the emerald gem

Port Macquarie; Australia’s 3rd oldest city. It has the best year round weather in the world - official. Worth a couple of days of our time then.
The beaches are the usual pristine white, perfect surf waves roll in 24/7 and too many high-rise buildings do not spoil the views.
We spent a day exploring the town on foot and sampling the wide range of fresh local cuisine.
After a little negotiation we were aboard a two-man sea kayak paddling down the Hastings River, which splits the city in two. To our surprise only a few minutes up stream (and after beaching ourselves in a shallow under a bridge), we found ourselves surround by mangroves, inhabited by tens of thousands of Fruit Bats and Flying Foxes! The squawking and shrieking was intense. Alas no pictures as yet, we bought a disposable Waterproof camera for just such occasions.
We then headed out to sea, and tried our hand at Surfing- Kayak style, it’s easier in the sense you don’t stand up plus you can start further out to sea, so gliding along the crest of a wave is a moments adrenaline rush rather than the split second we enjoy while surfing.

So, what do the people of Port Macquarie do in this climatic utopia? They paint rocks!… yea.