← PreviousAn Australian adventure: hidden beaches, waterfalls and a spectacular sunsetTo tell the next part of this story, we have to go back a few years to a very hot Turkish spring. In 2015 we were in Turkey in the middle of a road trip that took us from Istanbul to Antalya and on to Izmir. On Saturday 23 May we'd booked a boat cruise along an inlet to discover the remains of ancient civilisations. We expected there to be just a few of us on board, but to our dismay every seat was taken. Since we'd be eating on board, we were seated at dining tables. So we sat opposite a couple in their fifties. Not French, that was for sure, but we couldn't work out their nationality. The woman struck up a conversation and we learned they came from faraway Australia.
We hit it off very quickly and in the end spent more time talking about our respective countries than admiring the scenery on what turned out to be a mediocre cruise. Cassandre was adamant: Australia would be without her! Far too dangerous! And yet here we were, well and truly, heading for the home of Lionel and Christine, our friends from the boat in Turkey! They lived in the small town of Lake Cathie and were delighted to host us when we got in touch. They welcomed us with open arms, two years after that unlikely meeting.
It was almost Easter, and we'd brought chocolates as a thank-you gift along with a bottle of wine. After recapping our adventures, we settled in and enjoyed a hot shower, the first in several days. They then took us to admire some spectacular views of the area. From the top of a mountain, we could see inlets snaking through the forests as far as the eye could see, blue and green mingling, joined by the yellow of the sand where they flowed into the Pacific Ocean.
We spent two very peaceful but above all enriching days with them. Over meals we swapped cultures and learned a lot about Australia. On the evening of the second day, our friend Romain arrived from Sydney by bus. We went to pick him up at the coach station in Port Macquarie, the neighbouring town. Christine warned us about the road. You had to be very careful because part of it went through a forest and, of course, the kangaroo threat was ever present.
Cassandre drove at a crawl on this dangerous stretch with the full beams on. We got through without incident and were entering town when we spotted a huge mass ahead of us by the roadside. We approached slowly and realised it was a stag crossing the road. It was enormous, with impressive antlers. In the half-light, the sight had something magical about it. We were spellbound. It turned lazily towards us and looked at us serenely. We realised this animal exuded majesty and grandeur, and we felt privileged to have witnessed such a unique moment. It finished crossing the road and disappeared into the night.
Still shaken by the experience, we picked up Romain as he got off his bus and went back to Lionel and Christine's. She explained that a deer sanctuary had been swept away by a storm years before and all the animals had fled into the forest. So it wasn't unusual to see stags or does, but you had to be lucky. After fooling around all morning by the town's little lake, we visited the koalas at the Port Macquarie sanctuary.
If you drive in Australia, you'll see signs telling you to watch out for koalas, with a phone number to call if you see one injured or in trouble. This is where the little animals were cared for once rescued, and we were allowed to visit on condition that we were quiet and made no sudden movements. The volunteers were mostly elderly and treated the koalas like their babies; we even watched an old koala, clearly battered by life, being bottle-fed.
Like many mammals around the world, it was under threat, and Australia wasn't among the good pupils. Along the whole east coast the ecosystem faced serious dangers from galloping coastal development and the creation of private properties on the koala's historic habitat. Apart from disease, the main causes of death for the marsupial were dogs and cars, two threats brought by humans.