Sydney/Taree Catch Up

Thursday night we stayed with Hillary and Raph in Dover Heights. Dinner out in Double Bay at a cheap and cheerful Asian restaurant. Joined by Shirley, Stuart and Oliver. Pleasant evening catching up with old friends.

After breakfast with Raph we headed to Coogee Beach for a walk and coffee.
A sad morning visiting Robin - who's health has deteriorated to the point where he needs full time care. He is currently in the Randwick Montefiore respite facility awaiting a bed in palliative care. Our visit coincided with a visit from our mutual friend Hilton - someone we haven't seen for many years which helped to lift the mood. Still a sad departure, knowing that we are unlikely to see Robin again.

After negotiating the hell that is Sydney's road system we had an incident free afternoon drive up the coast to Taree. Arrived with plenty of daylight to appreciate Wendy and Peter's new home. Lovely old heritage house perched on the hillside overlooking the Manning River.

Saturday was spent doing some shopping for the trip, and a drive out to Oxley Island to Wendy's old family farm on the banks of the river. Afternoon tea and picked lots of sweet  oranges and mandarins for the next few days. A late afternoon stroll on the beach in Saltwater National Park with bonus sighting of whales breaching off the point.

Home for dinner, wine and conversation. Special added pleasure of hearing the Super Saturday bye-election results. What a total waste of time, energy and money. Still - at least it wiped the smirk off Malcolm's face.

Tomorrow - hoping for an early start. Heading inland and up the escarpment towards Tenterfield. If we have a good run we should make it to Bald Rock NP on the Qld border with enough daylight to make camp.