FRIDAY 29 JANUARY     EVANS HEAD

We woke up to some blue sky and balmy breezes. There are still some clouds, but it may be fine for much of the day.

After breakfast, we went for a short walk along the beach. To get to it, we just have to walk down the road past our site, then past the Surf Lifesaving Club and we are on the beach. There is an excellent expanse of non-stop sand, stretching away for kms into the distance to the north. 4WD vehicles are allowed to drive on the beach, north of the town’s edge – so the sand is fairly firm.

In the other direction, the beach only goes for a short way, before it ends against a breakwall that is one of two at the entrance to the Evans River. I presume they are there to stop sand washing in and blocking the river mouth. They don’t go out all that far – maybe fifty metres? It is all very pleasant.

As we walked back to the van, noticed that there is a sort of dish drain that runs through the park and sort of cuts it in half. We crossed it on a little bridge yesterday, but it didn’t really register then. It is a scooped out hollow – grass covered now – that I guess could carry quite a bit of water in heavy rain.

After lunch, John went to bowls. He is actually able to walk there!

I went exploring around the shops to see what is there. Answer – not many, but the basics are covered. Then I did a proper long walk along the beach, for a couple of hours. There were enough people around, at different points, for me to feel quite secure doing this.

John was happy enough with his bowling, even though he played in a losing team. It is a big club.

Tea was soup – from a tin. John had reheated steak and kidney. I had some veggies and salad.

Phoned K to let him know all was well. John phoned daughter R. She is waiting to hear if she got into the course at Melbourne Uni that she wants to do. There is much demand for it, and time is running out.