The Pelikan Capital

Hi there, dear ones in sunny Germany! Today we left Sydney behind and are now protected from rain and cold in our cozy campervan. I will now tell you about our last day before Sydney, which we spent in The Entrance.

Day 51-10/11/2018: Last stop before Sydney!

When we woke up at the highway rest area in the morning, the constant rain had finally stopped. The first truck drivers got back on the motorway with their big trucks and drove noisily past our camper. Others sat down for bacon and eggs in the cafe or McDonald's, fueling up for the journey ahead. Surprisingly, there was a lot of activity at the rest area for this early hour. After taking a warm shower, we set off early for The Entrance. The small holiday resort is located on the coast north of Sydney and is divided into a northern and southern district by a canal. The city is the 'entrance' to Tuggerah Lake, into which the canal flows. In the northern district, we found a campground right by the canal. It was still early, and with hungry bellies, we headed to the camp kitchen, where we made 'brekki' with bacon and eggs.

The sun finally made an appearance again, so we headed to the city center. A bridge led us across the canal, with restaurants and souvenir shops lining the other side. On a small island in the middle of the river, countless pelicans frolicked. We soon learned that The Entrance is also known as the pelican capital.

In search of a nice cafe, we strolled through an unpromising shopping street and finally reached the beach, where we walked a part of our way. An unmistakable sign warned of jellyfish, which we then saw in abundance in the wet sand. For the first time, we saw the dreaded deep blue Portuguese man o' war, which burns thousands of people in Australia every year.

We continued our unsuccessful search for a cafe that invited us to linger. We wanted to plan our next days in the capital of New South Wales to be well-prepared. Back at the canal, two Australian pelicans sat right in front of us on rocks in the water. It's always impressive to see how big these cute but also graceful water birds are. With a body length of 1.6 to 1.8 meters, they could spit on my head. We watched the two of them for a while before walking back to the campground. Just a few meters away, we finally found a cute cafe. We sat down at an elevated table by the window, ordered a cappuccino and a chai latte, and immersed ourselves in the internet and our guidebook. The very nice waiters our age were spreading good vibes and infected us with them. While Nena's "99 Luftballons" suddenly played from the speakers, we started talking to one of them and chatted for a few more minutes before heading back to the campground.

With love, Jay and Jay 💙