Caravan folk give the finger

Caravan folk are usually such nice people. Until we got Clover, our lovely little van, I admit I was sniffy about caravans and caravan folk. With no good reason, I thought perhaps they were mostly uncultured, voted for the wrong side, had little to say that I might want to hear, maybe a bit feral. But that hasn't been our experience at all.  This is a whole new world, populated by adventurers and self-starters;  practical, friendly helpful  types who stop for a chat and offer ideas or sensible advice. There are interesting, deep conversations to be had. In caravan land, giving the finger means that little lift of the index off the steering wheel to acknowledge a fellow rig-puller in this little subculture of road gypsies.

Helen and Mal Rasmussen are caravan folk. Helen and I were friends and colleagues at Radford College and recently they moved to Port Macquarie.  We were treated to a home cooked meal at their fabulous new house on Friday.  We met their daughter Ann, who is an anaesthetist at the local hospital, and her family including two beautiful little girls.  We talked books and politics and what life is like on the mid north coast. Pretty damn good is the general view.

Today we had a bike ride and a sticky beak around some of the new areas and got into conversation with a young man also having a ride.  He might as well have been employed by the local government to entice people to live in this area.  All the locals seem to go on in much the same fashion.

So, this area is recommending itself to us, more and more. Our heads are turned, our cages rattled.  Our fidelity to the Sapphire Coast is being questioned.  We are nearly ready to abandon Bega and come and live here.  We think we are losing our hearts to this part of the world. But that was the purpose of our journey, to really look at the eastern seaboard, and to be sure, really sure about where we want to live for the next phase of our lives.  Where else do you get ducks taking the high ground over koalas?

We have been enjoying Canberra friends Marg and Keir, also caravan folk with their Jayco campervan. They have been here for the last few days, lots of laughs and too much food and wine, interspersed with bike riding.

 Picture below is from today's ride to Settlement Cove. Marg is the one with the antennae.

Finally today we went and looked at a display house we like, here is the link: http://www.adenbrookhomes.com.au/homes/view/13 and here is a photo taken from the kitchen.