Thankfully we are on the south side of Brisbane and heading south. We left the CP at about 8:10am and the traffic heading into Brisbane was bumper to bumper, and even worse at all the exits. We had a very smooth run south. Deb was disappointed that she missed seeing the Qld/NSW border, but then there wasn’t any recognition that you ever crossed it, no signs or anything like we have encountered elsewhere.
Once we got into NSW the country side changed, it went from urban sprawl to gentle dairy farming type countryside with rolling hills, and the occasional cane farm.
We rolled into the CP at about 10:15am after a very casual drive down. A couple of days ago someone rang from the CP asking if it was OK to change sites as the people on our site wanted to stay and extra night. I said OK, but now wish I hadn’t. The site we had was spacious, and we are now cramped up against a tent and out car has to hang out on the “roadway”. And our neighbours are noisy!! (Breathe Greg!!)
After we got all set up we took off to Newybar, inland about 15km on the old highway. Deb had found a nice little eatery called the Harvest. It was delicious, we had a Charcuterie Board. It was made with their own cured meats, pickled Cauliflower, pickled carrot and gherkins served with their own freshly baked crusty sour dough bread. The ambiance was perfect, with an open fire in one corner, an open kitchen across the room and coffee station to our right. The only pity was that there was a light sprinkle of rain while we were there and the views back down over the adjoining valleys were misty, but it was charming none the less.
After lunch we took a walk around the small village, it is maybe 100m long from one end to the other. Besides the Restaurant and adjoining delicatessen there were a couple of little arty shops, a quaint little service station and an antique shop. As we left we passed by what I think was a macadamia orchard, we stopped and got a few pics looking into the avenues created between the trees. Arty 🙂
We then drove down into Byron Bay for a look around. Byron itself is a real mix of building styles, shop types and homes. I guess it sort of matches the eclectic mix of locals, all trying to be different, but not really sure what or who they are. One thing for sure is that the town needs a bit, no, a lot, of loving. It is getting very rundown and needs a lot of dollars spent on its roads, gutters, public buildings and private dwellings. It just looks tired.
When we got to the beach we saw an amazing artwork “raked” into the beach. Over an area about 75 to 100m long along the main beach front the circular patterns that must have taken its creator(s) hours of work.
Byron Bay Beach Art
We got back to the CP around 4’ish and went for a walk along the beach. It’s the first real surf we have seen since we went away, and while it was only small, 2-3’, there were a couple of people out catching a few waves. There were however, more people fishing from the beach than surfing!
It’s going to be fun and relaxing spending the next 5 nights here exploring Byron Bay a bit more and its’ hinterland.
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