Forster was the second of our long stays as Jazz Nomads – when we were in the phase of trying out places that we might want to live. Our conclusion at the time was that it would indeed be a good place to live.

Our accommodation was a spacious suburban house with a nice front deck to sit and relax on – as well as a back garden with a dining table. It was about 20 minutes walk to the centre of Forster, but only a five minute walk to Pine Point Lookout – a place with clifftop views of the ocean. From there it was possible to walk along the coastal trail to the centre of Forster in one direction, and to One Mile Beach and beyond in the other direction. We walked along the coast pretty much every day.

The walk along the coast to Forster centre started on the cliffs and then went downhill through some bush, before continuing on a surfaced path along the rocky shoreline. Just before town was Pebbly Beach – a beach covered in stones which made a very satisfying noise when the waves washed over them.

We took this route to town many times after work to reach the Forster Ocean Baths – an enclosed swimming area filled with sea water. It tended to be quiet at around 6pm – so we often went for a swim and then walked back home for dinner.

We also walked many times in the other direction from our house to One Mile Beach – where there was a very large sand dune that you could run down at high speed. It took less than ten minutes to get there so we sometimes went to run down the sand dune as a break from work.

Other places that we walked to were a nearby nature reserve called ‘The Sanctuary’, the banks of the Coolongolook River (which meets the ocean near Forster centre), and over the bridge to Tuncurry – a small town which forms a continuous urban area with Forster.

We also drove a few times to Black Head – a small place just north of Forster with some scenic coastal walks.

During our time in Forster we had a couple of visits from friends – JH and AM came and we went kayaking on the river (unfortunately we got torrential rain, but it was still fun), and BP and MP also came to visit and we went to a local craft brewery and on a hike in Booti Booti National Park.

Our longer day trips were to Port Macquarie and Crowdy Bay National Park, and we also attempted a day trip to Bulahdelah – but we got totally rained off and only saw a wooden fish…