Wintersun (and rain)

Before I start, I should point out that this is Dan writing this entry as Kaz decided to relinquish the reins on the blog for now. I hope I don’t stuff it up too much...

So we were welcomed to Port Macquarie by palm trees, blue skies and sunshine, a nice change after the woeful weather we have had for the past few weeks.

We have been looking forward to Port Macquarie for the last few months now, as we are here for the Wintersun Festival – a 50’s and 60’s music festival with rock’n’roll and classic cars, but most importantly – lots of Elvis Tribute Artists.

The first thing we did after arriving and setting up the van was to catch up with Tony and Bern – Kaz’s uncle and his partner - over a beer or two.

We stayed at the Big4 Sundowner Breakwall Tourist Park, situated at the base of the breakwall and within easy walking distance – even for me - to town.

On Saturday we wandered around town and watched a number of live shows on display all over town. Sunday was spent relaxing at West Port Park watching the kids spending all their pocket money on rides and junk food at the carnival whilst listening to live bands, drinking a few cold beers and admiring the many beautiful classic cars on display. We also managed to catch up with the fellow travellers we met in Tamworth, Gary, Bernie and Tash. They came back to our place and we all enjoyed a great BBQ and some fantastic story swapping.

Throughout the “working” week, while I sat in the van listening to the live bands playing nearby and working, everyone else wandered around town and enjoyed the music and shows I could only hear. Even the kids managed to earn a week off from schoolwork by doing 2 weeks worth the week before. Unfortunately work had got rather busy for me so I wasn’t so lucky.

I did manage to take some time off from work one afternoon and we all enjoyed a rock’n’roll sunset cruise. At $10 per person, we took drinks and nibbles and had a 90min cruise around the port. It was a great evening which I’m sure the kids will remember for a long time, as they were allowed to pilot the boat for most of the trip. I did notice most people started drinking a lot more once they realised who was steering, especially when Will took control. He decided that as it was a ‘Rock’n’Roll Cruise then the boat should rock’n’roll!!  All in all it was a great night and some great photos of a pod of dolphins that followed us for some time.

I also managed a little time off one morning to see an Elvis Tribute Contest, which got me into the mood for the concert Kaz and I went to that night. Tony had recommended we go see Mark Andrew perform his Elvis Tribute Show, “Elvis leaves his Mark”. The show was the highlight of my time in Port Macquarie and even though she will deny it, it was Kaz’s too!! You couldn’t help but get swept up in the realism and at stages throughout the show you could almost believe “he” was still alive. However a few of the older women really believed that it was Elvis and could hardly control themselves. One woman even fell off her chair when she received a kiss from Mark. Even Kaz got swept away in it all after catching an “Elvis” cap and refused to hand it over to me, even though up until this point in her life she couldn’t stand anything Elvis!

One night Kaz, Pat and Tim headed out to the “Cliff and Dusty Show”, a Cliff Richard and Dusty Springfield tribute show. They had a fantastic night and even got up and boogied to a couple of songs.

Over the long weekend all the main Wintersun events were to be held, however the heavens opened and the majority of events were a wash out.

Monday night the girls – Kaz, Pat and Bernie – all went to a Burlesque Show “Pretty Things Peep Show”. After a few chardonnays they all came home buzzing with excitement. They had spent the night watching burlesque, sword swallowing, fire twirling and lots more.

Tuesday morning we had packed up and were getting ready to leave when a huge storm rolled in, bringing heaps of rain and gusty winds. We decided it was unsafe to tow the van so booked in for another night. Tony had the same idea with his 5^th wheeler, but Tim reckoned their little motorhome would have no problems, so left to scout ahead. Little did we know, but the heavy rains caused major flooding up and down the coast and all the roads out of Port Macquarie were closed for about a week.

We were trapped!!!!!!

We spent the next few days trying to entertain the kids while we were all trapped in the van. Finally the sun came back out, but the roads were still closed. So we made the most of it, with games of cricket, kite flying and drinkies – for the adults. The kids and Kaz had fun watching some new born baby birds taking their first steps. When we arrived at Port Macquarie, there were a couple of Plovers guarding a nest right next to Tony and Bernie’s site. Whenever someone walked near to their van, the Plovers would squawk and chase them away. Finally four little chicks were hatched and spent the next few days wandering around the park playing in all the puddles.

After extending our stay for an extra 6 days we are finally leaving Port Macquarie. We have organised to meet up with Mark, Amanda and the kids in Coffs Harbour and are really looking forward to catching up with them.