Byron Bay, Tuesday 16th December 7.00am
Our second morning at beautiful Byron and it feels like the sun has not left a perfectly cloudless sky. This is our base for Christmas and it would be hard to beat right now. We are no more than 30 seconds from the beach and 2 minutes walk to the very cool main street of this bustling town. A real mixture of people- lots of families and backpackers as usual, but what seems to give this space it’s feel is the locals. They are, relaxed, man,.....of course they are all friendly and very chatty, everyone is in Aus apart from the low life who broke our van, but they seem to appreciate they live in an exceptional place- even the drunks who have a special tree on the beach they hang out under are cool. Add to that the surfers, their babes and a mix of hippies who appear to have got stuck here at some point in their lives, and you have Byron.
7pm Yoga and boarding at Byron
All appreciating a perfect surfing beach with crystal clear water, at Australia’s most easterly point. I think if Captain Cook had discovered it he would have abandoned ship, stayed, and changed the course of history!
A testing week beforehand though with both Lu and myself having our first ‘lows’ of the trip. Both really triggered by the handbag incident which unfortunately we are reminded about daily due to the stuff taken. What added to it was a mini cyclone that hit us on Tuesday evening in Ballina. Yet another storm had hit us and seemed to have passed whilst we were enjoying a ‘teach the family’ Black Jack’ session, when from nowhere a wind appeared, rocked the van like a toy boat in a bath and then ripped our canvas awning and almost wrenched the supporting steel frame from the van, completely bending it in the process. Luckily our insurance covers it (yet again) but we felt exceptional vulnerable in our little home.
We patched it up with string and tape and got out of town the following morning. The new one is being fitted next week.
And so to Yamba- another tiny fishing port about 350km south of Brisbane. Without doubt, Yamba grew on us. The weather was nothing special as we arrived but as with so many places, as the sun came out, so did it’s character. A campsite with pools, slides, free kids cinema, a great waterfront setting and an en-suite loo proved what we needed. With the arrival of Johnny, Indra, Mish and Tashy-our third encounter- our gloom was lifted and thrown out with the trash. Several bottles of Rose, local fizz and many beers all added to the fun and slightly cloudy head in the morning. The highlight of the stop however was yet to come.
We had tried unsuccessfully to rent some tinnies (small 4m motor boats) late Saturday afternoon so we booked an early Sunday start. The brilliant sunshine that greeted us when we woke up glistened on the Clarence river and we could see why it has been named Australia’s most beautiful. Half an hour into our adventure and Geogia and I noticed a fin about 10m from
the boat. Two more appeared in quick succession and we realised we had come across a family of bottle nose dolphins- 2 adults and a pup- feeding.
A testing week beforehand though with both Lu and myself having our first ‘lows’ of the trip. Both really triggered by the handbag incident which unfortunately we are reminded about daily due to the stuff taken. What added to it was a mini cyclone that hit us on Tuesday evening in Ballina. Yet another storm had hit us and seemed to have passed whilst we were enjoying a ‘teach the family’ Black Jack’ session, when from nowhere a wind appeared, rocked the van like a toy boat in a bath and then ripped our canvas awning and almost wrenched the supporting steel frame from the van, completely bending it in the process. Luckily our insurance covers it (yet again) but we felt exceptional vulnerable in our little home.
We patched it up with string and tape and got out of town the following morning. The new one is being fitted next week.
And so to Yamba- another tiny fishing port about 350km south of Brisbane. Without doubt, Yamba grew on us. The weather was nothing special as we arrived but as with so many places, as the sun came out, so did it’s character. A campsite with pools, slides, free kids cinema, a great waterfront setting and an en-suite loo proved what we needed. With the arrival of Johnny, Indra, Mish and Tashy-our third encounter- our gloom was lifted and thrown out with the trash. Several bottles of Rose, local fizz and many beers all added to the fun and slightly cloudy head in the morning. The highlight of the stop however was yet to come.
We had tried unsuccessfully to rent some tinnies (small 4m motor boats) late Saturday afternoon so we booked an early Sunday start. The brilliant sunshine that greeted us when we woke up glistened on the Clarence river and we could see why it has been named Australia’s most beautiful. Half an hour into our adventure and Geogia and I noticed a fin about 10m from
the boat. Two more appeared in quick succession and we realised we had come across a family of bottle nose dolphins- 2 adults and a pup- feeding. Gulls on the Clarence
We were then treated to 45 minutes of slowly trailing this family as they fed in the shallows. Not another soul around and it was absolutely magical. Of all our wildlife encounters, whether in zoos’, parks or even the crocs in Cape Yorke, this was the most 
memorable.
memorable.Dolphin hunting.
Farewells again to Johnny and the Kurzines, we will see them again in the near future en-route to Melbourne.
So to Byron, the road trip winds it was on.
Take care all
Andy
So to Byron, the road trip winds it was on.
Take care all
Andy
1 comment:
Hi You all, how amazing you are there on the beach for xmas what could be better! fantastic you were able to see the dolphins they are truly magical to see in the wild!! Not so good about the cyclone! we had one in Mauritius and even tho we were in a house it was bloody sacrey!!!! the palm trees were horizontal went on all night and still can't believe Luis slept thru it all!!! Much Love to you all Have youreselves a Merry Little Christmas as the song goes!! Ella xxxxx
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