Port Macquarie

Spent a week with my oldies in Port Mac, in a time-share apartment bigger and beauter than my abode in Sydney. It had two bedrooms, two bathrooms, two large balconies, two tellies with Foxtel...

This is not a picture of the lounge area -

In fact, that shot of a retro setting incorporating Aboriginal imagery was taken at the regional gallery. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

The main reason I wanted to visit P/M - besides Mum and Dad offering to shout transport, accommodation and even grub - was that I hadn't been to the place for 34 years!

Here's what I saw at the cinema and purchased while on vacation there in 1980 -

Truth be told, I fell asleep during "Empire" and was furious with myself. The IG-88 doll was a beloved possession for many years, before being sold in the late '90s, unboxed but with most of its accessories, at a decent profit.

Here's what I saw at the cinema and bought in Port in 2014 -

An interbellum tale of a stage magician attempting to debunk a spiritual medium? I'll put aside my dislike of Woody Allen the man for that.

There was more culture to be had in P/M than just grey thongs and the aforementioned regional gallery. I also checked out the very good local museum, the ho-hum historic courthouse, a fine art gallery, the maritime museum, a weekend market and the Billabong Zoo. The last reminded me of Featherdale Wildlife Park - small, but with a friendly, enthusiastic vibe. Unfortunately, the observatory was only open Wednesday and Sunday nights, neither of which was convenient for us.

B/Z keeper feeding 'roo meat to snow leopard as part of talk -

Each day, I walked around the Hastings River marina or along the endless coastline heading south. The water was surprisingly deep in the creek immediately below. From a distance, Mum and I spotted what looked like a silvery fish. Up close, it was revealed to be a shopping trolley on the creekbed!

"The Hidden Monument" -

When not pounding the road/footpath/anthill-dotted grass/red dirt and keeping my eye on the umpteen magpies in the countless pine trees to avoid being swooped, I also did a satisfying amount of lazing. As well as "The Ultimate Fighter 20", The Edinburgh Military Tattoo 2014 and every NRL final, I watched hours and hours of The History Channel.

Also read these books (a couple for the second time) -

Strangely, given all of the lovely meals we ate and tasty wines/beers we drank, this was my lone "foodie" photograph -

What else to say? I completed the odd word puzzle in the paper. Thanks to two nice ladies at a lookout, I spied migrating whales splashing about. I found a tiny video arcade with an unfamiliar "Transformers" 2P shooter. I was startled on a track by a brushturkey that was equally startled by me. And I decided I could contentedly reside in Port Macquarie as an adult, but would require the Internet to stay sane (insane?).

I'll leave you with some snaps that didn't fit into the narrative -