We spent our Australia Day Long Weekend in Port Macquarie, on the North Coast of NSW. It's about a 3.5 hour drive so not too bad but just long enough to test the patience of a 5 year old (Mr E slept most of the drive).
The
last time we ventured this way, Miss E was 2 and I was expecting with Eden. We were excited to make the most of our long weekend… and we did!
Day 1: Laurieton Seafoods/ hotel swim/ Bonny Hills Hotel
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| We love hotels! |
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| Bonsai! |
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Chasing the Golden Schnitzel at Bonny Hills Hotel.
2012 - schnitzel bigger than your plate
2014 - "You done been shrunk" - Vector {Despicable Me} |
Day 2: Billabong Koala Wildlife Park/ Lake Cathie
We had a fantastic morning at the
Billabong Koala Wildlife Park. I love finding these small wildlife parks/ zoos that are run well (nice enclosures), not busy (so important!) and have a good selection of animals.
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| Patting the koalas |
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| Black Handed Spider Monkeys |
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| "Shrek" - 4.6m croc |
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| Getting up close & personal with a 'roo |
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| The Incredible "Bulk" (the wombat) |
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| The Red Panda |
After the wildlife park, we spent the afternoon at Lake Cathie and evening with friends (Happy birthday Heidi!).
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| Boat rides! {love how shallow the water is} |
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| Post-swim movie |
Day 3: Australia Day: Lighthouse Beach/ Timbertown/ The Road Less Travelled
Happy Australia Day! It's my 1st as an Australian citizen.
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| Australia Day 1918 |
Today, we headed to Lighthouse Beach first thing to ride the camels. Unfortunately the camels were sick and went home shortly after we arrived. Eden was the most disappointed.
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| The Lighthouse |
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| On top of the hill / sand sliding? |
Next stop: A time machine trip to
Timbertown! Remember those special episodes of The Brady Bunch where they went to a re-created pioneer village? That's Timbertown. We rode on a horse-drawn carriage and a steam train, watched the steering demonstration, used a fair dinkum funny, and panned for gold. Call me "geeky" but I really enjoyed it.
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| A gentle giant |
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| Dinkum Dunny (toilet) |
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| Time to ride the rails! |
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| Thanks, Conductor! |
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| On to the horse-drawn carriage |
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| Eureka! I've found…nothing. |
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| Ice cream to end the day |
The Road Less Travelled
The two E's were both exhausted after Timbertown, so while they were happily sleeping we decided to keep on driving. We picked Ellensborough Falls which according to the map wasn't too far. Little did we know that most of it was unpaved which meant that it took a lot longer to get there… but we saw some farm animals along the way.
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Gorgeous… the kids loved waking up to find cows on the road next to them.
#nofilter |
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| Ellensborough Falls |
Day 4: Town Green/ Ricardoes' / Homeward Bound
After one last (brisk) swim in the hotel pool, we had breakfast in Port Macquarie and were excited to catch one more glimpse of the resident dolphin.
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| Can you see the dolphin? |
We love making our last "stop"
Ricardoes' Tomatoes & Strawberry Farm.
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| U-Pick strawberries |
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| Eden is all smiles picking his strawberries |
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| The takings! Yummy! |
Homeward bound… one pit-stop at The Red Centre. Ha,ha!
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We had flashbacks of Europe
(Where rest-stops go to die) |
