Coffs Harbour

7 January, 2010

We are loving Coffs Harbour. It is a really easy place to free camp. Check out our room with a view - it was so nice we stayed there two nights in a row:





What a way to wake up.





There's us up there, our view from our morning swim:





We spent ages digging canals and pools in the sand, frolicking on the rocks, and discovering caves. The tide came in and the boys had a little pool to play in.



And here's us doing the touristy thing at the Big Banana:



Last night we decided to stay at a caravan park so that we could plug in overnight to recharge our new battery (via our new $400 battery charger which our warranty didn't cover *insert big frowny face here*), fill up with water, drain our grey water, and empty the toilet. A few things we have learned:

-We actually need to have some sort of idea how much power we're using so that we can keep track of when we need to recharge our battery. If it runs completely flat, it takes days to recharge at the battery shop.

-The $35 food quality water hose is worth the money. We paid $6 for a hose at Big W, and our Brita-filtered water all tastes like, well, a hose. So we'll be forking over the cash for the better hose.

-Don't think you can just empty your portable toilet every day and that will negate the need for toilet chemicals. The toilet chemicals are completely, absolutely necessary. And yes, you can buy 100% biodegradable, septic-safe, "green" chemicals for only a bit more money.

-Despite their assurances to the contrary before we bought the wireless broadband modem, there is no 3 network coverage in Coffs Harbour. It's a bit ridiculous really. And the people at the other end of the phone haven't even heard of Coffs Harbour because they are in India, so they don't understand just how ridiculous it is that there is no coverage here. Go with the big players - Telstra or Optus.

-Five people fit quite comfortably into two double beds, as long as two of them are very short.