The scenic route to Coffs Harbour

We take the scenic route, as ever, via Maclean, resplendent with a different Tartan painted onto the bottom of each of the telegraph poles. It’s a one horse town, full of touristy shops and cafes, all of which are closed (except for a fish and chip shop) as it’s now 1pm on a Saturday afternoon and they all close at midday. Bizarre. Own touristy shop in touristy town and close on the busiest day of the week?

Next stop, Red Rock. Formally an aboriginal settlement and the site of lots of bloodshed, it’s now just a very beautiful estuary with a huge sandbank in the middle and a wooden boardwalk through the wetlands all along the edge. The kids were delighted to notice loads of crabs which have one overly large, bright red or blue claw, all scuttling along the edge. I wasn’t so delighted to notice that the mossies were starting to attack as this damp, grassy area obviously made perfect breeding grounds. Harley decides he wants to go for a swim which necessitates Will negotiating a very slippery and muddy riverbank with Harley in one arm and Ruby and I trekking back with all their clothes and shoes. Will’s so enamoured by the place that he wants to stay the night. What’s here apart from the river? A small park with a BBQ area and a camping site. Shop? No. Anywhere to eat? No. Does this make Will change his mind? No. Impractical as ever he insists we don’t worry about all of that and just ask at the camp site if they have a spare cabin. I insist we carry on to Coffs Harbour before it gets dark and everything closes. So you can imagine my delight when we arrive just half an hour later and I manage to secure us a large 3 bed, 4 ½ star apartment (yes, they do have half stars here) for the night, right opposite a supermarket and next to half a dozen restaurants. Karen 1, Will 0. Unfortunately, we have to move into our pre-booked accommodation the next morning which turns out to be not quite so nice. A motel next to the motorway, for the next 4nights, with a restaurant called Basil’s and a conference room called Manuel’s. You get the picture. Oh well, at least we’re staying right next door to…The Big Banana. Da da da!!