The trip from Ballina to Arrawarra was a huge success (i.e. no fatalities). The Lorikeet Caravan Park was just what we wanted - a quiet, clean park right on the beach. Not surprisingly there is lots of bird life as well as many kangaroos. Early mornings you find them grazing outside the van.
Early mornings also tend to be quite cold and we are happy we packed the thermals. Shaka left his at home though so has had to be quite inventive to stay warm.
Unfortunately the chilly mornings have been the least of Shaka's worries. The 2nd day here, he had a blue with another dog and came off second best. He was bitten inside his mouth which quickly became swollen and inflamed. This required a late afternoon run to the vet in Coffs Harbour, leaving him full of antibiotics & the wallet $170 lighter. There goes the budget for the week.
Despite the financial concerns, we still have to eat and Tomoko hit the Coffs Farmers Market with great enthusiasm. Plenty of fresh, local fruit and veges to keep us going for the week.
The annex has only been erected once, not long after we bought the van in April. Set up time was 5 hours back then so I was naturally apprehensive but quietly confident I could improve on my PB second time round.
They say that experience is the best teacher but this wasn't the case as I fumbled around with the anti-flap kit for 30 minutes or so with little success. My neighbour Ron, saw me struggling and offered to help which I happily accepted and we raised the annex in no time. Pretty pleased with the results and a big thanks to Ron.
The large seas and strong winds have meant poor conditions for surfing. I have checked Arrawarra Headland a few times but it hasn't impressed me enough to paddle out. Looks ok for longboards but I am happy to work on setting up the van and wait for better conditions.
Fishing-wise we had one promising day before the wind came up. I spied a small gutter close to shore but thought 'Nah...there won't be any fish in there'. Hours later, some bloke pulls out a 98cm jewie out of the gutter on a soft plastic. Show's how much I know about fishing.
Anyway..all hope is not lost. Heading an hour or so down the coast in a few days time. With the forecast of sunny skies and light winds ahead I'm looking forward to getting on the water again.
Till next time - Adios amigos