excited about our impending reunification, Nicole very vocally so, I in my own way. There was an incident of appalling parenting where at one point Eloise evaded scrutiny and decided to visit the playground on the opposite side of the thankfully quiet road, solo. Whoever left that gate open....
After a little to-ing and fro-ing we were off on our way, with Gary leading as he knows his way round. Soon we were outside the gates to the Australian Quarantine and Importation Service Eastern Creek Reception Centre, on the phone desperately trying to get in... and eventually the gate started to creak aside like it was a State Penitentiary or something.
In reception there was a man arguing with an official over some bureacratic detail which hadn't been explained to him or which he hadn't got right or something; our hearts started to sink - what techicality would they get us on? But when it came to us through we breezed and off we went to Row 6 of the Dog Compound, where there was absolutely no-one waiting for us.
After a minutes though Candice turned up and soon we were frolicking in the corridor with our doggies, who were quite excited to see us, and then leads were on and we were marching to freedom with the barks and yowls of the still incarcerated echoing around us.
After what can only be termed a "stretch of the legs" at the end of which thankfully the dogs came back we bade our farewells and headed back up the Pacific Highway. The dogs soon established seating positions - Matilda in the footwell, Tiny at Eloise's side.
The drive went smoothly up the Highway, no false moves or wrong turns. We breezed up by Hornsby and Newcastle.First stop was at Keruah by a lake where we had the most well-meaning but appalling service at a roadside café. The heat was building up though there was a stiff breeze, and we ate with the dogs tethered to our bench. Eloise got quite excited and we were all happy to be all together again.
Eventually my chips turned up ("Sorry!") but they weren't cooked so the dogs got most of them (I was full up after my pizza anyway) then eventually after a reminder my coffee turned up ("Sorry! Keep the mug!") but that was lukewarm and disposed of down the gullet in seconds. Then we were off again with the plan to find a place to walk the dogs properly and get to Port MacQuarie.
Now the thing about me that some of you may know is that although I disrespect authority I tend to wish not to confront it, and generally speaking am not so very good (or am I) at estimating the likelihood of such confrontation occurring should rules be broken. Nicole is not so encumbered by obsequious obedience. Is that a diplomatic way of putting it? Apparently I am a drama queen. Oh well.
In the light of that, it was quite a while before we found a beach where we could actually walk the dogs but the beach that we found after detouring from the Pacific on a Tourist Drive, was beautiful.
It was heading towards dusk and a mist was forming on the edge of the Pacific. The sounds of the gentle surf were very evocative. A creek flowed out of the forest and down the beach. On one side the beach led the eye away as far as it could see, on the other a little town nestled on a headland with bright cumulus overhead.
Eloise was wearing her new "I Do All My Own Stunts" T-shirt and took the slogan literally, paddling with the dogs in the fast-flowing creek and having a whale of a time, even after falling over into the water - needless to say her mood improved further when the nappy went and she could run and climb around freestyle. The dogs also made the most of their new found freedom gambolling around on the dunes and in the creek though they fought shy of actually surfing or anything like that.
Soon it was getting dark - rapidly - and we realised that we'd better get a move on and get to Nambucca Heads.
We got there about 8 o'clock. The wind started picking up almost as soon as we left the beach, and leaves were being blown around us quite disconcertingly. The motel lay down a palm-lined drive off the main road and was by the shore of the Nambucca River, I had read, but it was pitch black and we couldn't see anything much and certainly couldn't hear any evidence of water over the gusts of wind which were now getting very strong. We were disappointed to find that as it was Sunday there was no food laid on so we hot-footed it back into Macksville where we got takeaway Chinese which we ate watching crap TV... then crashed. Needless to say the dogs slept on the beds. Shameful.
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