Tacking Point Lighthouse, Port Macquarie, Australia: Cutest Lighthouse We've Seen, Ever!

We helped ourselves to a light brekkie. Our tummies were still quite cramped with the previous night's fantastic bolognese dinner that Chris, our Couchsurfing host, prepared for us. Though mildly handicapped with a leg cast (he and a fellow backpacker got thrown off a motorbike in Vietnam or Cambodia or somewhere), Chris worked swiftly in and around the kitchen. He even played with one-year-old Luna in between.

I yawned as I took a bite from my toast.

She demands a "superman" anytime, anywhere.
It was day 140 of our 2011-2012 round-the-world trip, and our family of three were on an interstate journey from Gold Coast, Queensland to Sydney, New South Wales — transported by an old beat-up, borrowed Ford Festiva which we lovingly named Gumby after that clay humanoid it shares the same color with. Stuffed in Gumby's trunk are our measly belongings which we moved out of the artist's cabin by the beach where we lived for a month and a half. Belongings which will travel with us for 140 more days, across 5 other continents.
  Lighthouse Beach Rainforest Reserve. Just behind our host's house.

We requested a couch from Chris who lives in Port Macquarie to break the long drive of more than eight hundred kilometers. The coastal city's situated about a little past halfway to our destination, which makes it an ideal stopover for a night. We heard it's got gorgeous beaches too. And a koala hospital.

Lighthouse atop the headland Tacking Point. Doesn't look like a lighthouse from this angle.  

Chris must be in sixties. Married once with a son and daughter who now live independently in other Aussie states. He's got the huge house to himself for years. But like his family, the house rarely sees him because he's still very much hooked with backpacking. He is a trove of world trivia and hilarious travel blunders. He's got an eye for vintage treasures (I was totally diggin' the old weighing scale he purchased from Cambodia or Vietnam or somewhere) which he collects. And he's a sponsor for a Khmer child's education.

I gathered from the way he told his adventures that he's not slowing down anytime soon. His lust for life is burning. I wondered if hubby and I will be like that in three decades' time. Roughing it in our golden years? I cringed at the thought.

Halfway up the headland. Lighthouse Beach seems endless.

After eating (and pulling Luna away from Chris' nine ancient broken phones she was playing with), Chris led us down the outdoor deck to their murky private pool. Not for a swim, but to exit the rear gate that has an access to the Lighthouse Beach Rainforest Reserve. Yes, the forest is their backyard.

But wait... There's more! A long stretch of beach is also nearby. Chris gave detailed instructions on how to get to it, which I mapped in my head, before waving a catch-ya-later. And off we went.

Tacking Point Lighthouse, standing 8-meter tall. Cutest lighthouse we've seen, ever!  

It took us only a few minutes to traverse the small section of rainforest. At the end of the path is Matthew Flinders Drive that runs parallel to Lighthouse Beach, and we didn't see a lighthouse when we crossed it. It was summer yet the beach was surprisingly empty when we arrived. The beach was so stunning I wanted to cry.

We finally noticed the lighthouse perched on a headland while we were strolling on the shore. I couldn't believe it's a real lighthouse. It's the teensiest, cutest I've seen. Ever! There's a staircase leading up to Tacking Point (named so by Mathew Flinders in 1802 while sailing and tacking his to the coast) and the climb's relatively no sweat.

Miners Beach north of Tacking Point Headland. Unofficial nude beach.   Tacking Point Lighthouse has been in operation since 1879. It's Australia's third oldest. From here, the view of the coast is simply spectacular and sometimes whales can be spotted near the coastline (they migrate to give birth and to feed) between June and October. It's also a good vantage point for watching surfers when it's the season.

Back on the beach.
No whales, no surfers for us to gaze at that late morning though. Just the beaches and the Tacking Point Lighthouse. And they, along with our host (plus the Koala Hospital we were to visit at noon), were enough to make our pit stop in Port Macquarie worthwhile.

Oh, did I mention that Tacking Point Lighthouse is cute?

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