Location: New South Wales, Australia
Summary: Leaving stormy Sydney behind, today’s journey carried us north along the New South Wales coast. A windswept stop at Birubi Beach set the tone before reaching Nelson Bay for a dolphin‑watching cruise that turned into a battle with rain, wind, and choppy seas, memorable even without dolphins. The day finished in Port Macquarie, where the group settled in for the night after a long, weather‑tossed adventure.
Today we left Sydney and travelled by coach to Nelson Bay to go on a dolphin watching trip before continuing on to Port Macquarie for the night. As we left Sydney in the pouring rain and storms, I was glad I didn't have to drive.
Nelson Bay
We stopped on the way to Nelson Bay at a motorway service station where I bought a couple of sandwiches, sweets and crips for the journey ahead. They weren't as cheap as Spain, but they did taste quite good and I washed them down with a soft drink.
After leaving the service station on the way to Port Stephen, we then made a brief stop for photos at Birubi Beach. The weather still wasn't great, but the beach looked fantastic as the waves crashed on the shore and the sand was blown up into the air and the red flags warning swimmers not to go in the water were flying on the sand. We continued to Nelson Bay where we given 40 minutes to explore before joining our boat for a dolphin watching trip.
While the others wandered around the shops I went into the Hogsbreath bar and had a pint. I was soon joined by a couple of other people. When I finished my drink, I used the nearby bathroom and then found the boat we were going out on and queued to get onboard. We set off from Port Nelson on a catamaran under a bright, promising sun. For the first ten minutes it felt like the perfect day for dolphin watching, calm water, warm breeze, everyone smiling.
Then the weather flipped. The wind picked up, the sea turned choppy, and the sky slammed shut with thick grey clouds. Within minutes the rain was pouring, the horizon vanished, and the whole world turned the colour of wet concrete. We kept scanning the waves for dolphins, but all we saw was grey sea, grey sky, and more rain. Eventually the crew admitted the obvious, the dolphins had the sense to stay away, and we headed back to Port Nelson, soaked, cold, and dolphin‑less.
Port Macquarie
Not the day I’d hoped for, but definitely one I won’t forget. We all rejoined our coach and were soon on our way to our hotel for the night in Port Macquarie. There was nothing worth seeing in Port Macquarie and when others on the tour went for a meal I went to the bar for a drink before eating the sandwich I bought at the motorway station and going to bed.
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