We may never leave Forster

Lakeside Resort is on Wallis Lake and the place is astoundingly quiet and beautiful, and also practically empty, except for the birds: butcher birds, crested pigeons, iridescent green lorikeets, peewees, magpies, kookaburras, white faced herons, ibis and black swans.  We can't quite believe our luck at being able to enjoy such a lovely place, and can't understand why there are not thousands of other campers and caravanners here.

This photo taken almost from the steps of the caravan.

David has finally done some more painting, so the walls of the van are starting to look less bare.

We have slipped into some new routines, one of which is that I now, after years of waiting and hoping, get a cup of tea in bed each morning while the shower water heats up again and David makes breakfast.  Am I a lucky woman? Too damn lucky, do I hear you mutter? I would just like to remind those of you who were at our wedding twenty years ago that David did promise, on that day, to continue to make me weak cups of tea, every day for richer and for poorer and so forth.  It's in the contract.

Some more birds, Ibises.  Did I mention that we like birds?

This fellow sings us awake.  They have a beautiful song, the butcher birds. 

 

We had a Sunday Drive out to Wallingat National Park through this forest of straight white trunks (e.grandis) and cabbage tree palms to Gur-um-bee picnic area, named for the Worimi people's word for white gums. Having been to Booti Booti National Park, we felt it incumbent upon us to visit Whooti Whooti Lookout. But it was just a bit too much country roading to get there, so it can be a treat for another day.  Instead we went to Coomba Park on the far shores of Wallis lake (below)

Today and yesterday it has been raining, so we have knuckled down and done some more real estate research. Visited a few places, and this afternoon got very excited about a block of land that looks Very Feasible for a future house. It is, and I kid you not, in a locality named Darawank.  No, gentlemen, not Dankwank or Dirtywank or Doublewank. There is a school in Canberra called Daramalan College, Dara for short.  Perhaps the Brothers at competing schools Marist or St Edmund's named this place.  And as if that were not bad enough, the nearest beach, 5 or 10 minutes drive is none other than Black Head. This is all true, I swear it. But Black Head beach is just delightful.  You park under the big pines, walk through the grassy picnic area, cross a little bridge over a tinkling stream, up a short sandy path and there it is, a golden sand crescent with a perfect even curl to the waves and even an ocean pool at the southern end, just past the surf lifesaving club. The building block itself ticks all our boxes except for price.  Hmmn.   More than we planned.  It is being sold off from a larger holding, and the owner came out to greet us, handing us some of the mandarins he grows.  They were very good.  Is that a sign?

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