Coffs Coast

I have enjoyed my stay with Emily, Joan and their mother 'Oma'. Mother and I went for days out, to the hairdresser, looking for shoes etc. Now Emily has a week off after a busy 2 weeks full time in Vocational Care - a holiday programme for 5-12 yr old children. Joan has a 800cc Kawasaki motor bike and she gave me a ride on it one day. The picture on the right shows Emily at Nambucca Heads where people are allowed to portray their artistic skills on the rocks along this coastal stretch.

Coffs Coast – situated half way between Sydney and Brisbane, there are a choice of over 40 beaches all in their sandy splendour, stretching 90 kms of picture perfect coastline. The beaches offer many different surfing, swimming and beach experiences. Some offer privacy away from the crowds, while others safe surf conditions and are regularly patrolled by Coffs

lifeguards. At Coffs Harbour boats bob about in the marina against an ocean backdrop sparkling in the sunlight as seagulls search greedily for the leftover fish and chips from lunching holiday makers. The harbour is still very much a working port and an important commercial fishing community. The Coffs Coast is also notable for its banana and avocado plantations. It has a sub-tropical climate that averages 26 degrees Centigrade and a minimum of 12 - sounds like an ideal climate to me.Muttonbird Island is just beyond the marina and is home to thousands of migrating wedge-tailed shearwaters (or muttonbirds) that bread on the island each year. Named for their ability to 'shear' the water with their wings. They were called muttonbirds by the early settlers who killed them for their fatty mutton like flesh. At the Eastern end of the island, perched above the surf crashing over the rock platforms and pools below I had an excellent vantage point to watch 5-6 visiting humpback whales on their annual migration. These gentle giants are a spectacle to behold.