Port Macquarie 24th May - 14th June
Port Macquarie is home to my sister & brother in law Chris & Graeme & my niece Jo (Joanne) & her hubby Luke & four & a half year old son Liam. Most years Chris comes to Adelaide for what we like to call 'sisters week' where we get to hang out & generally have quality time together. We both treasure sisters week so were particularly looking forward to spending a lot longer together.
We stayed at Lighthouse Beach caravan park for the first week. It was a nice, small caravan park but was almost completely, shaded by huge trees throughout the park. Due to the unseasonably cold weather they were having we found it even colder being permanently in the shade so decided to move to the 'Breakwall' Caravan park. This park was much bigger & not so many trees so we chose a site in the full sun. It was also literally on the waters edge between the river & the sea so the view was fantastic. The Breakwall ran alongside the park so Gary & I enjoyed walks along the walkway every day. The walking path also went right to the town to the marina which was really nice to walk along.
Chris & Jo had to work so Gary & I amused ourselves during the day by going for walks (weather permitting), or just hanging around the caravan park. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't very kind to us. Some days were nice & sunny but some were also very cold & wet. By about 4pm every day the temperature would drop & nights were freezing.
One weekend the forecast was for torrential flooding rain & wind. I checked with the park staff & they advised the location of our van would be ok but lower sites could flood.
We decided to pack up everything from outside the van, lock it up & stay at Chris & Graeme's for the weekend. Almost 100mm of rain fell in one day. Although the caravan park was very soggy, thankfully there was no damage.
We went to Chris & Graeme's every night after they came home from work. Jo, Luke & Liam also came over each night & most nights stayed over so they could enjoy more time with us. Most days were beautiful & sunny & the caravan park was one street over from the main town. Chris would walk over in her lunch break to have lunch with us with Jo & Liam joining us when they could.
We took it in turns cooking dinner which was fun. One Saturday we had pasty making day with Jo & I making up the mixture & Chris & Gary forming & baking the pasty's. It was a great day.
Chris & Jo usually have other things they regularly do during the week like going to the gym or choir but such is the special bond we have, for the time we were there they cancelled everything to spend time with us. They certainly make us both feel very special & gave us many happy memories.
One Friday afternoon Gary wasn't feeling very well, he had a pain in his lower abdomen that wouldn't go away. Early next morning he was still in pain. There wasn't a doctors surgery open on a Saturday morning so I took him to the hospital. They ran quite a lot of tests & finally diagnosed a bowel infection. They prescribed 2 lots of heavy dose antibiotics & heavy pain killers for the pain which left him feeling pretty crap for the week & just to top it all of he was unable to drink alcohol either. We really hope this is the last time we have to visit a hospital or doctor for a long time but doesn't make us feel very confident about travelling too far away from larger towns.
With the weather being so cold, especially at night, I spend a lot of time knitting Trauma Teddies to donate to ambulance stations for the paramedics to give to seriously ill children. Gary now helps out by sewing them up & sewing on their faces. He loves it & says they take on a personality with each one being slightly different to the last.
Jo & Chris asked if I'd show them how to make them & from then on each night became a 'knitting circle' with Chris, Jo & I knitting & Gary sewing while talking & laughing. It really was so much more fun than it sounds!
We celebrated the Queens birthday long weekend together at the caravan park. Graeme brought their caravan the 3.6km trip from their house to the park & had the site next to us for the weekend. We had a fantasic time just sitting around talking & generally doing what you do on a camping long weekend. Jo is a beautician & gave me a beautiful facial on one of the days. The nights were very cold but luckily Luke was able to borrow his parents gas heater so we were able to spend the evenings huddled around it knitting & talking (of course).
It was a fantastic three weeks spent with my wonderful sister & family. When Gary & I were planning this trip, one of the things that attracted us was being able to spend quality time with family & we certainly achieved that!
Next stop..........Byron Bay!
No comments:
Post a Comment