To be awoken by the sound of a leaf blower is so reassuring. To have the confidence that no leaves would impede me if I were to leave the safety of my villa. But wait, what on earth is this? I sought out the teenage girl in charge, 'you missed one' I wittily quipped. She came back with three hours of power washing the path.

Right through the heart of Coffs Harbour runs the Pacific Highway. Here one of the main sights on it are these traffic lights by Coffs Hotel. I made sure I tried each crossing at least once in each direction.

I never thought I would say it but it was a welcome change to visit a town for a while and not be walking through a rain forest. The shops here are wonderful, like this Italian vegetable shop which also sold other good Italian foods and drinks. I ventured four bottles of sparkling Chinotto. A drink known in antiquity as a dark-hued, bitter-tasting variant of orange juice.

Picked up the ingredients for a curry, here and in the other supermarkets which are so interesting to visit. Paying cash anywhere here is less expensive. Most places add 1.6% on for a card transaction and the self checkouts take cash. We can use our shrapnel as a starter then stick in a $50 note for a win-win move. Sometimes make two trips to get smaller notes.

Arnold Glasow is remembered for saying "Temptation usually comes in through a door that has deliberately been left open." However 1Kg of Gulab Jamun is probably 900g too much, so the can remains closed, despite the Indian Meal tonight. I wish I could describe how that can felt, so heavy in my hand, simply asking to be eaten, probably in one sitting. Gently shaking the tin, the gurgle of that syrup falling an bubbling over the balls. But oh the remorse that would follow.

Drove back home and went to the beach. Here the water is amazingly warm and remains shallow for some way out where the waves crash powerfully and knock you over and have you scrambling for balance. Simply one of the best swims ever, but I soon had to get out because I never get over my fears of the creatures I may intrude upon when I am in the sea.

Very large sprout discovered. Yes, here temptation was simply washed away as a once in a life time super vegetable tsunami moment happened.

If you return to the planning page, using the better late than never button, you can see we have only three more stops ahead of us, about eight days worth. We will continue North for the next two, stepping into Queensland and changing from +11 GMT to +10 when we do.

Cyclone Alfred, hovering off the East coast, has been downgraded to a category three system but continues to track South. The Bureau of Meteorology says it is confident Alfred will remain well away from the mainland into next week.

Excellent news!