Forster to Port Macquaire

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We got into Port Macquarie on Monday, October 25th.  We stayed for two nights at one of the best hostels we have ever stayed in -- Ozzie Pozzie.  We met two girls who were teachers in Aussie who were also traveling The Gold Coast, a guy and a girl from Britain who were travelling the world and just happened to meet so they hooked up and were travelling together, a guy from Denmark who was literally riding his bicycle around the world and a guy from Australia who ended up taking Joel to a local pub for what he called "the best beer in Australia" -- Cooper's.

At the pub Joel also met a guy in the Tasmanian Coast Guard who gave out some awesome tips on how to drive in The Outback.  (We are thinking about driving our station wagon into the Heart of Australia --- Ayer's Rock --- and it turns out it can be quite a trip.)

Tuesday, the 26th, we took advantage of the free bikes Ozzie Pozzie provides and drove to a huge beach (we had to take a ferry), same some old guys all dressed in white bowling, went swimming in an Olympic Pool in the middle of Port Macquaire, checked out the local library and went to The Koala Hospital.

The Koala Hospital is a really cool place that treats and cares for koala's that cannot live in the wild --- those that are hit by cars, attacked by dogs, burned in forest fires, etc..  We got to see one up close. Pebbles was so cute and she was in the hospital because her mom was hit by a car when she was in her pouch. Her mom didn't make it and Pebbles has a badly healed broken jaw so she can't eat enough leaves to sustain her The volunteers at the hospital have to feed her baby formula twice a day through a dropper.

Back at Ozzie Pozzie we hung out with our fellow travellers, drinking an Aussie beer, Tooheys New and watching Austin Powers The Spy Who Shagged Me.

Wednesday, the 27th, we took off for Nimben.