Last evening it started to rain lightly, and it actually continued all the way until our arrival in Port Macquarie.

So we just drove from the Pacific Highway to a small place called Tuncurry/Forster. Along the highway into the village, there were often small structures like miniature suspension bridges stretching from the forest on the left side of the road into the treetops alongside the road. As we would find out later, these are bypass routes for koalas so they don't have to cross the road. We actually wanted to take a longer break there and move around a bit.

Unfortunately, it started to drizzle again after just a few minutes, so we decided to continue driving and try our luck with better weather in Port Macquarie. We had chosen a campsite right in the middle of Port Macquarie for the night. It was located right at the harbor entrance and invited us to take a stroll. Upon our arrival, the sky was slowly clearing up again. We parked Hugo for the night and set out to explore the area on foot.

First, we walked leisurely along the promenade toward the sea. The path is lined with large rocks for erosion control. Each of these rocks has been painted colorfully by tourists, and with really good quality. Some of these paintings are even over a year old.

The setting sun was also showing itself and bathed this beautiful place in a wonderful golden-yellow glow. When it got dark a short time later, we decided to find the nearest grocery store to get the missing ingredients for fried potatoes. On the way to the city center, we passed a fish cleaning station. On one side of the table, two fishermen were cleaning their catch. On the other side stood six well-seasoned pelicans, begging. Every time the men turned to their conversation, the pelicans would cautiously inch closer to the table. We nearly doubled over with laughter.

A few steps further, we looked up at the night sky and could hardly believe our eyes. Flying foxes were soaring above us. But not just a few—as far as we could see, there were flying foxes in the sky. They were flying in a seemingly endless stream southward, always following the coastline. This huge stream continued passing by for the entire evening; there must have been millions of animals.

For dinner, we finally opened the "lively" wine from Audrey Wilkinson. It turned out that the lady was right—the rosé was truly lively and, above all, absolutely delicious. It was definitely worth its price. Thanks again, Mom, for the tasty drop.

After eating, I put our cooking utensils back in the van while Mom went looking for the kitchen. In the process, she tried her English and asked a lady: "I must find the kitchen." Not bad at all for the first attempt, right?

Now we're quickly going to take a shower and then hit the sack.
Tomorrow we plan to set off early.