Kempsey (01.02- 03.02.2019)

Arriving in Kempsey, we were warmly welcomed by Ben's old coach and his wife. He grew up in Kempsey and after retiring as a teacher, he spent a few years as a rugby coach in Germany. He and his wife took us around Kempsey and showed us a few places. Then we went to their house. They live on a farm in a house rented from the farm owner. They have a dog, cats, birds, and chickens. The dog sleeps outside and guards the house at night from other animals. The farm owner has a large cattle farm, which we were also allowed to visit. As befits a real farm, they grow all kinds of vegetables themselves. They plant: pumpkin, bell pepper, chili pepper, tomato, sweet potatoes, passion fruit, ginger, eggplant, spinach, and some herbs. They also brew their own beer and make their own yogurt. Impressive! Oh, nearly every year they take a trip to the Northern Territory to catch their fish. The honey undoubtedly comes from their son. We even got to taste the self-caught fish at the first dinner. You can taste the difference significantly. It was so delicious. Fish and chips and a salad with vegetables from their own garden. Ben and I couldn't stop eating. While eating the fish, we watched a movie about the fishing of our fish on the plate. It was enchanting. The fish was over a meter long. Then it was time for bed. The bed was heavenly too, so soft, so big, it was fantastic.

The next morning we continued with homemade banana bread for breakfast and all sorts of other delicacies. Then we went on our trip around Kempsey. We drove to the city center and were driven around the city. There is also a large Nestlé factory in Kempsey. Afterwards, we went to the beach, where we drove to a secluded beach after a few lookout points to cool off. After cooling off, we continued to the lighthouse and then Allen, the coach, showed us his favorite fishing spot. We also took a walk on another secluded beach. Then we went to the surfers' beach, where we participated in a game of chance in a sports bar. We even won $3, although we unfortunately had to pay $10 to participate. But it was very exciting and the four of us had a lot of fun. Afterwards, we went to a 7-a-side rugby tournament and watched a few games. Then we quickly went shopping at Aldi and then back home. When we arrived at their place, we pumped water from a river. They are not connected to the city's water supply, so they rely on rainwater and river water. The evening was spent by the campfire with some crackers and German sausages were grilled. After dinner, we looked at some old photo albums from our time in Germany. Ben was even in one of the photos. Then we packed our things, as the next day we were going to another farm to do volunteer work there.

It was a very nice time in Kempsey. We felt like we were with grandparents we hadn't seen in a long time.