Wednesday 7th March - Koala hospital

This was the best day I've had in ages! We were up and on the road at 10am...firstly we stopped at Taree - a town half hour north west of forster. It was a pretty town which we crossed a nice wide river to get to...very scenic. We had a stroll around the show but i must confess, there was not much to see so we didn't stay long. We got back on the road and headed back towards the coast and travelled north an hour to Port Macquarie (pronounced the aussie way as port MAK - QUARRY) . By this time the sun had come out. Gaz and i were so impressed with this place. We parked the car and walked down the main street, shops and cafes either side, all the way to the waterfront where to the left was a marina and where we stood, a wooden boardwalk upon which men were fishing from...and catching things too! Gaz and i sat on a bench looking out over the water, basking in the sunshine...when out of the water popped 3 dolphin fins! They came and went a few times, i even managed to catch it all on film. They were only a few metres away from us, it was really amazing to see wild dolphins so close to land! I was in awe of these amazing species...gaz was more interested in the fishing...typical. As our bellies started growling, demanding to be fed and watered, we took them to a local cafe. The food was great. Gaz had a haircut down the main street...the guy left a little long tuft of hair at tieback of his head so I'm calling him 'tufty'.

The best part of the day was saved till last. Gaz took me to the koala hospital where the injured koalas are cared for by local volunteers. It was great! but sadly we didn't get to see inside the intensive care ward :( but oh well, we still got to see some lively koalas! Its amazing how there were about 30 people getting shown around (free of charge) by a volunteer for about half hour. She gave lots of information about each koala and had a good knowledge about koalas in general which she shared with us...At the end there was a donation box....i am amazed and appalled by how many people walked off without giving so much as a cent of money to help go towards the charity!!! what buggers!

Gaz and i have arrived back in forster and had a noodle box type thing and a chocolate fudge brownie mc flurry from mc donalds...yum yum!!!