Port Stevens and Newcastle - 26th August

We headed for Port Stevens and Newcastle to catch-up with good friends and checkout the surrounding beaches this area is renowned for. With so many good people and picture perfect bays we could defiantly move here, but some how we don't think the Grand's would be to pleased!!

See photo - Leanne & Bert with team Somers

Our Journey began with a relaxing drive along the Pacific Hwy to a place called Medowie, here we caught up with two old friends from Saudi (where we worked from 1998 to 2004), Bert & Leanne Tarrant........... and before long it was like old times. After trying to get the van down the side of the house (remove the awning and it would have fit), we decided to parking it on the driveway, sit down for lunch and have a couple of drinks! However the young ones got restless so Leanne and Bell took the nippers to Stockton and view the Shipwreck, have a milkshake and watch the big ships escorted into the harbour by tug boats. That nite .Leanne & Bert cooked up the most delicious dinner and we settle in for a night of photos and over 8 years of catching up!



The next day it was Riley's 6th Birthday, so what better way to celebrate than with a cooked breakfast, been a while since we had one of those! After presents (thank you to everyone that sent wishes and presents), we headed out as Leanne and Bert (L&B) took us on a site seeing tour around Port Stevens and Nelson Bay. With great weather and so many bays to view, it was spectacular and we even got to see some whales in the distance! L&B suggested we come back and climb Tomaree Heads with spectacular views of the ocean and bay. Apparently in season this area can become pretty hectic with tourists, we imagine something like Dunsborough. We finished the tour with a cuppa and a quick dash back to one of the bays to find Aiden's thong he had left behind in the car park!

See photo - Riley's 6th Birthday celebration.

After saying goodbye to L&B we then met up with more Saudi friends, Team Mulder (pictured right). We met at the local Netball court, which was actually how Bell and Nicole first met. We then headed back to their house were Nicole and the team had cooked up a birthday cake for Riley to helped him celebrate in  traditional style.

The boys were in their element with Maddy & Aidan Mulder. To give you an idea how long ago we caught up with these guys, little Maddy (who is not so little now ) was not much older than 18 months.

So what is Port Stephens all about? It is the submerged estuary of the Karuah and Myall Rivers and is rich in history with Aboriginal tribes known as the Worimi first inhabiting the region. In the early development of Port Stephens is was an idyllic coastal Paradise where the emphasis is on pleasure (they got that right for today). Captain James Cook in the Endeavour, sighted the entrance on 11th May 1770 and named the bay after the Secretary of the Admiralty. It was first entered in 1791 by the British ship "Salamander" from the Third Fleet, and surveyed in 1795 by Charles Grimes. Port Stephens was a haven for convicts escaping from Sydney!  


See photo - One of many magical moments.

See photo - Love the sand dunes at Fisherman's Bay.

So what adventures did we get up to now .....? Well Bell had been nagging Chris to go Whale Watching for the last .. 2 months, so when Bell suggest it to Nicole, the kids and girls all went and what an experience we had. The captain on the boat had his camera out and said "we haven"t had it like this for weeks!" So as you can see from the pics (not bad for a little Cybershot camera) we were well entertained. It was breathtaking. We also spotted the resident Port Stephens dolphins and several seals with two pups, we got the trifector! Chris spent the time with L&B and relocating the van outside the Mulder's house. That afternoon we went 4wd  along Anna Bay / Fisherman's Bay and had some sand dune fun like when we were in Saudi.


See photo - Baz, Aidan, Nicole, Maddy, Chris, Riley Aiden and Bell.

 

See photo - One of the many beautiful views from
Tomaree Head.

The following day Baz was not feeling well enough to go to work, but managed to take us sight seeing up to Tomaree Head.
Tomaree Head stands 161 m above the entrance to Port Stephens and from here there are breathtaking panoramic views over Port Stephens, the coast and to Broughton, Cabbage Tree and Boondelbah Islands nature reserves. The summit was also the site for the longest serving radar in WWII. Cabbage Tree Island (which we saw seals on when during the whale watching cruise) and Boondelbah Island are the only nesting sites in the world for the endangered Gould's Petrel.
The path has elevated walkways and stairs, with some steep sections on the walk and also paved areas. We descended via the WWII gun emplacements.

See photo - Chris with his new kite.

Feeling a bit peckish we had to go for Fish and Chips. Then it seemed like a good time as any to  buy a kite. Baz is a mad Kite Surfer, and something we learnt about Baz in Saudi is when he does something he does it well, so who better to give advise on a kite. Baz took us to his mate and out we came with our new kite (check out the pic). We headed to Fisherman's Bay again and had a blast............!

See photo - Volcano time at Corlette Beach.

With our last afternoon upon us we headed to Corette Bay (Mulders local ) and enjoyed a drink whilst the kids made volcano's on the beach. As you can see from Riley's hands it sure makes for some interesting skin colouration's!! It was magic again and we were certainly lucky to once again have fabulous weather during our stay.





See photo - Aiden, Bell, Kerry, Maddy, Nicole, Aidan,
Chris & Riley catch up.

We finally had to set sail, but first we needed to actually visit Newcastle and catch up with one more friend from Saudi. We drove to Stockton with Nicole and the kids, parked up the van caught the ferry over for a walk (kids had scooters) along the walkway out to Nobby's Point. It started to rain a bit so we headed for a coffee to meet with Kerry Frawley, surrogate mother  for lots of friends in Saudi during that time.
You guessed it, it was just like old days and it was a shame we couldn't spent more time catching up. We also tried to catch up with Bell and JC (other friends), but it was not meant to be. The kids even managed to have some fun scootering down the best ramp we have seen for a long time!! After lunch, we set sail back to the van and bid Newcastle and the Mulder family goodbye, with a hope that maybe one day they come and visit us in Perth.

Wow what a week, anyhow here is our next clip.