Byron Bay, Australia

January 5^th – January 10^th 2012

Our next stop on our East coast road trip was Byron Bay. We drove down and stopped at a place but it was pretty pricey and felt like backpacker central so we decided to go for the cheaper one across the road. For $17 each we didn’t get much for our money, the place looked run down with broken windows in the laundry block and a shower block which was a little worse for wear. Still Byron is an expensive tourist spot so it was our best option. After our drive we decided to chill out for the afternoon.



View on our walk to the lighthouse

 The following morning we drove into the centre of Byron Bay and parked up for free by a disused railway line. After collecting our snacks we walked into town and to the beachfront. Craig got a free Frisbee which he was very happy with. We could see the white lighthouse in the distance and decided to walk to it. There was a man who had raked shapes into the sand on the beach, there was ying and yang symbols, a sun and lots of swirls, it felt like a sunnier version of Glastonbury. We passed magnificent views of the coastline on our walk to the lighthouse which included passing some dolphins in the distance. The walk was probably more challenging than we thought it would be and I felt out of breathe several times but it was lovely to stop and take in the spectacular views anyway. We made it to the most easterly point of mainland Australia and it was only a few more steps to the lighthouse itself. After a few photos of the views and a look inside the lighthouse which has a tiny museum on the whaling industry we walked back down.  

Lighthouse

Our legs were feeling a bit stiff but we were pleased with our lovely morning in Byron, it’s always very satisfying getting a good walk in early! I treated us to chips on the beach and we people watched and lazed in the sun before spending the afternoon browsing in the shops.


The next day we went back to the beach and spent some more time in the sun watching the guy rake shapes into the sand, this time the sea was washing parts away but he didn’t seem to mind, he’d just rake the shapes again. We listened to some Ricky Gervais podcasts before walking back to the van to make lunch, only to realise that we were all out of gas. Not bad going considering we’ve been using the van for over a month now. We drove around and found a petrol station that did gas refills and only paid $18.95 which was much less than we were expecting. After a stop at Woolworths for supplies we drove south and found a lay by to stay in for the night to save money. We made friends with a load of random roosters and chickens that live in the area and found a huge spider in the lay by toilets.

Beach art

We didn’t get the best night sleep as the roosters decided to start crowing at stupid o’clock in the morning. Once day light came we got up and started driving to Ballina. We parked up at the visitor centre and the lovely lady at the counter gave us a map and pointed us in the direction of a great walk along the coast and to the pier. We walked past a little farmers market and enjoyed the sun, at the end of the wide stone pier we watched as the powerful waves crashed against the rocks. We walked back and went down Norton Street which Lonely Planet recommended for good architecture but we only really saw standard Australian homes and a church. We had cheese and crackers by the waterfront and drove down to Grafton. We found a beautiful 5* site for just $16.50 each with a swimming pool, tennis courts and wonderfully landscaped gardens. After a chat with the lovely lady about our trip we got our laundry done.

We got up and requested another night’s stay as it’s such a lovely site and we needed another night powered for our battery anyway. We drove into Grafton and walked around the main street, the architecture in Grafton is so pretty. We had lunch in the memorial gardens overlooking the river and went for a little stroll. Craig made an appointment to get his hair cut as it hadn’t been cut since home which was over 4 months ago. We went back to the site for a lovely dip in the refreshing pool before returning to town for Craig’s appointment.  

Views in Woopi

We left the site the following day and went to the Grafton Regional Gallery which was housed in what looked like someone’s big house! There were beautiful landscape paintings at the front and a courtyard in the middle. Through the courtyard and into another more modern space was some photography and an installation piece involving pieces of origami which the public could contribute to if they wished. The gallery was lovely, a dream business for me! We drove on to Woolguolgu also known as Woopi and had a picnic by the beach before walking to a lovely viewpoint which had amazing panoramic views of the sea. In certain times of the year you can see whales migrating from Antarctica to the warmer waters of the Great Barrier Reef but typically it wasn’t the right time of year so no whales but lovely views otherwise.