Tea gardens

Those of you who read Time Away would know of my present location at a holiday spot of the NSW Mid-North Coast known as Tea Gardens-Hawks Nest.

At the risk of turning this blog into a travelblog, I have included a few photos to show what a magnificent place this is:

View from our Apartment

This is the view from our second storey apaprtment, which looks directly out over the main surfing area of bennett’s beach.. You will agree it’s a very pleasant sight to wake up to each morning.

Bennett’s Beach

This is the southern view from Bennett’s Beach, with Yacabaa Headland in the background. Yacabaa is the northern headland covering the entrance to Port Stephens and Nelson Bay.

Bennett’s Beach

Another southern view looking a little more out to sea, this time showing Cabbage Tree and Boondelbah Islands.

A Scoop of Pelicans

A “scoop” of pelicans settling in for the evening on one of the Tea Gardens wharves, after a particularly blustery afternoon.

The Singing Bridge

A closer view of The Singing Bridge which joins Tea gardens to Hawks Nest, so named for the whistling sound that occurs when strong winds blow.

Tea Gardens War Memorial

The Tea Gardens War Memorial Park. The park has a little interactive facility giving an overview of Australia’s commitment to past conflicts. The flag is at half-mast in remembrance of the five Australian soldiers killed in Afghanistan recently. Lest We Forget.

I’m probably being a bit self-indulgent with this post, but my wife and I decided to take some time away from home and have a week’s vacation.

So on Wednesday 5th (dear wife’s 59th birthday) found us in the twin township of Forster-Tuncurry. This wonderful seaside town is found on the Mid-North Coast of NSW. The smaller township of Tuncurry is found on the north side of the Wallis Lake channel, and the larger town of Forster is found on the south.

The towns are joined by a rather long road/foot bridge which celebrated the 50th anniversary of its construction this year.

Forster-Tuncurry Bridge

Unfortunately, the local parish priest, fellow blogger and aficionado of good coffee, had also chosen this time to take his vacation, and thus was not available for the Ritual of Good Coffee. But don’t despair Andrew, I went ahead and enjoyed the coffee anyway! The coffee shop (Sotos) is situated on the banks of the channel you see below, and this is more or less the view from the coffee shop window. This is the south channel with Godwin Island in the background.

Forster-Tuncurry Channel

Thursday saw us leave this rather ideallic spot for another of the Mid-North Coast’s pleasant little seaside towns, this time Tea Gardens-Hawk’s Nest. We had taken a short rental of an apartment overlooking Hawk’s Nest’s main beach. The two following photos are the view from our patio or deck.

Hawks Nest Beach

and this one

Hawks Nest Beach

Again twin coastal towns separted by a bridge. This bridge which spans the Myall River, is referred to as the “Singing Bridge” apparently from the whistling created by the wind passing around it.