Welcome to another enthralling update where there are more photos than dialogue. I am finding that the more photos I download the less I feel I have to write which is a good thing for me. After leaving Bundaberg we travelled as far as Pomona for an overnight stay at the showgrounds. Pomona is a nice little town just off the A1 and the showgrounds would be the greenest and grassiest ones we have stayed in yet.
- Some of the lush green around Pomona
After Pomona we cruised into the Gold Coast for a three night stay at Nobby Beach Caravan Park. This was a couple of streets from the beach and was a fairly tight park to get into but nice all the same. We really only came to the Gold Coast to go to the RM Williams Outback Spectacular that Kaye was keen to go and see. What a great show it was and well worth the money. For just over a $100 you get a drink on arrival, a 2 hour show and a three course meal with free drinks. Worth the effort to go to if you are ever at the Gold Coast. The only down side was it was pouring with rain when we went to leave and as I had parked a little way from the entrance we got slightly wet going back to the car.
After the Gold Coast it was on the road again to Byron Bay. This was a massive 90 kilometre drive for the day so we were pretty wrecked when we got here. We are staying at Broken Head which is about a 10 minute drive from Byron and much quieter which suits us better. It is amazing to see how green and lush it is over here. Everywhere you drive around here the roads are covered with tress and the fields are as green as green can get. They must have the most content cows of anywhere. It is a stark contrast to what we drove through in parts of Queensland. We are staying in Byron Bay for a whole week which is nice as you can relax and get into the holiday mode and we really need that.
There are a lot of nice little drives around here and some of the small villages you drive through are very rustic and quaint. They all seem to have coffee shops etc in them which encourages tourists to stop for a while and look around.
We did a great walk in the Nightcap National Park and did the Minyon Falls walk. This ended up being an 8.6km loop and some of the scenery and paths were excellent. We did encounter some leeches which was the downside. I thought I had got them all off me until I got home and took my socks off. Amazing how much blood you can have in your socks and not realise.
- Nightcap NP – top of Minyon Falls
- Nightcap NP – part of the walk
- Nightcap NP – part of the walk
- Nightcap NP – part of the walk
- Nightcap NP – part of the walk
- Nightcap NP – part of the walk
- Nightcap NP – base of Minyon Falls
- Nightcap NP – base of Minyon Falls
- Nightcap NP – picnic at the base of Minyon Falls
- Nightcap NP – Minyon Falls
We did a nice little trip to Bangalow for a afternoon drive. This was a great little town that had a main street of well preserved old buildings that were all occupied with different businesses and does that make a difference to a town. After a walk around the town, a coffee stop and visit to the local butcher we headed back to Byron but on a different road. With the drives being so green and nice to look at we are doing most of our drives in a loop to be able to see as much of the country as possible.
- Bangalow main street
- Bangalow buildings
- Bangalow buildings
Another drive we did was to Lennox Head and Ballina. Glad we didn’t have a swim here as the next day was when the young surfer was attacked by a shark and is now in a coma. It has made swimming around Byron Bay a bit cautious and I don’t go out as far as anyone else.
- Lennox Head coastline
Staying at Broken Head has been very nice and I am quite glad we are not staying in Byron itself as it is very busy and there is a lot of traffic as well. The weather has been pretty good with not to much rain and warm enough to go for a few swims at the beach. Nearly everyone here seems to own a surfboard and that seems to be the most popular pastime here. I also didn’t know that the most easterly point on mainland Australia was at Byron Bay so that was interesting to find out.
- At Byron Lighthouse – most easterly point on mainland Australia
- Byron Lighthouse
- View from Broken Head back towards Byron Bay
- Broken Head coastline
- Broken Head coastline
- Broken Head coastline
- Byron Bay coastline
Tomorrow we off again heading towards Coffs Harbour. Going to stay for three or four nights then it will be off again. While in Coffs Harbour Kaye has booked in to give blood. I didn’t think Kaye had blood running though her veins so this will be interesting to see what comes out……….
Until next update all take care and I hope you are all getting plans in place for Christmas. We are hoping to be in Canberra for Christmas and are slowly making our way there….regards for now.