As the there was to be a bit of ‘hot bedding’ taking place at Wightman Towers while we are away – other friends were making a flying visit! – a bit of tidying and bed changing had to be done before we left. We definitely had to hide the red dust covered rucksacks from public view……..!

We set out at about 8.30 to get to the Central Station to go to Fennel Bay to meet up with Peter, our friend from the Silk Road. We are now getting very slick at getting around the City stations. It was a pretty dull day. The first day we have donned our wet weather gear in earnest.

The journey out to Fassifern, his nearest station, took about two and a half hours. It was slow going again, with lots of stops at leafy stations. We passed the Hawkesbury River – looking very different in the rain to when we cruised up it in the sunshine on our last visit.

Peter was there to meet us and we took off for the riverside cafe n Toronto ( the names of these places are hysterical!) where we had eaten before on the edge of Lake Macquarie. It was lovely to be there again with him.

As usual, once the chat started, it did not stop! After lunch, we took advantage of a break in the weather to take a walk in woodland on the lake edge.

You cannot do a walk with Peter without learning something! We saw all sorts of things including possum claw marks on a tree, stringy bark trees that Aboriginals used to make string (funnily enough)

The bulge of a white ant mound on a tree

Apparently small birds make nests in the ant mounds – and the ants do no more than block that bit off to ant life and ignore them! Fascinating.

It was then time to go home to meet Nelson………

The smiling Labrador.

A jolly evening was had by all!