Well...we liked this place so much we stayed for 4 weeks (28 days to be exact). This is the place we decided was going to be the place where we just chilled out, catch up on schoolwork and let the kids run wild!! I picked Umina Beach from the list of Big 4's Caravan Parks looking for place along the coast somewhere. When I rang and got the price is was very cheap about $170 for a week.
When we arrived it looked really flash like a resort, the pools were all huge with a hot spa, a slide into the pool, a kiddies pool which was also very large with giant mushrooms spurting water from the top, they had 2 bouncy pillows for different aged kiddies, a playground, the caravan park was right on the beach, there was a cafe, a gamesroom and the van sites were a good size too, enough parking for your car which is always a good thing when you need to plug in our car fridge.
Initially there was a slight hiccup with the directions the front desk gave us to the site because the way she told us to go we would not have been able to back the van in and considering it was a drive through site we should not have had to back in. Not a worry, after Clint pulled over and checked out the options and with help from our neighbour Gwen we got into the site without incident. Gwen was the lady I had originally called to make the booking and she was also staying and working at the caravan park. She booked us the site right next to hers because I had told her our van was 31ft and she knew the site next to hers had occupied other large vans like ours.She lived with her partner Hank and I did warn her there was going to be children but she didnt move us and we all got along great. Gwen also warned us about the crazy lady 2 doors up saying do not make eye contact as we would not get rid of her and she was trouble. Gwen and Henk were not wrong she was 2 snags short of a bbq for sure!!! She was eventually asked to leave the park due to their 28 day stay policy.
Our site was right across from the toilets which was great during the week but on the weekends the park filled up with camping folk and they would trash the toilets for the weekend they stayed. It was a very popular park and it filled every weekend. We could see the bouncy pillows from our van and the playgrounds so that was handy for the kids when they wandered over there. They also had security so that also made it safer knowing that someone was always around and watching.
And Birds...heaps of birds and ducks and with these come poo's. Every morning Clint was out sweeping of the poo from the slab. Lots of beautiful Lorikeets which the kids would feed with Henk. We went through a loads of loaves of bread feeding them. They were very tame and always very hungry they would sit on the kids heads, arms and chairs and eat the bread from your fingers.
The weather was really great in the 4 weeks we were there just perfect. We had one day where it was really windy and we witnessed a fellow caravanner lose his awning in the wind. Nasty bit of damage for them.
We met some really nice people and the kids made alot of new friends. We became regulars at the Gosford RSL and even joined for discounts on the food and drinks. The RSLS have great playareas for the kids which give us peace and quiet to speak to each other and enjoy a drink!
The scenery around the central coast is truly beautiful. You drive through rainforrests, windy roads, up hill down hills and then your on the beach. When you are down the beach you see the ocean and when you look behind you see the hinterland. Really great landscapes, better than I ever thought NSW was going to be. You will see the pictures for yourself.
Around Umina there are other small towns like Woy Woy, here we did our food shopping, the kids found a pet shop that they would spend an hour or so playing with the dogs, cats, looking at the fish tanks and asking the shop assistants 50 questions. I even found a beautician who groomed me so I wasnt so 'Carnivaly'. They also had markets here but I didnt get a chance to see them.
We had lunch one day at a pub in a town called Patonga Beach right on one of the coasts points. Gwen had given us the tip on the good food here and she didnt let us down. We had surf and turf's overlooking the beach watching the world go by.
One day we went to Palm Beach where they film Home and Away. We didnt see any filming but we did walk around the surf club which has Alf Stewart's name up on a board. We were a bit upset we didnt spot any stars but at least we saw where is was filmed. It was a beautiful spot but I did expect the beach to look more like Cable Beach, in fact it was quite slopey on the sand banks. On the other side of the surf club is the boat shed where they film the shots for the fishing boats Alf has and the jetty you quite often see in the show.
We went out for an hours drive to the central Mangrove area to get some fresh veges and fruit and visited a place called Kulnara here we stopped for a bit of a snack and behind the cafe was a workshop where a man called Dave Thurston turned old Gas Bottles into Ned kelly Letterboxes. He used a lot of steel and aluminium and turned it into art, mostly australian animals. He also did wooden furniture which was really different but nice. Out the front of the shop was 'The Big Chair' which you will see a picture of. On the way home my beautiful man stopped on the side of the road to buy me a bunch of roses for Valentine's day xx love you.
We were able to do a bit of school work which was good as we hadnt done too much of it recently. Clint would take the girls for a walk on some days when Slade needed a bit of quiet time to do his schoolwork. We did have a couple of days where there was a wild storm with lots of rain, lightening and thunder, its all good when everyone is safe and sound and even exciting! It does get loud in our tin home but its a good experience and all part of the adventure!
At the caravan park which was owned by NRMA they had weekly activities for the kids and this was not just on school holidays it was all the time. They had arts and crafts, sporting activities, beach cricket & tractor rides. It wasnt like a kids club as they encouraged parent involvement so that families do things together.
One day we took a day trip to Bondi Beach. Now that was very scenic lots of tanned, muscley, fit looking people heaps of tourists. On the day we went it 32 degrees so there were plenty of people. We also saw the filming of Bondi Rescue. One of the life guards came up to Clint when he was sitting under the sun shade, I was in the water with Isla and I thought we were going to be asked to put the sun shade down. When we got to the beach it was pretty busy and I told Clint to go right down to the water and set up the sun shade. I came out of the water to ask Clint what was said thinking the worst and all he asked was where did we get the sun shade from as he liked the one we had. Clint has so many people come up and talk to him about the truck, the weather, the van or the kids. Its quite funny sometimes when we are just minding our own business and someone comes out of the blue and starts having a chat.
The parking at Bondi was a joke it cost us $15 to park for a couple of hours!! Its so expensive the ticket machine has slots for your credit cards.
At Umina we met the James's, Annette, Jason, Chloe, Curtis and Tiffany, from QLD they were just starting their aussie adventure and the kids all enjoyed each others company. Slade met another boy who's dad lived in the park and on weekends he went to his mums or grandma's his name was Maddox and Slade enjoyed going over to his place to play xbox and riding off on their bikes. On the weekends there was always alot of kids staying at the park and that was good for the kids to get off and find new friends. There was another lovely family we met the mum and dad were Erin and Danny and the kids were Sam,Cooper,Abby, Fletcher,
Lone Star
One of the good things about Sydney and NSW...they have Lone Star Restaurant!!! Oh how I miss this place and it was still as good as it was when it was in the west.
ACDC
Rob and Lou had a spare ticket to the AC/DC concert so we drove to Sydney to the apartment Rob,Lou and Dawsey were staying in and Clint went along with them. The kids and I just camped out in their pad until the concert finished and then we drove back to Umina. The concert was well worth it of course, it was a shame I couldnt go but at least one of us got to go. It was great to catch up with them again.
See some of the pics here
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2059261&id=1178196973&l=1723ca862e
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