Newcastle -> Port Macquerie -> Coff's Harbour

Our last day in Sydney, we picked up a rental car and drove to Newcastle to stay with a couch surfing host there. His name was John and he was Canadian! Back in Canada he had been in the Canadian Air Force and here in Australia, he ran the flight simulation program for the Australian Air Force.

He ate dinner with us and then took us on a walking tour of the coastal area that he lived in. It was a wonderful walk down to their lighthouse and thru the beaches and harbour area. We met up with his girlfriend and went to get some drinks all together. 

The next day, Don and I did another coastal walk and saw these very strange jellyfish that we later learned were Portuguese Man-of-War. Yikes.

After staying in Newcastle for two nights, we headed to Port Macquarie, where I was very eager to see the Koala Hospital! It was absolutely amazing. We learned all about some of the diseases and injuries that koalas get and what places like this hospital are doing to help them.

Next stop: Coff's Harbour. The weather was a bit lousy while we were there but we went to the Botanical Gardens, took a nap on their main beach, had drinks at their only decent bar, and went to a cartoon museum before heading on our way.

It was very easy to see the different layers of rock...clearly defined

Don's new car!

Don is vertically challenged from the waist up, otherwise known as having a short torso

A random bird in Port Macquarie...love finding these gem's in our photo folder

A koala we met at the Koala Hospital in Port Macquarie

Did you know koalas sleep 18-20 hours a day because the eucalyptus leaves they eat have so little nutritional value that their bodies don't have the strength to do much of anything but sleep and eat.   

There were about 50 of these giant koalas all over the town. Each koala had a different theme...scroll down for a few more photos like this.

Oh, hello

This is a pretty good looking yogurt parfait if I do say so myself. Fruit is in season in Australia and it's amazing! Notice the fresh mint leaves on top!?

V-Wall on the way to Coff's Harbour...most of the rocks have been painted along this whole walkway

Don is famous in Australia. Don is Don. Don is good. Shaved leg ham?! 

Some of the beautiful flowers at the Coff's Harbour Botanical Gardens

If you look really closely, you can see me on the red bridge!

Went to a cartoon museum in Coff's Harbour where I proceeded to read an entire volume of Calvin and Hobbes...my version of a summer day doing nothing : success.

South Island Recap

Here's a quick recap of our travelings through the South Island of New Zealand...lots of kilometres and lots of hours driving but definitely the most beautiful holiday we've ever taken...

"Where we're going, we don't need roads", A visit to the Southward Car Museum

Hi folks, now for a post from Don. For a change of pace I stopped by the Southward car museum on our way to Wellington, which houses the largest collection of cars in the southern hemisphere. Some new, some old, some just plain strange, the trip did not disappoint. With a whole floor of vintage bicycles and motorcycles, and a basement of rare and unusual (see the white bubble car) 4-wheeled sorts, this was the nicest collection of vehicles I have ever seen. Highlights of the trip included the DeLorean (obviously), gangster Mickey Cohen's bullet proof 1950 Cadillac (complete with bullet holes), and the bright yellow Ariel (more-so the photo of Jeremy Clarkson's face next to it, look close).

Vintage Dodge with fully custom brass body and snakes

Still not sure what this is...

1950 Caddy, armor plated, bullet proof windows

Ariel Atom alongside Jeremy Clarkson.