Port Macquarie

Fabulous Australian Seafood

August 2, 2019 by David Herd

Fabulous Australian Seafood

Fabulous Australian Seafood is probably the thing I miss the most living overseas. Good avocados are a close second. Writing this article is bringing back so many wonderful seafood feasts in the land down under. 🙂

The photo above & in the header was Xmas lunch 2003, I was happy to spend Xmas day alone with my best friend Ziggy (my Doberman) enjoying my beautiful home that I built in 1990. I ate magnificent seafood and washed it down with my favourite white wine from Margaret River in W.A. a Salitage unwooded Chardonay, life could not get much better than this. 🙂

Avocado & fresh prawns

A perfect combination, add some fresh white bread loaded with Gluten. 🙂 This feast was at Edgewater restaurant on the Isle of Capri in Surfers Paradise Australia.

The famous Australian mudcrab

Absolutely delicious & ideal for a long leisurely lunch with a very cold NZ Sauvignon Blanc.

I have caught & eaten hundreds of them.

For 10 years from 1990 I caught a huge numbers from my jetty at 106 Upton St Bundall until they replaced a bridge in Crombie Avenue destroying their breeding grounds.

Mudcrab prices have gone through the roof.

Especially if you buy them at the seafood shop in the Brickworks centre on Ferry Road. $73 a kilo is way above my budget.

Charis seafood at Labrador.

Much cheaper than the brickworks, but don’t be fooled by the price shown here, it was 2010. 🙂

Fresh seafood from Woolworths

My friend Phil Thomson & I enjoyed this great selection from Woolworth’s at Southport Park shopping mall.

Eagles concert Brisbane 1995

My friend Ross Kennedy & I have a seafood feast in the carpark before the concert.

Fabulous Port Macquarie seafood.

It does not get better than this. These oysters were $15 a dozen & the prawns cost $10, both were as good as anywhere in the world.

Hastings River Port Macquarie

All along the NSW coast there are seafood shops just like this.

I have eaten oysters all over the world, please check out THIS LINK.

Mambo Number 5

A little bit of Monica in my life, A little bit of Erica by my side, A little bit of Rita is all I need, A little bit of Tina is what I see…….
This was a fabulous night at the Freeway Hotel in Artarmon in Sydney, wonderful seafood & an abundance of eye candy. 🙂

Lou Bega - Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit of...)

Watch this video on YouTube

Sydney Fish Market

This wonderful market has every variety of seafood you will ever need, check out their site here.

Murray Cod & Garfish

So fresh they almost jump onto your plate. 🙂

Pony Dining Eagle Street Pier

I usually prefer raw oysters but sometimes I’ll live dangerously. TripAdvisor rate Pony #168 of 3,868 Restaurants in Brisbane. Personally I think they are way too generous.

Baby Barramundi at the Lazy Lobster in Labrador, July 2019.

I should have ordered the Lobster. 🙂

Seafood Chowder at Omeros Bros.

Certainly one of the Gold Coast’s best restaurants.

Fabulous Australian Seafood

We shot this video at Omeros July 2019.

Best prawns I have ever eaten.

Just buy them fresh from the trawlers on the Spit at the Broadwater.

Here are the trawlers

The medium prawns are about $25 a kilo. just call Curly on 0417 668 591, he’s one of the boat owners, he will let you know what they have in stock.

I have saved the best for last.

Chevron Island Seafood is the best value on the Coast, I have been a customer for 30 years. See more of Chevron Island on THIS LINK, it’s where I plan to live when I return to Australia around 2022.

Sometimes I just have prawns & scallops

Cooked to perfection.

Sometimes oysters natural

That’s my friend Frank lurking in the background. 🙂

Other times I have my special dish

A mixture to die for, thanks Warren.

My photos are being seen

I will have to remind Frank & Warren about the free publicity I am getting for them, surely I deserve a few dozen free oysters? 🙂 🙂 🙂

Half price lobsters in December 2020

China, aka “The Bully Boys”, have placed restrictions on many Australian imports, such as barley, coal, wine & seafood. Consequently lobsters are on offer at half price. Due to Covid-19 flight restrictions I can’t enter the country without 2 weeks isolation, sadly I’ll miss out on these great bargains. 🙂

Thanks folks for visiting my Fabulous Australian Seafood photo blog.

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Flynns Beach Port Macquarie

April 1, 2017 by David Herd

Beautiful clean beach

Flynns Beach Port Macquarie

Flynns Beach Port Macquarie NSW is about 500 metres long and sits between to rocky headlands. Located about 3 kms from the city centre & about a 7 minute drive.

Surf lifesaving club

Includes a cafe where you can relax and take in the view of the beach and the ocean.

Pick up your supplies here

There is a grocer with a liquor situated close to the road leading down to their beach, pick up your local newspaper, a bottle of wine & a few beers then enjoy your day at Flynns Beach Port Macquarie NSW.

If you really want some great food.

These oysters were $15 a dozen & the prawns cost $10, both were as good as anywhere in the world.

Fresh seafood here.

On the Hastings river in the centre of town here is a shop selling fresh seafood.

Location

Just a 7 minute drive from the centre of town.

Holiday Park

A beautiful park beside the break wall at the entrance of the Hastings river.

Just north of Flynns beach

The entrance to the Hastings River, featuring the painted rocks of Port Macquarie.

Jagged rocks at Flynns Beach Port Macquarie NSW.

Trees cling to the cliff

Interesting trees hanging on to the cliff at Flynns Beach.

Beautiful Flynns Beach

A perfect location to relax and enjoy your day.

Flynns Beach Resort

Located adjacent to the beach, for a great room rate just book through THIS LINK.

Thanks for visiting my Flynns Beach Port Macquarie NSW photo blog.

It was a great drive down from from Surfers Paradise to Sydney stopping at Kingscliff, Yamba, Port Macquarie, Forster-Tuncurry, Gosford & Coogee. Also dropped into Maroubra which is a place I have not seen for over 50 years. Just click on the links to see my photo blogs.

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Rock Art Port Macquarie

March 23, 2017 by David Herd

Southern breakwall Hastings River

Rock Art Port Macquarie

Rock Art Port Macquarie actually began as an art competition in 1995 & gradually evolved into a fascinating outdoor gallery.

Rock Art Port Macquarie

Sadly after a small amount of complaints 12 in 10 years the rock art is now banned. It’s crazy how a few idiots can spoil things for the majority, what a shame the council won’t hold a vote on the issue.

Celebrating an engagement.

Two lovers leave their mark to celebrate their engagement.

The mouth of the Hastings River

The river descends 1,040 metres (3,410 ft) over its 180 kilometres (110 mi) course. The Hastings river descends 1,040 metres from the Great Dividing Range over its 180 kilometres journey to the coast at Port Macquarie.

Look closely and you will see the rock art. 🙂

A beautiful day to catch a fish.

One of the locals has picked a beautiful day to fish off the rocks.

Waiting for the big one

Actually I spoke to the guy who said he was trying to catch some small fish to use for bait.

Apparently their life is a circus.

It says so on the rock. 🙂

A great tourist attraction

You can spend a very interesting hour or so checking out the Painted Rock Art Port Macquarie.

Port Macquarie

And so it goes on & on, a great addition to this terrific coastal town.

Port Macquarie’s Town Green

This is a superb park where people relax and enjoy the perfect environment beside the Hastings River.

Oxley oval

Just a short way along the road from the painted rocks is Oxly oval where cricket & football are played in beautiful surroundings.

A beautiful park beside the river.

A great place to relax have a picnic lunch and check out the Painted Rock Art Port Macquarie.

Please check out my photo blog for Yamba on the Clarence River a little further north.

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Port Macquarie coastal village

August 5, 2014 by David Herd

Port Macquarie coastal village originally was a penal colony, these days many people retire in Port Macquarie on the NSW coast (4 hours north of Sydney), because of the temperate climate, good fishing & boating and nice beaches. I think it is the pick of the NSW coastal towns.

At the end of this post you will see how one of my distant relatives Helen Gillies arrived in Port Macquarie in 1833 after being convicted for stealing in Glasgow and shipped to Australia. Helen was my grandfather’s grandmother 🙂

Port Macquarie is famous for fresh seafood

Beautiful fresh prawns & delicious oysters, in fact my favourite lunch in Port is prawns & avocado on freshly baked bread with a dozen oysters natural to begin.

Port Macquarie coastal village

As good as it gets. 🙂

The Hastings River

Hastings River is also the name of a small, developing wine region. The main clusters of vineyards are located in Port Macquarie and Wauchope.

The region was first planted with vines in the 1860s but recent history of the area has been pioneered by the Cassegrain family with Verdelho

Hastings River’s cellar door facilities, music events, regional restaurants, coastal attractions and great climate are serving to build interest in the local wine industry.

Beachhouse Pub formally Royal Hotel est 1840

Great place to relax and enjoy a few cold beers on a hot day. 🙂

Vintage cars in Port Macquarie

Everybody loves these old cars.

Love the colour

Certainly not the original colour.

Luxury camper van

On the way to Port Macquarie we saw this luxury vehicle in Coffs Harbour.

My brother Warren lives in Port Macquarie

Warren has lived & worked in Port Macquarie for over 20 years, he & his wife Kerry raised four great children who are now having children of their own. The Herd family has grown incredibly over the last 50 years, I have put a lot of the family history in a post called Following the Herd. My uncle Allan Herd also lived in Port Macquarie for many years, he passed away at the age of 95 in July 2012, his story as a soldier in WW2 is the most dramatic event in our family history, it’s a tale worth reading.

My lovely niece Laura & Jordan Millar.

Laura grew up in Port Macquarie, she is a talented singer/song writer. Here she is with her boyfriend Jordan Millar at The Fig in Port Macquarie.

Family & friends

Three brothers, Warren, Ian, David with Kerry and Chris enjoy dinner in Port Macquarie.

The Wall of China restaurant

Very good Chinese food at this popular restaurant.

Classic council sign

Here is a classic council sign in Port Macquarie on the NSW coast. A friend of mine who works for Trowbridge council in Wiltshire in the U.K. arranged for a couple of these to be erected in Trowbridge, after a couple of months and numerous complaints from the public they took them down.

And I thought the Pommies had a sense of humour.

Helen Gillies

Helen arrived in Port Macquarie in 1833 after being convicted for stealing in Glasgow and shipped to Australia. Helen was my grandfather’s grandmother, she was 4′ 11″ tall. 🙂