15. March 1998 10:54
by Rene Pallesen
0 Comments

During my first year in Australia, after coming from Denmark, I was contracted out to work at Port Macquarie - a quiet, but beautiful and peaceful seaside town a few hours north of Sydney. The first pictures were taken in Port Macquarie during Easter 1998.
Lance, Anne and Graham, some good friends of mine, decided to do some exploring around the area...
Graham here, on the right, The Admiral himself... (also called "Wobber") "Is that a chicky-babe in the water ?"
The photo is taken on "Kermit" (Note, the green seats...) in the river at Port Macquarie.

Lance seasick ???? No, just a little tired !
This is one of many photos I have of Lance sleeping - he has a knack for taking a nap just about anywhere - just ask Anne! *smile*
It's a great day to sail on "Kermit".
Whereas, who do we have here?
Me! I love sailing, and as usual, like to be a'head' of things...
"Clear water ahead Navigator?"
"Aye-Aye Admiral!"

"The Admiral" is giving Anne a good whacking.
Poor Anne...
Lance and The Admiral in front of the lighthouse at Port Macquarie

In the mangrove at Port Macquarie, there are millions of these small blue crabs (Taste like shit). It's pretty amazinid="AdnTop"> Over easter we went to Glenworth Valley for Camping. This location is about an hours drive north of Sydney in an easily accessible but beautiful little valley.
It is private propoerty, so you have to book beforehand and it does get very busy. We were very lucky that we were located down at the end of the property where it was more quiet.
In the evenings there were beautiful sunsets.
In the morning it was a bit more misty in the valley.
The owners also put on a great easter egg hunt for the children. There were hundreds of children with 20,000 chocolate eggs hidden in a field and there was an easter bunny riding a horse.
We also spend time playing some ball sports. I'd brought a baseball bat and ball. Because we were four families, we had plenty of people to form two teams. It got very competitive and the bat took a bit of battering, so I had to go a buy a more solid wooden bat.
In the evenings we had the normal campfire and baked dampers on sticks, marshmellows and baked potatoes in the fire.
There are also lots of walks witin easy driving distance, including some walks with beautiful waterfalls.
Also, people come to the valley for horse riding, so there are lots of horses in the surrounding paddocks.
And wildlife such as Kookaburras!
And going for a short stroll in the mornings was a beautiful experience with the mist and light changing.
Because of lots of rain, the whole area had been flooded just weeks earlier. Where we were camping would have been a meter under water, but because of the river running through the area the water had fortunately receeded.