FRIDAY 5 MARCH     HAWKS NEST

John had to make sure he was up at a reasonable hour, in order to go to morning bowls.

I walked to the shops, bought some fresh foodstuffs and withdrew some cash. Then I walked on the beach and took some photos. It was hard walking as the sand was very soft. There were quite a few people on the beach, as today is Newcastle Show Day and thus it is a long weekend for people from those parts.

Yaccabah Headland and the sand spit that joins it to the mainland

John did not win at bowls. He’d topped up the diesel on the way back – 79cpl.

We lazed around camp after lunch as John wanted to read. I did the layout and cutting to start the first of the eight Hardanger placemats I am making for S.

I phoned J at Rubyvale. She received the ring, it has been repaired and is on its way back to our home. Also phoned a caravan park on the Sydney outskirts and booked us in for tomorrow night.

We went for a short walk on the beach. The hard going in the soft sand mitigated against a long walk.

The outlook from Hawks Nest Beach

Tea was soup, salmon cakes, fruit.

A year ago was John’s farewell dinner from his school community. I can’t believe how fast that year seems to have gone!

TUESDAY 2 MARCH    CRESCENT HEAD

We decided last night that if it was still raining, we would declare it too wet to move on.

When I woke up, it was still raining, so I decided we were definitely staying put, rolled over and had a sleep in. It was that sort of morning – wet and grey and unappealing.

Eventually, I got up and went to the office to pay for an extra day.

A local guy hires out duckboard panels to campers. On an earlier walk we had seen them all stacked up outside a house, and couldn’t quite work it out. Enterprising man, though. He came through the camp ground this morning, with a trailer full, and did a roaring trade! The tent campers next to us were customers – their whole living area is a waterhole. Serves them right for intruding into our site! We have been lucky enough to have selected a site that doesn’t form a pool.

The rain did lessen off through the day.

We drove to Kempsey to do a food stock up. Found the fruit and vegetable prices in Woolworths very expensive. I wondered if there were any competitors at all, in the town? The rain was quite light in Kempsey.

Late in the day, we went for a final walk on the beach – there was hardly any rain by then.

Tea was soup, corn cobs and fruit.

SUNDAY 28 FEBRUARY     CRESCENT HEAD

This is the last day of summer. The season has certainly been a wet one, on the NSW north coast!

I walked on the beach, before breakfast, then walked up to the shops for the Sunday paper. John slept in after another late night.

I made some salads and a plate of cold meats, for lunch.

Z and C arrived about midday – after Z had been to church.

C enjoyed being able to have a couple of beers with us – so did we! Not something he would normally have at lunchtime on a Sunday. He brought with him some oddments that he’d accumulated as prizes in his bowling days, that he thought might be of use to us – some cloths, badges, a tie pin and a bottle opener. He also brought photos to show us – of a radio cabinet that had been his and John’s parents’, that he had restored and his daughter now has. It looked lovely – he is certainly an old-style craftsman.

They seemed to enjoy the meal.

After lunch, and much talk, C drove us up to the water tower on top of Big Nobby, to look at the views, which were excellent. There were some houses on the really steep hillside, on the way up there, that had great views, too. From the crest of Big Nobby, the hill slopes down towards the sea, where the headland that is by the creek mouth is called Little Nobby.

After they left, we went for a walk out to the end of Little Nobby Headland. It was a walk with some great, dramatic views. I didn’t take the camera though, as rain was threatening again. We’d had some spells of light rain, through the day.

We decided to stay another day, as we have not really looked around the area much.

Tea was leftover salads, tinned tuna, and fruit.

SATURDAY 27 FEBRUARY     CRESCENT HEAD

Before John got up, I did my usual walk on the beach, then walked up to the shops for the Saturday papers.

I read those for a while, then walked back to the shops to do a little food shopping. It is a very expensive little supermarket, here.

Our up-close neighbours seem to be pleasant enough – could be worse, I guess.

After an early lunch , John went to bowls.

I read some more of the papers, then went walking on the beach, but not for as long as I’d have liked, because rain was coming in. The skies had turned a deep black! There was some rain.

I cooked a batch of split pea soup. We had some of that for tea, with kedgeree and fruit.

At dusk, John and I went for a beach walk, but not very far, because John’s hip was hurting.

The ti-tree oil does seem to be helping to heal my scalp sores. Strange occurrence – I am not normally allergic to much.

There is quite a lot of pub or club entertainment noise in the evenings, here.

However, once it began to rain again, after dark, the campground noise from the surfing fraternity – who are mostly in tents – quietened down, at least!

John continued his quest for perfection at the computer game, until late.

FRIDAY 26 FEBRUARY     CRESCENT HEAD

I went walking on the beach before John eventually got up. It was an enjoyable walk.

Little Nobby at Crescent Head

We had a phone message from R, thanking us for her birthday card and cheque. In an earlier phone conversation, John had asked her if she would like to come visit us and have a break by the sea, before starting back at uni. The message said she can’t do that. because she has a weekend job.

We drove into Kempsey and had lunch with Z and C. There was much talk, of family, and of our travels. They are going to Melbourne in late March, to visit N – one of the older sisters.

We ended up staying there for tea too, but went out during the afternoon and bought them a voucher for a meal for two at the local motel restaurant that is a favourite of theirs. That is a present for Z’s birthday, and for the big wedding anniversary coming up.

We did not get back to the van until nearly 11pm. Found we have new camping neighbours – surfer types – whose set up has extended well onto our site, too, to the point where it was hard to squeeze Truck in. Extremely bad manners on their part, so I made sure we were not quiet in our movement from Truck to van!

There was much background noise from the cabaret at the bowls.RSL club, until late.

I went to bed, but John was back playing his computer game until much later.