Road Trip Archives - INSPIRING MAX

If we were having coffee I would tell you how excited I was last Thursday to escape town for a few days. As I was finishing work on Wednesday afternoon I felt a little manic. My husband and I took a road trip to Tamworth, 3.5 hours northwest of Newcastle. It felt so weird when we crossed the imaginary line of our LGA (Newcastle Council) because during restrictions it was the limit we could travel to. We had planned to have lunch at an historic pub at Wingen many times and Thursday was the day.

To celebrate the first trip to a pub since lockdown ended I did what most Aussies did and ordered a beer on tap. I don’t often drink beer but thought why not. It was so cold, fresh and memorable. The food was also pretty good. I would have loved another beer but time did not permit. It was great to be out of the city connecting with the country again.

View from back verandah of The Durham Hotel

If we were having coffee I ask you if you picked the winner of last Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup. In Australia it is known as the race that stops the nation and is Australia’s most famous house race. As it is over 3200 metres it is particularly hard to pick a winner for and this year proved no exception. The favourite, Incentivise was leading with 400m to go when suddenly Verry Elleegant swept in and won.

If we were having coffee how excited I was to find my missing house keys. These keys had been missing since before last Christmas and I had searched everywhere for them. I had given up hope. Then about a week ago I got to catch up with a girlfriend for breakfast. So I dressed up and matched my handbag to my outfit. Then just as we were leaving the café and I was searching for my mask I opened one of the many side pockets and to my surprise found my missing keys. I let out a shriek with excitement and made many heads turn.

If we were having coffee I would tell you about the hydofoil surfer I enjoyed watching this morning at the beach. He was difficult to photograph but mesmerising to watch. The beach was high tide and only the surfers were out because of the conditions.

If we were having coffee I would ask you what is happening in your world.

Thanks to Natalie The Explorer for hosting our weekendcoffeeshare.

In yesterday’s post I mentioned that Australia has over 150 big things. The original big thing — The Big Banana opened in 1964 and recently celebrated its 50th birthday. John Landi came up with the idea initially to get more people to stop at his banana stall on the Pacific Highway, Coffs Harbour. It worked. Australians and international visitors stopped in droves to visit the Big Banana and taste the iconic chocolate coated bananas. I remember my first trip as a young and impressionable 10-year-old travelling north on my first road trip. There were bananas everywhere and the Big Banana itself looked so much like a real banana. Then I discovered why, the designer had cut up the most perfectly shaped banana into 40 pieces to build the pattern.

Over the years the Big Banana has grown into the biggest tourist attraction on the North Coast of New South Wales. It is now called The Big Banana Fun Park and includes Laser Tag, an Ice Skating Rink, a Wild Toboggan Ride, a 36 hole Mini Golf Course and Water Park. There is also “The World of Bananas” multimedia experience, plantation and a packing shed, nursery, café, gift and souvenir shop, a Candy Kitchen and Cheese Making Workshop. There is definitely something here for everyone including a mandatory selfie in front of the iconic Big Banana.

Last year I returned with my family and enjoyed sharing my fond memories of the Big Banana with my children, and created some new ones. I was also excited to discover the Big Banana’s monkey who helps entertain the million visitors each year is called Max.