisition – and that the kids could have Happy Meals for lunch. Our caravan park in Port was OK, all there, but pretty hot with little shade.

The set up was just hot and tiring, but then they all seem to be. The park was on the river, but not great frontage, and it was mostly onsite cabins (Bylsma and Murphy camping – for those who know them.) The next day we headed into town for a coffee with the kids and a bit of a shop. Actually, I am not sure if that is true… the days in Port seem to blur into each other a bit. A couple of days we went into town for coffee, a couple of days we did some shopping. One day we took the kids into town to the movies to see “Bolt” which was pretty good as far as kids movies go – but not a classic. We also went out one evening for a meal together, to the restaurant attached to another caravan park. We know where we are staying next time we are in Port.

One morning we took a trip out to Wauchape (and if anyone knows how to pronounce that – please end and argument my wife and I are having) to visit Timbertown – which recreates a timber town from the 1880’s. Its pretty well done. Cheap to get into, and fills up and few hours. The kids had a good time, ringing the bells for the church and school, watching the Bullock display, and going for a horse and carriage ride.

Port was also a good chance to catch up on some necessary repairs and purchases. We got ourselves another large tarp and some extra poles- this now gives us much more shaded area and is coming in very handy already. We also got the wiring in the car fixed, cheaply and quickly as well. We also got some advice on how to fix the outisde fridge ourselves, by turning it upside down for 12 hours and then running it. Brilliant – works better than it ever has.

All in all, Port was a bit of a frustrating stay. The weather was hot and sticky a lot of the time, except one day was cold, and we had thunderstorms. We didn’t go to the beach at all, and we were kind of glad to be heading on our way.

And that we did yesterday, packing up and continuing on our trek south. Currently we are at Myall shores Eco Point, in the Myall Lakes National Park. This place is pretty cool. We are camped right on the lake, which is massive. It is pretty quiet, although the French family down the way is making a bit of noise tonight. There are mostly villas/cabins here, with a smallish camping area. The place has a rustic feel to it (read ‘run down and ill cared for’) but we think that is partly due to the fact that they have just slowed down after the summer holidays and the staff really can’t be bothered to put in much effort. Anyway, the lake gave us good opportunity to blow up the little boat today and go for a paddle. We visited the ‘beach’ today, about 500 meters along the shore. Kezia and I paddled there, while the others walked. They also have a pool, which we made use of this afternoon.

This place has also got the array of wildlife. We got hammered by mosquitoes last night as we were finishing dinner, which prompted the abandonment of environmentally friendly, chemical free mosquito repellant for something that actually works. But on a better note we have had possums running around, several Lace Monitors of varying sizes. Fairy Wrens. Kookaburras. Pelicans. Ducks. Black Swans. And even as I was waiting for Tracy to check this for spelling and grammatical accuracy (read ‘editing for historical accuracy and removing anything embarrassing’) an owl (big and white – that’s all I got until I get the little bird book out) swooped in and out. Still haven’t seen a snake yet, but plenty of time to go.

Tomorrow we think we will head up to Forster for the day and have a look around there. The plan, at this stage is to leave here on Monday, and travel to the central coast to stay with Tracy’s uncle and aunt, before flying off to NZ on Tuesday for a week.

Advertisement