Surf, finally!

Today we managed to actually get up before 8!  Actually, the birds were going crazy at 5:00am so we really didn't have much choice.  There are all sorts of noisy birds around here but it is actually kind of funny and different.

We went to the only place in town that was open for breakfast.  Side note:  we are actually having difficulty figuring out how things work in Australia.  There are places that serve breakfast that don't open till 10am.  There are places that serve dinner that close at 5p.  You would think that all the shops in the tourist towns would be open a little later but so far, everything seems to close up right at 5 or 6.  Most unusual and hard for us to plan our meals.  The restaurant owner was very friendly and jovial.  The breakfast was good but nothing special.  However, the coffee was excellent.

After brekky we got on the road and started driving towards our first stop, Crescent Head.  AM had read in the guidebook that Crescent Head "always has surf" so we hope it's right.  Crescent Head was off the main highway and we missed a couple of turns so it took us a little longer than necessary to get there.  When we finally arrived, it was around 11am and we went straight to the beach to verify the guidebook's statement.  Yes!  There was surf!  Ok, at two to three feet it was not the biggest, but at least it was clean and surfable.  As an added bonus, the water was warm and clear.

Crescent Head

The caravan park right near the beach had board rentals but not much selection.   Bernard had to settle for a 7'8" funboard but it was better than the 10' foamies.  We changed in the carpark and walked down to the beach.  We spent about two and a half hours at the beach but knew we had to get back on the road soon so we rinsed off and got some lunch.  Bernard was happy that he got to catch a few waves at least and it was nice to not have to wear a wetsuit.

...with waves!

We got back on the road and decided that we did not want to drive all the way to Newcastle today.  We looked at the map and found Forster/Tuncurry which was the midpoint.  As we were driving we actually completely forgot about stopping at Port Macquarie.  Hopefully, we didn't miss anything!

When we arrived at Forster, we immediately liked what we saw.  The town is a typical beach town but not too built up and touristy.  The area looks like there is a lot to do and kind of unique because there is a huge lake right next to the beach.  It probably didn't hurt that it was 29C (84F) and sunny when we drove in and the water was crystal clear and blue.

There was a motel right near the beach and lake and walking distance to everything, and we were able to get the last room available.  We have already decided that we will stay another day.

In keeping with the previous side note, we had some difficulty finding an open restaurant as it was around 8p by the time we got around to eating.  Our options were: 1 takeout seafood, 1 chinese restaurant that had no seating available, 1 australian-chinese (?!) restaurant that looked sketchy, and one pricey Italian restaurant.  Of course, we walked around the entire town before settling on the Italian restaurant which was actually right next door to our motel.

Australian - Chinese Restaurant Menu (with all of three Australian meals)

The food ended up being really tasty. AM had the blue crab and penne special, which was in a spicy marinara sauce, and a glass of local Shiraz ... muy delicioso! Bernard had the grilled king fish in a lemon butter sauce with potatoes. After we finished dinner, we walked back into town to a gelato shop we eyed up earlier. It was a delicious end to our evening :-)

Tomorrow we stay in Forster/Tuncurry and see what else the area has to offer.