Hail Port Stephens!

Sometimes we meet amazingly warm people when we are camping. One of these was Tars from Port Stephens Tourism who kindly helped us book a few activities before we arrived. Not only that, but he met us at our first activity and took pictures of us launching into the sky on a tandem parasail. 

To thank Tars for his support, we invited him and his son to join us for a sausage sizzle at our campsite one evening. All sounds pretty manageable… and that’s what we thought…

Our days were packed as we rushed from Oakdale Farm to the Toboggan Hill, and from the Australian Shark and Ray Centre to Sahara Trail Rides. As it neared time for our guests to arrive we ran into the shopping centre to grab a few last minute goodies.

It was then the forces of nature dumped celestial buckets on Port Stephens. Not only that, but hail, well, hailed down. The cacophony inside the supermarket was deafening and the 10 metre run to our car left us totally drenched. 

As we approached Fingal Bay Holiday Park trepidation set in. It looked like a refugee camp. Tents were strewn across the lawn, disheveled campers wandered around picking up errant pieces of caravans.
Gratefully, our camper trailer (Blueberry Pie) was where we had left it. Our kind neighbours had lashed it to a nearby tree and pole breakage was minimal. Our welcoming shade cloth mat was covered in debris and it looked like a stream had run through our campsite. Every single thing was wet. It was 10 minutes before our guests arrived.

Now, if you have ever wondered what if feels like to be on one of those reality TV shows with the clock ticking… this was it. Amber and I raced around in high speed motion and JUST got things together in time to start sizzling a sausage and hand our guest a glass of wine. We must have looked a sight…. Our rain jackets still on, soaked to the bone, but smiling!

And what a lovely evening it was. A lovely conversation for me, someone for Amber to impress on her scooter, and tales to tell for years to come!