Up at usual time, we had breakfast and set off to the Central Coast the long way, through Doyalson. We stopped at the Entrance, and parked along the water, beyond the main street. We wandered past a fair, and past the pelican feeding area, taking in the sights and looking for somewhere to hire us some kayaks, as there were lots of people on the water. It wasn't until we'd gone under the bridge that we found a place, and wandered in. There was one double kayak, but mostly double canoes. We asked whether we could book something for that afternoon, but they said they wouldn't be able to, and to give them a call when we were on our way. They had a blue swimmer crab in a tank beside the counter, and it was distressing to see it jumping around, trying to escape.
Back at the car, we moved on, heading for Terrigal. The traffic on the way in was awful, and the town itself was full of people on such a lovely day. We drove past the busy part, over the hill to the dive shop and the oval, and found a park on the far side, walking back to the busy part to meet the G.I. girls at the Crowne Plaza. Al was waiting for us there, and we chatted while waiting for the others to turn up. No sign, so we walked around the hotel. Nope. Al texted Lisa, who was still in Erina. We heard nothing from Kristie.
The three of us got a table and Christian got us some drinks. We also looked at a menu there while we were waiting. Lisa, Chris, and Sebastian eventually arrived, having had satnav fail, and being caught in the traffic, and we decided to eat there, and took our seats for a fun catch up. We ordered lunch, and the place had got quite busy. Sebastian was very interested in his surroundings, and, having recently started walking, was keen to investigate, so Lisa and Chris took it in turns to take him for walks. He's a sweet boy.
I had a chicken schnitzel parmigiana, and Christian had lamb cutlets (I think). The meals were good, and took almost exactly the advertised 45 minutes. We heard from Kristie about now that her grandmother had been taken ill in hospital that morning, so she wasn't able to come, which was a disappointment. We finished off our meals, chatting some more, and the party broke up at about 2.45. It was good to see the girls, and to meet Sebastian.
Christian and I walked back to the car via the rocks (having to leap down to the sand at one stage), and had a walk to the other bays near the hill. They weren't suitable for snorkelling as the tide was very low, and Christian was more keen on kayaking than snorkelling, so we headed back to the Entrance. I got changed and we went to the hire place, only to find that it was closing. Damn. We were just not destined to go kayaking in Australia. So we drove over the bridge to the other side of the water for a swim. We investigated the far ocean beach first, walking over the dunes to get there. The patrolled section was miles away, so we just paddled, then followed the mouth on that same side until the current was weak enough and the water not deep enough to sink us. We made our way to a sand island in the middle and then swam back out, racing the current to lie around in the shallows and relax. It was a nice afternoon in the end, despite not having achieved our aim.
We headed back to Coal Point the same way we'd come, but with a detour in Morisset. People had told us that tourists had been visiting the hospital site in order to see lots of kangaroos in the wild, and while I didn't really approve of this practice, I was determined for Christian to see some kangaroos before we went home. So we turned off the road, which had signs designating it as a private road which was closed after 6.30 (it was well before 6.30), and kept driving until we spotted the first kangaroo beside the road. And then there were two more. And then the hospital itself had large, shady, green lawns that were filled with kangaroos. Success, finally! We turned the car around and stopped beside the two we'd seen, who were largely unconcerned, said hello to them and took some photos. Aim achieved, we drove back to Coal Point, stopping once more to buy some pizza for dinner.
Once there, we busied ourselves with cleaning out Dad's car (Christian did a brilliant job of vacuuming) and taking the bin up, and packing, and Christian wrapped up my tenor with my blue camp mat, string, and sticky tape. I discovered some missing photos on my external hard drive, but didn't have enough space for a real back up. Once the bulk of the packing had been done, we put the pizza in the oven. It was tasty. We tried to watch some West Wing, but Steve was determined to talk to us. Before long, it was bedtime, so we did some last packing, said goodbye to Steve, and went to bed, our last night in Coal Point.
Back at the car, we moved on, heading for Terrigal. The traffic on the way in was awful, and the town itself was full of people on such a lovely day. We drove past the busy part, over the hill to the dive shop and the oval, and found a park on the far side, walking back to the busy part to meet the G.I. girls at the Crowne Plaza. Al was waiting for us there, and we chatted while waiting for the others to turn up. No sign, so we walked around the hotel. Nope. Al texted Lisa, who was still in Erina. We heard nothing from Kristie.
The three of us got a table and Christian got us some drinks. We also looked at a menu there while we were waiting. Lisa, Chris, and Sebastian eventually arrived, having had satnav fail, and being caught in the traffic, and we decided to eat there, and took our seats for a fun catch up. We ordered lunch, and the place had got quite busy. Sebastian was very interested in his surroundings, and, having recently started walking, was keen to investigate, so Lisa and Chris took it in turns to take him for walks. He's a sweet boy.
I had a chicken schnitzel parmigiana, and Christian had lamb cutlets (I think). The meals were good, and took almost exactly the advertised 45 minutes. We heard from Kristie about now that her grandmother had been taken ill in hospital that morning, so she wasn't able to come, which was a disappointment. We finished off our meals, chatting some more, and the party broke up at about 2.45. It was good to see the girls, and to meet Sebastian.
Christian and I walked back to the car via the rocks (having to leap down to the sand at one stage), and had a walk to the other bays near the hill. They weren't suitable for snorkelling as the tide was very low, and Christian was more keen on kayaking than snorkelling, so we headed back to the Entrance. I got changed and we went to the hire place, only to find that it was closing. Damn. We were just not destined to go kayaking in Australia. So we drove over the bridge to the other side of the water for a swim. We investigated the far ocean beach first, walking over the dunes to get there. The patrolled section was miles away, so we just paddled, then followed the mouth on that same side until the current was weak enough and the water not deep enough to sink us. We made our way to a sand island in the middle and then swam back out, racing the current to lie around in the shallows and relax. It was a nice afternoon in the end, despite not having achieved our aim.
We headed back to Coal Point the same way we'd come, but with a detour in Morisset. People had told us that tourists had been visiting the hospital site in order to see lots of kangaroos in the wild, and while I didn't really approve of this practice, I was determined for Christian to see some kangaroos before we went home. So we turned off the road, which had signs designating it as a private road which was closed after 6.30 (it was well before 6.30), and kept driving until we spotted the first kangaroo beside the road. And then there were two more. And then the hospital itself had large, shady, green lawns that were filled with kangaroos. Success, finally! We turned the car around and stopped beside the two we'd seen, who were largely unconcerned, said hello to them and took some photos. Aim achieved, we drove back to Coal Point, stopping once more to buy some pizza for dinner.
Once there, we busied ourselves with cleaning out Dad's car (Christian did a brilliant job of vacuuming) and taking the bin up, and packing, and Christian wrapped up my tenor with my blue camp mat, string, and sticky tape. I discovered some missing photos on my external hard drive, but didn't have enough space for a real back up. Once the bulk of the packing had been done, we put the pizza in the oven. It was tasty. We tried to watch some West Wing, but Steve was determined to talk to us. Before long, it was bedtime, so we did some last packing, said goodbye to Steve, and went to bed, our last night in Coal Point.
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