Overview​

I always said that my ideal spot for vacation is at the beach. The thing is though that I live near the beach. I am at the beach every day. I'm starting to realise that what I needed before is not necessarily what I need now. When I lived in the West, I needed the beach for a vacation. Now that I live near the beach, I think I need something a little different. That thing was the campervan.

Nick and I rented a campervan and travelled on the Mid-North Coast of NSW from Good Friday until Easter Monday 2023. We also brought our child/furry friend, Chip along with us. Having a dog on the trip really limited the things that we could do. We couldn't do super long walks; we couldn't eat in restaurants or go to National Parks; and some of the beaches that we visited were quite limited. I think it would have been amazing to do a trip to the mountains or do longer bushwalks. Nontheless, we enjoyed our trip and the main thing was that we were in a campervan. It was quite fun!

I don't think we got the full campervan experience though, because we mostly ate out or ordered takeaway. Although, I do suspect that in the future, trips to the National Parks will require us to be 100% self-sufficient. The campervan that we rented for this trip would've allowed us to be fully self-sufficient. From this trip, I think we can both say that we would do this again.

Here is a video summary of our trip and see the full blog below.

Things to do in Forster:​

• Visit some amazing beaches
• Bicentennial walk
• Visit the Coastal Brewery
• Walk along the wharf
• Visit the national parks: Booti Booti or Wollombi (we couldn't do this because of Chip)
• Take a trip to Old Bar (a small town 30 min North)

Blog of the trip​

2.4.23: Prologue​

Last night, Nick and I were joking around about going away for the easter weekend (7-10 April 2023). I cannot remember specifically how we ended up at the decision we came up with. I think it started when I made a joke about renting a campervan (I talk about this so much). Nick went straight on the camplify website and booked us a campervan for the weekend.

I called mum to let her know that we won't be going for Good Friday lunch. I was a bit worried that she would get upset with us, because Good Friday lunch is a big deal for my family --- not so much the religious side, but more for getting together. She wasn't upset at all but she was so excited about the idea and thought it would be really fun for us.

We've been putting together a list of things that we want to do including walks, lookouts and of course breweries. I'm so excited! We decided that we would head down the South Coast, and end up in Eden. The South Coast of NSW is so beautiful and neither of us have visited Eden before.

7.4.23: Good Friday​

Looking at the weather all week, it seemed that Eden was going to be cold and miserable. Therefore, we changed our plans from the South Coast to the North Coast. On Good Friday (7/4/23), Nick, Chip and I woke at 5.30 am. We had a coffee (not Chip though) and breakfast, packed the car and headed to Shell Harbour to pick up the rental van that we booked on campify: The rental was called AJ. The owners Jennie and Bernie spent a few years building up this campervan@jb.vanjourney They were super friendly and so excited about the #VanLife (My life goals). Due to life getting in the way, they don't get to use the van too often and wanted other people to get use out of it. They were so lovely.

Img caption: Setting off on a Long weekend adventure!

The campervan was 3 m tall and 7 m long! A huge vehicle!! Lucky that I am not driving because I would not have been able to manuvere it. Nick was therefor our designated driver. We set off around 8 am. We went a slightly longer way and avoided tolls. Our first stop was Panania McDonalds for coffee and then we did not stop until we reached Forster for fear of being stuck in more traffic. It was brutal, I was getting so frustrated and I wasn't even driving!

The traffic was quite bad. Instead of it taking 4 hours, it ended up being close to 6.5 hours. When we arrived, we went straight to [[The Coastal Brewery]] and had a beer paddle tasting each. Chip was really unsettled so we didn't get to enjoy it for too long. After we finished the paddle, we headed to nine-mile beach to let Chip burn off some energy.

Nine-mile beach is located in Tuncarry. This beach allows dogs off-leash and also allows 4WDs. It is not a beach that you would want to swim at as it is full of rips; open to the sea, and on this day, the water was filthy --- probably from the heavy storms over the week.

After the 4 km beach walk, we went to check out Forster and find somewhere to sleep for the night (since it was approaching sunset). We found a nice spot near Pebble beach, we enjoyed the sunset and then went to grab some dinner.

Img caption: Sunset in Forster

Unfortunately due to the religous holiday, nothing was really open. We settled for a burger foodtruck and enjoyed some burgers and loaded fries --- that were just average. Finally, settling down in the van for the evening, we drank a couple of dark beers (White Rabbit - our favourite), played a few games and then fell asleep.

8.4.23: Easter Saturday​

Img caption: Enjoying the sunrise.

We woke up at 5.30 am and opened the back doors of the van to see a spectacular morning sky. Chip was really enjoying watching people pass us - Even giving a few barks out.

We rolled out of bed by 6 am and then went for a walk to Forster main beach to get coffee and a small breakfast treat: Nick an almond croissant, and a banana bread for myself. We drank our coffee and ate our food on a park bench in front of the main beach and then continued our walk along the bicentenial pathway. We went to a few really nice lookouts showing Forsters amazing cliff faces. The walk ended up being about 4.5 km before we headed back to the van. || |:---:| |Img caption. Morning bicentenial walk. |

By 8 am, we packed up and headed North to Old Bar village. Really, there wasn't much there but the beach was quite nice and they have a Surf-lifesaving club too. There were markets on this day at the park, so we had a look, ate lunch and then took a nap in the van. On the drive, we opened the window for Chip. He was having a lot of fun sticking his head in and out of the window. It was so funny!

Img caption. Heading off to Old Bar.

At 3 pm, we headed back to Forster. We stopped in at the brewry again and I had one of the beers that I really enjoyed yesterday - The hearts Pale Ale. I must emphasise how good this brewery is: Every beer was really amazing. The great thing about this brewery is they let us bring in our own food. We took some cheese (The cranberry cheese from Woolies) and crackers with us.

Img caption: Spending time at Old Bar village.

After the brewery, we headed to the wharf and walked around for a while before stopping in at Bella Bellisimo to order a pizza. This is an italian restaurant that was really busy. It seems like they couldn't really handle it though. For one pizza, it took them about an hour! After we got the pizza, we took the it to our campervan and parked in the same spot as yesterday, in the car park near Pebble Beach.

We poured ourselves a glass of 2016 old vines Shiraz from Briar Ridge Estate in the Hunter Valley. Unfortunately, we had no glasses available and had to drink the wine out of plastic cups. I was kicking myself that we didn't bring our glass coffee mugs (as I told myself to pack them prior to leaving). Supprisingly the wine was really nice and it was a shame that we drank this wine in plastic cups.

We ate pizza with the wine. The pizza was nice, but I think our local pizzeria in Bellambi is better value. Afterwards, Nick turned on the Raiders vs. Broncos NRL game and we watched the Raiders win. Nick was very happy.

Tonight, several other vans were parked in the same car-park as us! It seems that this is a very popular spot, which is no suprise as there are bins and toilets close by.

9.4.23: Easter Sunday​

Img caption: Sunday morning chilling in bed.

We woke to an Easter (church) service in the park. I was supprised that there are so many people who are religious. With all the people around, Chip was very annoying and kept barking at the people, wanting to greet them. His little bark/growl is super cute though, so it cancels out the annoying-ness.

When we were sick of Chip's complaining, we rolled out of bed and then walked to a cafe, Tartt, on Wharf Street to get a couple of coffees. By 7.30 am, we were back in the van, eating a couple of hot-cross buns and easter egg bunnies (chocolate for breakfast, sorry not sorry) gifted to us by Jen and Bernie (so kind).

Forster is a lovely town, but there is not a lot to do aside from beaches and national parks. The former we have at home and the latter was unavailable to us because of Chip, so we decided to drive South towards Newcastle to get a head-start for tomorrow.

Nick was a bit worried about going somewhere else --- due to the uncertainty. We won't know where to eat or where to park. I find the uncertainty so exciting!

A 2.5 hour drive south landed us in Budgewoi. Aside from the Budgewoi hotel, nothing else was really open. We went to the beach where we ate some chips and dip and our little Chip had a run around. The water seemed to have very strong currents, many rips and a big swell with small period which is not safe for swimming. Neither Nick nor I went for a swim. After less than an hour, we decided to move on.

Img caption: Hanging out at Budgewoi Beach.

Next, we headed to Nora Heads and did a short walk to the lighthouse (Founded in 1903). Near the lighthouse, was a very large, old house that was the light-house keepers grounds and available to rent for vacation. It was pretty cool but I would not like to stay there due to the high foot traffic --- this walk was super busy, maybe because that was one of the only things to do/see in this area. Nontheless, it was a very lovely walk and the place is a good spot for families on vacation.

Img caption: Short walk to Nora Heads light house.

In search of food, we ended up at a Mexican restaurant in Toukley, Mexicoast Cantina. We ordered a margarita each, tacos and jalapeno poppers. We sat and ate for a while. Looking at Google Maps, The Entrance was only 15 minutes away, so we decided to head there and settle in for the night.

To be honest, there is nothing spectacular to see here, and we probably would've been better off sleeping in Nora Heads. There were a lot of tourists that made it quite uncomfortable. Therefore, we decided to park the van by the Lakeside as it was quieter than the beach.

Img caption: Pic 1. The Entrace where the lake meets the sea; Pic 2: Chip and I ready for bed and Pic 3: Sunset over the lag in Long Getty, where we spend the night.

I do prefer the vibe of Forster more than the central coast. I love that it is more quiet, there are a lot of runners and cyclists out and there are so many national parks around! ....but being here now saves us some time tomorrow and hopefully we can avoid most of the traffic.

10.4.23: Easter Monday​

This morning, we woke up to Chip complaining that he needed to go to the toilet. Nick took him out while I completed my wordle, as usual. We got changed, went to the public toilets nearby and then walked onto the main strip in Long Jetty, The Entrance. We sat down at a cafe, The Morning Coffee Society, at 6.50 am for a breakfast. We ordered ourselves a coffee and I ordered a mushroom dish with poached eggs, while Nick ordered a bacon and eggs with smashed avo. It was a great breakfast and we were the only people at the cafe for a while.

Img caption: Our final vacation breakfast on the road.

After Nick gave his remaining bacon to Chip, we walked 800 m back to the campervan, packed up (ensured everything was put away so it wouldn't fly around as we drove home) and headed off. Our trip home was 2.5 hours and based on the maps, it seemed like it would be an easy trip home without hectic traffic that we experienced on the way to Forster.

By 11.30 am, we were at home and enjoying a second morning coffee. The washing done, van cleaned and ready to return. Just like that the weekend is over and it's back to reality: Solving issues with organic synthesis for me and regular DevOpps problems for Nick. Ehhh I want to go again.

• Location: 3 Dalman St, Forster, NSW 2428

Over the Easter long weekend, Nick and I headed to Forster for a small getaway in a campervan. I had previously read about this brewery: they had travelled around NSW for various craft beer festivals. They had really good reviews as well. This was our first stop in Forster on Good Friday.

Nick and I had a Paddle each (of course we shared all 8 beers). All the beers were pretty amazing - especially the Hearts NEPA. This was my favourite and I really enjoyed every minute of it. Nick didn't have a favourite but he did comment about how great the beers were. On this day, they were serving food from a BBQ food truck. Unfortunately, chip was really unsettled from the trip in that we had to leave straight after the paddle. Nevermind though, because the following day, we came back!

After a day out at Old Bar Village, we stopped in for another beer at the brewery. I enjoyed a Hearts NEPA and Nick an IPA. We also brought in our own cheese and crackers as I had previously read online that they allow external food. Also, the food truck wasn't operating at that time.

This beer for sure deserves many awards.

About:​

• Location: Tarrawanna
• Specialise in Lagers

2023-02-13​

On my way home from work on Saturday afternoon, I planned to pick up beers from Dan Murphys but I had a crazy idea to go and get a growler instead. Well actually it wasn't crazy because I had been thinking about it for a long time - I could not justify spending that much money to buy the growler: finally I had the courage to buy one. My initial thought was to go to illawarra brewing co. on Montague Street in North Wollongong, but they were closed for renovations. Next, I thought Principle brewery located in Fairy Meadow but I went the wrong way and was too lazy to turn around. Therefore, I ended up at Reub Gouldberg Brewing. Here, I bought the Highlands Rye #Porter

It was pretty light for a porter. It was super delicious though, not bitter like many other porters. I rate this beer: ★★★★★★★★★☆

2023-02-17​

Heading home from the lab, I stopped in at RGBM brewery to fill up my growler. At this particular brewery, they have pre-filled growlers which means you swap out your growler for a different one. It costs $25 to get a 1.5L or $30 for a 2L. Today, I swapped my 1.5L for 2L. I decided to go with a Dark Mexican #Lager, as I preferred it over the pale ales that I tried while I was there. (Sorry not sorry)

This beer is stronger than the porter: 4.5% but it tastes lighter. It's something that I can drink really fast, however, Nick said that he could tell it was more alcoholic than the porter. I don't think I can taste it more.

I do like this beer a lot, but I also liked the porter. I would rate them the same for several reasons:

• the porter has a more full flavour, almost like it's satisfying my belly
• The Mexican lager was light and more floral
• Both are dark beers
• Both are less bitter than pale ales but have more flavour.
• They make me equally as happy.

Carly's rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆

2023-03-04​

On my way home from my Saturday job, I stopped in at RGBM brewery. Most of the growlers were sold out. I was keen to try a pale ale or IPA, but they didn't have many options this time. (It seems each time I go there, they have different beer options).

The worker guy was really good and gave me a taste of a few different ones that might resemble an IPA. Two options were really tasty: the landbier (A fresh & golden #lager, with a bready malt character featuring Belphegor Helles Yeast and neomex hops adding pithy citrus & an earthy bitterness. ABV 5%) or the NZ rice lager (Crisp base and bright NZ hops. Sav Blanc, lychee and honeydew melon. ABV 4.9%). Both were so good, but I went with the 1.5 L of Landbier.

The beer was quite tasty for a #lager. Personally, I would never get a lager because they are usually flat tasting. This one, was very hoppy and full of a citrus flavour with some bitterness to it. The first sip resembled an IPA, but the after-taste was more like a lager.

I didn't enjoy this beer as much as the dark beers, but it was still quite tasty and definitely a well crafted beer for a lager!

Carly's rating: ★★★★★★★☆☆ ☆

2023-03-17​

Heading home from a Friday afternoon paddle, I picked up another growler. This time I got the Indian Pale Lager. This is probably the hoppiest beer that they had. Upon first taste, you think "yep its an IPA", but once you've swallowed it, the after taste resembles a lager. It was a pretty tasty beer.

About: "A hybrid style that we're calling a session IPL with a festbier grist, American hops & a Czech lager yeast. A dank aroma with hints of sweet fruit & citrus. Followed by a dry biscuity malt character, balanced by berries & piney bitterness. ABV 3.4%"

This time, I went for the 2 L which only costed $25 and was about 6 drinks in total. Another thing that I also loved about this beer is that I could drink it without feeling any of the bad alcohol symptoms (being tipsy). After drinking three beers before, during and after our dinner, I continued working on my thesis.

Carly's rating ★★★★★★★☆☆ ☆

• Located: 14/6 Bellambi Ln, Bellambi NSW 2518

Nick read an article in the Illawarra Mercury about a new distillery located in a warehouse on Bellambi Lane, Wolf & Woma We decided to go and check it out as it is walking distance for us.

When you walk there, it is almost like a corporate feeling you get, surrounded by offices and with barriers around the entrance to prevent it from being an open space. Apart from this, it had a very nice vibe to it. The layout was similar to [[Illawarra Brewing Co.]] in North Wollongong, just significantly smaller.

It was super busy there, with limited seating and we couldn't get a table. I suspect that perhaps a lot of people were there as they had the same idea as we did: they may have read the article and went to check it out. Perhaps in a few months, it will die down and become less busy.

Happy hour is from 5-7 pm on Fridays. We had one Gin cocktail each (Happy hour 5-7 pm) for $10 (but only for the very basic gin cocktails). They had a bbq going, offering either hotdogs or wedges. We decided that we preferred something else for dinner and left within 10 mins.

I suspect it would be a good vibe if it were less busy and we had somewhere to sit. I would go back, but I think I will give it more time as it wasn't too enjoyable when we went. And I don't believe they allow dogs and like [[The Barrel Shephard]], they are only open for a select few days: Thursday 12-5 pm, Friday 12-7 pm and Saturday 12-8 pm.

Sunday Funday.** 😄☀️​

Today was the Malabar magic oceanswim. They had options for 1km, 2.5km and 5km. As I do, I decided to enter the 5km. I was dreading it, as I barely trained for this swim. Mind you, I spend a lot of time in the ocean, but most of the time I just have fun paddling and haven't been focusing on long endurance swimming.

The swim itself was okay. Malabar is a flat bay so for outside observers, it seems like it should be easy. The course was two laps of a 2.5km course (in the image above). On the way out, it wasn't too bad, I felt comfortable the whole first lap. Heading into the second lap, my legs were starting to cramp up - not sure of the muscle, but I was feeling it in the one just under the hip bone.

The swell was bigger with more chop on the second lap and I injested a lot of water. As I write this post, the water is still dripping out of my nose. I'm pretty sure my lips were a tinge of purple for a few hours afterwards. There were also schools of jelly fish that were blown into the course. I was trapped for about 10 mins trying to navigate through without being stung. I touched a lot of slimy bodies🤢

The good thing about it was that on the way back back to shore, the tide basically took me in and made the last 1km quite easy.

Once it was shallow enough for me to stand up, I tried to exit the water and immediately face planted at the finish line, how embarrassing 😳

I did not swim as fast as I would have liked - with an average of 1'59" per 100m, which is terrible (my usual average is 1'35"-1'45"). I'm just glad that I finished.

After the swim, Nick, chip and I went to Nick's parents house. I had a shower and coffee and we headed to [The Pines, Cronulla] for lunch, to celebrate the birthday of Nick's sister. It was an awesome Sunday.

My stomach was bloated for a long time and I had a lot of gas from ingesting so much sea water.... Totally worth it.

Great restuarant, pretty expensive, great staff, great view, great food, great vibes. I ordered the Leek entre and pumpkin ravioli main. Amazing 9/10

In January 2023, Nick and I headed to the Hunter Valley for Katie and Michelle's wedding (Nick's bestfriends). I remember a lot of what we drank and we bought several bottles home with us. This experience was really enjoyable and the wine we drank was very nice. For the five days, we stayed in Nulkaba at the Fletcher house, which was across the road from The mighty foghorn brewery. One of the days, we had lunch at Iron bark brewery. I really liked this place, they served delicious pizza and beer.

Here are a few vineyards that we visited:

Lucy's Run​

• 1274 Wine Country Dr, Lovedale NSW 2325

20.1.23 Lucy's run was one of the first Vineyards that we went to when we arrived in the Hunter. It was run by a husband and wife, both who had a lot of knowledge about wine. The lady and owner of the vineyard even joined in with us on the drinking! She was an awesome person, but it was a bit of a worry that she was drinking the same amount as us. Well it's not up to me to judge her, I do love how much she loves wine though.

They run off a farm and the owners are big believers in adopting animals from the RSPCA. Many of the wines are named after their pets. It was a very comforting and homely vibe that I received from the owners and the small vineyard. She also provided us with some cool details about wine making and recommended us different locations based on our taste in wine.

Finally, they offered us a platter with various dips which were quite amazing. We wanted to buy 6 of the 2014 wines but ended up leaving with just two (with the idea to buy more later). The wines that we chose we thought were at least 4-5/5.

• The single barrel 2020 #Shiraz 4/5.
• The 2014 #Shiraz.

Tintilla​

• 725 Hermitage Rd, Pokolbin NSW 2320

20.1.23 On this day, we also visited Tintilla for a cheese platter and wine. I did not enjoy this place as much as others, mostly because the person in charge of wine-tastings did not really provide us with much information. It took a very long time for them to serve us the wines, despite it being reasonably quiet. Nevertheless, we still had a nice time.

Peterson House & the wedding​

• Broke Rd & Wine Country Drive, Pokolbin NSW 2320.

21.1.23 On the 21 Jan 2023, Michelle and Katie got married at the Peterson House in the Hunter Valley. It was a really wonderful day. The Vineyard was really pretty place to be married, with the reception inside, in a brick building.

The wedding was really fun, the wine was really amazing. I can't stop thinking about this wine. For starters, I do not like sparkling wine, but I was drinking the bubbly rose all day! It was so delicious. However, my biggest mistake was moving to red's too late in the evening. The moment I tasted their Shiraz, I was in love. It was 100% 5/5. It was a mistake to start drinking this too late as I only had 2 glasses before we had to go home.

Piggs Peake​

• 697 Hermitage Rd, Pokolbin NSW 2320

22.1.23 The Piggs Peake winery was the last place that we visited. This was not so much a vineyard but they sourced grapes from around Australia and made their own wine from it. It was pretty crafty and had more of a brewery vibe to it.

The wine sales guy was quite young and didn't really share much information or knowledge with us. Non-the-less, the wine was relatively cheap so we bought two bottles: A Pinot Noir and a Shiraz. The Pinot was drank that evening/afternoon and the Shiraz was saved for a time in the future that we want to drink it. :)

I think one of the coolest things about this place was the wine glasses. We were very close to buying 2, but I quickly said no as they were $25-$30 each! $60 couldv'e afforded us 2 more bottles of wine. Wine>>>>>>glasses.

Hungerford Hill​

• 2450 Broke Rd, Pokolbin NSW 2320

22.1.23 The day after the wedding, we headed to Hungerford Hill Vineyards. It had a more classy vibe to it and it was definitely one of the bigger wineries in the area. I wasn't sure how I felt about it when I first arrived.

When we were seated, there was no-one around. The guy shared a lot of information with us and let us try 15 different wines, he even opened some of the more expensive ones for us.

We learned a lot about the wines in the area and we even had some deep chats about his life as a security guard before moving into the wine sales industry. Of all the wines we tasted, I rated one 6/5:

• Sweet Hermitage 2005 Shiraz: We bought this bottle which costed us $95. The most I've ever spent on wine to date! My mouth is watering as I write this short review as I am excited for the day that we open it.