Day 259
Thursday
14 September 2017 –
Grafton – Coffs Harbour
It rained during the night, not a lot but enough for us to
wake and have to close off the vents. It seemed a bit odd after the 35°C day,
but we had seen on the weather last night that it would be cooler. We heard
Sarah and Dylan leave for work just before 8am. I kept my eyes firmly closed
wishing for a few more hours but knew it wouldn’t happen. Paul was awake and
reading and the light from the open curtain meant any chance I had of sleeping disappeared.
We got up and made our way inside for a shower and came out
to the cool and overcast day. We had our breakfast and then packed up
everything we needed before jumping in the car at 9.45am and heading to Coffs
Harbour about 85km away.
The drive meant following the A1 that is undergoing numerous
road works. We continually regulated the speed between 60, 80 or 100. Paul was
finding it frustrating to manage, but there wasn’t much you could do.
Once in Coffs Harbour, we drove past the medical clinic so
we knew where to go for his appointment and then navigated on to the marina
area and parked up. In front of us was the climb up Mutton Bird Island. We knew
about this island, as Scott had to be rescued from it after moving off the path
and becoming stuck.
We made the trek up the steep incline to a viewing platform
that gave a great view back over Coffs Harbour and the marina and jetty below.
We also read the boards providing info on the Mutton Birds that call the island
home. As we followed the path we could see the many nests that they make by
digging holes in the ground.
The path followed up over the crest and down about halfway
to another viewing platform. The cliff edge was quite rugged at this end and
the waves were rolling in. We shook our head at how stupid Scott must have been
to think it was better to walk around the island rather than follow back over
the path.
Once back at the car, we grabbed our lunch and found a bench
at which to sit and eat. The sun was out and it was quite pleasant, thankfully
it was out of the wind that was blowing quite hard on Mutton Bird Island.
We navigated into town after lunch and parked in the main
street so that we could do a walk up the main mall and check out what was on
offer. There was an R U Ok? Stand where people were asking the question and
giving out stickers and balloon. We collected a sticker for the van, before
stopping in at Rivers again looking for cheap shorts.
We returned to the car and made our way to the medical
centre. Pau filled out the new patient paperwork and then we set ourselves up
in front of the TV to watch the badly acted, channel 7, made for TV movie. This
kept us occupied for a fair length of time, as it was an hour before Paul was
seen.
A script for antibiotics and we were finally on our way. We
had a few stops to make along the road home; BCF, Dan Murphys, chemist and the
iconic BIG Banana structure. Coffs Harbour is known for growing the herb, but
in recent years banana crops have diminished and blueberries have become the
flavour of the month.
Once back in Grafton, we did a stop at Coles before making
our way back to the van. Once all of our things were sorted we took our drink
and made our way inside to hang out with Sarah and Dylan We chatted about our
days and watched the TV, before we left them to it and returned to the van for
dinner.
Following our meal, I went through the photos and blog. Paul
chatted to Jeremy from work, getting the latest gossip on the work front and then it was off to bed at a far more respectable hour.
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