The morning dawned grey and grim
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The theme of the day was rain. Rain. And more rain.
The forecast for Port Macquarie was 80-120 mm of rain, with heavy bursts, developing into thunderstorms in the afternoon. But the morning had some dry spells, allowing us to get breakfast at Casualties Espresso again and then take Scully out for a run in the park near the hotel. Although by the time we got back from the park it had started raining.
The morning dawned grey and grim |
We lined up a few wet weather activities. We started by driving out to the suburbs of town, where there is a small craft shop called Alice in Paperland that M. was keen to check out. It turned out to be almost entirely dedicated to paper crafts, oddly enough, with lots of templates and fancy papers and tools for scrapbooking. They had a small section for other crafts at the back, mostly paints and brushes. There wasn't any fabric stuff, which was what M. was really after, but she bought a pair of tweezers for use in her sewing. After that we went to Spotlight, where M. bought a bunch of different material to use for her sewing.
Following these, it was my turn to choose a destination. So we ended up at the Wicked Elf Brewery... where I tried some of the beers and we had a lightish lunch. When we arrived about 12:30 there were no customers there. They had outdoor seating, but the cover was only shade cloth and the rain was soaking all of the tables. We said we had a small dog, and the lady said she's not supposed to let us inside but ushered us in to a table near the door, so that was nice. We had the place to ourselves for some time, but around 1 o'clock a few groups of people arrived and sat at other tables.
 Brewing vats at Wicked Elf |
The bar did a tasting paddle of four small glasses to sample some of the brewery's different beers, which I ordered, selecting four of the different ales. The woman who poured the beers completed the four glasses, but then said she’d accidentally done a glass of another beer that I hadn’t ordered, and she said rather than pour it down the sink, I could have it for no charge. So I got a free (small) glass of beer.
 Tasting paddle at Wicked Elf |
It was a very nice place to sit for a while out of the rain. We made a lunch out of it by ordering some focaccia with garlic butter, and some fried chat potatoes.
 Fried chats |
M. wanted a coffee, but they didn’t make coffees there. However, she saw across the street a place that had a coffee sign on it, and so walked over, while I waited with Scully. She returned with a cup of coffee and a story...
She said that the place across the road was actually a warehouse for coffee and espresso machines, but they also ran courses to train people to use them. So they had a row of machines set up. She had poked her head into the warehouse to see what was inside, and someone had asked her what she wanted. She said she thought it might be a place to get a coffee. The staff member said no and explained it was a warehouse and training facility. So M. asked if there was somewhere nearby where she could get a coffee. The guy asked if she was driving, and she said no, she was on foot. Then the guy said he was just about the clean the machines and he could make her a cup first. He even asked what type of coffee she wanted, and made her request of a skim piccolo. So she ended up getting the coffee she wanted, and didn’t even have to pay for it! So we both ended up with a free drink.
 Coffee wholesaler, barista training, and free coffee if you ask for it! |
Next door to the coffee place, M. said there was a good looking place with a retail outlet selling condiments and jams and sauces and stuff. She suggested that after leaving the brewery we go across and have a look and buy some jams and things to take home. We paid up and left the brewery and walked across the street... to see a woman just locking up the shop and dashing off to here car to drive away. The place was called The Other Chef. We decided maybe we'd come back tomorrow morning on our way out of Port Macquarie to drive home.
We drove back to the hotel, and decided to go for a walk through the shopping area of town, to see what interesting shops were around. We looked at some crafts and homewares and M. checked out some clothing. I found an old record and collectibles place, which had some cool comics and books and other stuff. We returned to the hotel, through increasingly heavy rain.
 Szechuan salt and pepper squid, Botanica Wine Garden |
For dinner we had a reservation at a nice restaurant in town, Botanica Wine Garden, a few blocks from our hotel. Because we had Scully, we needed an outdoor table, and we hoped they had one under cover well out of the rain. They did – there were tables against a wall under a large awning, so we were about two metres from the rain. M. ordered a beet tarte tatin for an entree, then the hand-rolled gnocchi, while I got the Szechuan salt and pepper squid followed by the special of the day which was 16-hour beef cheeks.
 Hand rolled gnocchi, Botanica Wine Garden |
We enjoyed a good meal, and watched the rain fall... Until it got really heavy. It absolutely pounded down for several minutes. While we were well under cover, unfortunately the awning sprung a leak on the wall side, and torrents of water came dripping through, splattering off the window sill of the restaurant and all over us. We both got soaking wet, our dining table got wet, we had to pick up Scully’s cloth mat from the ground as it was getting soaked.
 Our table after the heavy rain |
Fortunately this downpour didn’t last very long, but the damage was done. I was soaked through my clothes to the skin on one side, and M. as well. But on the positive side it wasn't cold, so we weren't freezing. We finished our main course and then considered dessert. M. wanted a coffee but in a theme for the day this restaurant said they didn't make coffee! The waiter said we could go to the restaurant next door as they made take-away coffees. So I went over and ordered one for M., after I had selected an Eton mess from the dessert menu.
 The neatest Eton mess ever |
We finished our meal, and then had to walk back to the hotel in the heavy rain. Now we’re here, and we have entire sets of clothes including socks and underwear arrayed around the room to dry.
Tomorrow we drive home to Sydney. The forecast is for another 120-200 mm of rain here in Port Macquarie, and up to 120 mm of rain in Sydney. I think it’s going to be a very wet drive.
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