day 81 Sep 13 Tues drive to Coffs - big banana, Sawtell for lunch - drive to Kundabung

 

The starts in the van are quite early in the van - the blackout blinds are great but light does seem to creep in and the minute the girls are awake the van starts bumping around as they play together in the roof pod. We now know how to limit the condensation issue using towels along the edges of the mattress - their bedding has got slightly damp around the edges as moisture collects and then runs down the inside of the canvas/plastic interior of one side of the roof as a result of body heat and colder air outside.  The towels inevitably need drying out in the mornings and we like to air the pod in the sun before we close it up for the day. This means a strategic move of the van and the flap to catch the sunlight! We suddenly catch a glimpse of ourselves - parked on a truck stop/petrol station/cafe forecourt, cooking breakfast out of the back of the van, sitting on camping chairs all the while catching up with emails on the laptop and using a handy outside socket to charge the camera battery again. OMG! 

We pack up and drive to the original "BIG" in Australia - the girls are almost as obsessed with this as the Aussies seem to be! As we drive in to the "Big Banana" complex outside Coffs Harbour and the girls decamp for the now familiar photo opportunity there is a shout from the coffee shop verandah and we look up to see Hazel, Rosie, Poppy and Sandy waving madly at us! Are we stalking them or vice versa!?!

Another quick catch up and coffee together and we head off passing through Coffs Harbour choosing to stop instead at Sawtell just south of the main town. We lunch at the river creek before discovering a sea water pool just around the point.

 

It is surrounded by rocks which Rowan decides to climb over to get to the opposite side. Little did we reallise that on the other side was a drop of about 10 feet into the sea and more rocks. Oops! The girls play for a bit in the sand on the waters edge - but decide the pool is too cold to swim in.

 

It is a sheltered spot and Nicole basks in the sun - David has nicknamed her the reptile - on account of her cold body temperature when out of the sun and the need for extra layers in the colder evenings. Charming - but true! After a very pleasant few hours we drive on to the next free rest stop at Kundabung.