Friends of our have bought a house beautifully situated within a short walk from the beach at Coffs Harbour. We were lucky enough to stay with them over the New Year’s break to celebrate with them.
I hadn’t been there since I was a kid. One of the only memories I retain from the place was that I found a dead baby shark that I proudly carried back to our hotel to show my aghast parents. It was nice to see the place has even more to offer tourists these days.
A must see is always The Big Banana, although I have issues with what they deem a “mega” sundae. I’d hate to see their measley sundae. We had to visit twice, then we planned to go a third time for the big boys to do the giant toboggan ride. But perhaps luckily for our health, it was closed.
Another tourist attaction I had forgotten about is the Pet Porpoise Pool. I have mixed feelings about this place. It has the best intentions with rescuing injured animals, but it seemed like a few of the animals could be far better off with more room to move. Before the show we did get our four year old, Myles to get kissed by a dolphin which was sweet.
I did enjoy the water show. We got to learn a little about the dolphins, seals, and sea lions on display. And occasionally they did a trick or two also.
We were also almost included in the show when the massive male sea lion dragged its 2 tonne body out. Apparently the trainer forgot to bring out the sea lion’s favourite toy – a basketball. To this the announcer looked around the crowd for something the sea lion could balance on his nose. Nothing seemed to be forthcoming, then she walked in front of where I was sitting and asked if she could borrow the four month old Lewis whom I was nursing. I didn’t really know what to say, so I just declined saying I’m afraid he was asleep. It got a few laughs but what was far more funny was the german tourist sitting next to me who was adamant when he proclaimed, “No, He Iz Not!”. Thankfully, she moved on and the trainer on cue got the sea lion to balance a fish on his nose. Once they were happy for him to eat, they mentioned that a seagull was coming down which got a quick-fire gulp from the sea lion to save his catch.
On the way home the traffic was terrible. I can’t believe the New South Welsh think it’s a good idea to do roadwork and have the major interruptions during Christmas and New Year break. It’s good to have a reason other than rugby league. Due to the delays we didn’t stop at Ballina (the half way mark) for lunch. Instead we went further to the Macadamia Castle at Knockrow – which I will forever call the big gay knight place. They have a once-impressive giant knight with a dress. On top of this obligatory photo opportunity, there seemed to be quite a lot on offer at the castle. If we had planned it better we could have easily spent more time there.