A trip to Oz

With the weather turning sour in Port Macquarie we decided to head south a day early. This turned out to be a good decision since the weather held until we got to the mountains just north of Sydney.

Then the rain game in buckets. It rained so hard other drivers were pulling over to wait out the storm. I wanted to get into Sydney before dark so I pressed on. It was very dicey for a while but eventually the rain lessened and we made it to our next stop.

Driving in the city was exciting due to the narrow streets and the tail end of rush hour. To top it off we ended up in the wrong line at the tool coming across the bridge into Sydney and we were 20 cents short of exact change! The toll both operator that manned the other booth told us to go on so we did. After 1000km of watching the speed limit and driving safely I didn't want to get a fine for missing the toll!

Since we arrived too late to return the rental car I had to park it at the resort. I can't wait to turn it in as soon as possible in the morning.

Based on the recommendation from some new friends I met on the dive boat we decided to fly to Brisbane and drive to Port Macquarie. This was a test of the committed. The place we reserved a car from didn't have any cars so we wandered over to Avis and in no time we were headed out in no time. The overall drive that took about 10 hours but we made some interesting stops. Getting used to driving on the left side of the road wasn't hard once you got used to the many round-abouts here. There are very few stop lights or signs we've seen so far.

One of the stops was Byron Bay lighthouse. It was also the easternmost point of Australia. The lighthouse, set against the clear blue sky was beautiful to photograph and the seas below made for great scenic vistas with endless sky and seas beyond.

We also found a town called Mooball which had a gas station/cafe all done in cow theme. I am not sure where the name comes from but it was too good a name to pass up.

The rest of the drive to Port Macquararie was not eventful until we got about 30 minutes from the resort. Another big rainstorm came over us and the stars and moon that lit the journey earlier were gone. All we had to guide us were the taillights of the truck in front of us. We could catch fleeting glimpses of the road signs. We finally made it to the resort and got in with no problem.

One thing we immediately noticed is the resorts that are wholly owned by WorldMark are much friendlier then those that share properties.