A Good Look Around : New South Wales North Coast

New South Wales North Coast

Byron Bay

6 - 8 November 2017

After out time in the mountains, we headed for the sea. The drive down from Nimbin and Nightcap National Park took us along back roads and through a number of small villages before crossing the Pacific Highway and in to Byron Bay. Byron is another one of those places we thought we should stay at - just once. It is well known for its beaches and surf so attracts hordes of tourists from Australia and overseas. It is one crowded town! We found accommodation close to the main street which meant we could wander around at our leisure without having to pay to park. We realise lots of places have regulated parking and in places like Byron it may be necessary, but the added cost at $4 per hour (capped at $20 per day) could significantly impact a holiday budget.

On Tuesday we headed up the highway to the New Brighton Farmers Market. Held every Tuesday this is a great little market selling lots of delicious produce. With live entertainment this would have been a great place to buy a coffee or something to eat and settle down on the grass to enjoy the music. Unfortunately we didn't think of this until our bag was full of yummy things that needed to be refrigerated as soon as possible. We'll know next time to bring a cooler bag and ice bricks. We bought a number of delicious things - smoked fish dip, tomato and olive tapenade, hard goats cheese - all destined for a tapas style meal later in the week.

After lunch we set off for one of Byron Bay's highlights, the Cape Byron Lighthouse which sits on the most easterly point on mainland Australia. There is limited parking and at $8 for one hour, we didn't feel they encouraged visitors to stay long. We walked along the path for photos at the marker and then a short way further. You can actually walk all the way from town, or one of the nearby beaches and it looked like many people were doing just that. While we were walking along the path we spotted some dolphins which was a bit of a treat.

Byron Bay Lighthouse.

We watched dolphins from here but I missed getting a shot of them.

As far east as you can go on mainland Australia. We now need south and west for the full set.

Below were surfers and kayakers and a large pod of dolphins.

On Wednesday morning we set off for the short drive to Ballina where we were to meet my sister Bronwyn and her partner John. We had plenty of time to kill so after we checked out of our accommodation we drove down to the eastern end of Clarke's Beach (paid parking there too) for a look. Mick was hoping to get some photos of surfers but there really wasn't much happening.

Clarke's Beach

Clarke's Beach about five minutes after the picture above.

From there we took the coast road south, and stopped at a lake we happened to spot from the road. This turned out to be a good birdy spot. Mick never passes up an opportunity for a photograph. From there it was on to Suffolk Park for coffee and a look at the beach, then in to Lennox Head.

Low light and intermittent rain but these breeding Cattle Egrets were too good to ignore!

We spent some time at Lennox Head, despite some showers, first at Lake Ainsworth then on the shops for lunch at a nice fish and chip shop. We also did some shopping for dinner with Bronwyn and John. From there it was just a short drive in to Skennar's Head where we would be staying for the next three nights.

Ballina

8 - 11 November

Our main purpose for visiting Ballina was to catch up with family but we were also hoping to get out to Flat Rock for some birdwatching. Unfortunately the weather wasn't fantastic with scattered showers throughout both days. Due to the rain, we decided to go for a drive with Bronwyn and John to the hinterland towns of Bangalow and Newrybar. We made Bangalow our first stop, and spent about three hours poking around the interesting shops there. We found nice cafes for morning tea and lunch and did some Christmas shopping as well. From there we travelled on to the much smaller village of Newrybar where we explore the interesting emporium and delightful deli.

While the sun was shining we walked from the caravan park at Skennar's Head to Sharpes Beach along one of a number of well established walking and cycling tracks in the area. This was only a short walk, but others join up to take walkers to other beaches and even all the way to Lennox Head.

We managed a couple of visits to Flat Rock while the rain held off. While Mick photographed birds, John photographed Mick. We also saw kite-surfers in action both afternoons. Ballina is a good spot to restock with all major department, speciality and liquor stores. On our last night we had dinner with our cousin Geoff, at the beautifully located Ballina RSL. The dining room is right on the river but you have to get in early to get a table at the window. We didn't but we still had a great view as the sun went down.