Today dawned clear, well at least clearing.  We packed as if it might rain but luckily the weather got better as day progressed and we ended up in shorts and t-shirts.  We left Forster still unimpressed by the drivers and town.  We cycled on a cycle path then on The Lakes Way north out of town.

We stopped after 10km to have a drink and remarked how many cars there were on the road.  Forster is in a loop off the highway and yesterday had been very quiet until we reached the local traffic around Forster.  Literally 100m down the road it all became obvious as we met the turnoff heading south to Newcastle.  It seems most drivers avoid the hilly stretch and when travelling from the south enter Forster via this northern road.  After passing this turnoff, the traffic became lighter.  We were pleased to be free of the traffic and enjoyed the cycle to Taree.  Just short of Taree Jennie got a puncture on her back wheel, puncture number 3.  We’ve been lucky as the last puncture was way back on the Victoria/NSW border.

Taree is a nice wee town which looks to be thriving despite, or maybe because of the large bypass.  Having the Pacific Highway bypass the town means only local traffic and people wanting to visit are there rather than people simply passing though.  We checked into a motel (caravan park too far out of town), chatted to the friendly motel lady then did some groceries.  Later we headed down the road to the Indian Restaurant and had a nice chat to owner from Delhi.

As we are now in a window of nice weather before forecasted rain this coming weekend, we’ve decided to make some progress while the sun shines.

Again we’ve been remiss in not taking any photos.  We’ll try harder tomorrow 🙂

Highlight of today:  Taree is a nice wee town.