Port Macquarie Lighthouse/ Koala Hospital

What a great beach at the Port Macquarie lighthouse... It was really windy up there and the ocean was crashing onto the rocks... Well worth seeing! The beaches on the east coast of Australia are really beautiful and huge, long and wide.

In the same town is the Koala Hospital, where I was finally able to see live (and stuffed) koalas. There were more German tourists there than Australians....

The poor creatures are usually victims of car accidents, dog bites, bush fires or a virus that affects the eyes and, with a little luck, they are nursed back to health. I was surprised at how small they are... huddled together in the tree... rather pathetic...

In the past, they were hunted by the millions (2 million) for their fur and are now almost extinct.

On the way back we saw a dead dingo lying on the side of the road, which is usually found in the outback and in packs. The wilderness is closer than you think.

Now I've seen pretty much everything... kangaroos, koalas, wild dogs, poisonous snakes... thankfully not sharks in person, although the beach was closed to swimmers for a day recently for that reason. 🦈🦈 There's something going on here, I tell you... 😉