.We had already decided to lay up between Taree and Port Macquarie for a couple of days so that we could tour around unencumbered by the ‘van. We decided on to stay at the Coopernook Forest Park, which is just beautiful.
This did end up resulting in a game of Ring-a-Ring-a-Rosie as the highway had been re-aligned since we had last updated our GPS (we discussed updating the maps a lot before we left but neither of us actually got round to it). Once we had worked out that the exit that Camps Australia Wide (5th edition – also 2007, so prior to the realignment) noted as being North of Moorland was now actually South, that when the highway sign says next exit Forest Road it actually means the exit after the next exit and that while the sign might talk about the Forest Road exit coming up it is actually signposted at the turn as Jericho Road, we finally got onto the right road! Luckily it appears we are not the only people to have problems on this stretch of road as we had never seen as many u-turn run-offs in our lives.On arriving however we decided it had been worth the hassle – although I think it was lucky I was driving as I was finding it an interesting challenge to finally get the right exit while Liz was getting decidedly peeved!
Next morning we headed up the road to have a wander around Port Macquarie. I had heard a bit about the City over the years having previously worked with someone who had moved over from there and also met up with the Council Economic Development Manager several times. Sadly I didn’t get myself organised and forgot to get in touch with him before arriving, one of the drawbacks of not planning too far in advance I guess.
Port Macquarie itself was lovely, reminding us of a mix of Mandurah, Bunbury and Busselton. Its one major drawback appears to be the lack of an industrial base which means that it has a slightly older demographic than is probably ideal. The waterfront was an absolute activity centre, highlighting one of Bunbury’s major drawbacks, but also proving the opportunity that is waiting for a time when a little more intrepidness is available within the decision makers of the region.
Where Bunbury has a waterfront area adjacent to the CBD (opposite the Entertainment Centre and Bicentennial Square) that has nothing to attract people and little use, the corresponding green belt of Port Macquarie was vibrant and attractive. This activity was driven through opening up limited (and appropriate) commercial development resulting in a range of food and associated businesses were clustered in it, but all at the fringes to maintain the community access to the water via sweeping parklands. In addition the park areas had numerous mature trees providing shade and shelter (and some of them great fun for kids to climb, a fantastic kids playground that nonetheless was still located discreetly and great views for several restaurants and bistro’s to look across the park to the water. In addition the City ran through into this area meaning that the CBD area naturally extended to the water improving the aesthetic qualities of the city itself, while there was also obviously support for water sport style businesses as well, including an amphibious plane offering scenic flights. To me this just proves that well thought out development, planned around maintaining community access and use of important assets can still occur and result in a benefit to everyone involved. The key in this case is to provide access to the area for the types of businesses that are likely to be relevant to people visiting and recreating in that location (ice creams, fish and chips, cafe’s, restaurants and relaxed style tavern style operations) however to make sure that they don’t take over the water itself (unlike Marlston Hill in Bunbury). Needless to say we were very impressed and ended up eating fish and chips on the grass
even though we had packed lunch before we left that morning, which just proves the economic impact and benefit of getting this type of area right.The other highlight of our visit to Port Macquarie was “The Glasshouse”, which is a combined Theatre, Art Gallery, Conference Centre, Visitor Information Centre. When it was built it caused a lot of controversy in the City with the result that the Councillors were removed and an administrator installed – an arrangement that is still current, however to us it appeared a fantastic facility.
It did have a couple of shortcomings, one of which is the fact that it would be virtually impossible to park nearby with a caravan, motor home, bus etc. – something our Visitor Centre at home also has struggles with on a regular basis, but the rest of it functioned really well and it was a landmark in its own right. One other achievement had been the incorporation of the sites heritage within the new building. It had previously held the home of the first Convict Overseer, then been the Town hall and Council Chambers for many years. As part of the construction an archaeological dig had been undertaken to mine the sites history. The result is a number of artefacts on display as well as the footings of both previous buildings also on view in the basement area.
What a fantastic day we ended up having – tomorrow we are heading back South slightly to have a look around Taree, hopefully we get as much out of that as we have today!
Interestingly, on arriving back at camp we were astounded to find that it had virtually doubled in occupancy. We were expecting that a free park like this one would have its peak use on Fridays and Saturdays, but here we are on a Sunday with over 10 separate groups all in place.
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