We moved on to Byron Bay Saturday which VERY fortuitously turned out to be the monthly beach side market π
Warned by many travellers (of our generation) about how crazy Byron can get, we had booked into Suffolk Park Caravan Park, about 5 minutes drive south of Byron Bay itself. We arrived late morning, were given a very tight site, then another slightly better site after I pointed out to management that our slideout was basically going to be in our neighbour’s kitchen sink… We quickly hooked up power and then drove down to check out the market which was in full swing. We found the food stalls, bought an enormous mexican burrito and sat on the grass to watch the live reggae band.
The market was one of the best I have been to, loads of locally made great quality products on offer and I was very restrained only buying a new phone cover and of course a little something for Bodhi to remind him he is half Australian!
All of this located right next to the rolling surf of the main Byron Beach.
After a comprehensive perusal of the market we drove south to Clarke’s Beach and spent some time at Fisherman’s Lookout watching the multitudes of surfers riding some much gentler waves than we have seen over the previous few days.
It was still early enough in the day to check out the iconic Cape Byron Lighthouse but the meandering drive up the headland revealed packed car parks and we had to settle for a park about half way down and walk up. It was a pretty steep walk and may have counteracted about a third of the burrito calories but also afforded more stunning coastline initially looking south down to Tallow Beach (where our caravan park is) and then around the corner, the mighty lighthouse itself.
On returning to the hastily parked motorhome it was apparent that our water and sullage hoses wouldn’t reach taps and drains so a bit more manoeuvring eventually had us (Russell) ready to cook dinner and relax (me.)
The following day saw the laundry completed in the morning and then a lovely walk along Tallow Beach down to Broken Head.
In between laundry trips that morning I had met some of our neighbours who are travelling in a coaster van they have renovated and we ended up combining dinner options and having a great chat about drones and all things photography and social media. For some spectacular videos and pics that put mine to shame check them out on their socials here.
With commitments in place for the next 10 days we couldn’t linger any longer and the next day headed north on the M1, bound for the Gold Coast where my friend Alison from GSK days had very kindly offered us space to park for a few days. It was wonderful to catch up with Alison and her extended family – their new puppy was an added bonus for us, we are are really missing our fur babies π
Having previously visited many years ago, I had wanted to return to O’Reilly’s Rainforest Resort and show Russell but the road is definitely not motorhome friendly so we decided to use this opportunity to leave it on the Gold Coast with Alison and go up for a night in the Jimny. The road up the mountain hadn’t changed since my last visit but we safely negotiated it and arrived with just enough time for lunch before the 1pm scheduled Birds of Prey event.
Huddled with a busload of Probus members on a very chilly hillside, we watched ‘Nick” the bird handler exhibit owls, kites and an eagle along with a very informative narrative. It was SO cold and we really appreciated the heater that was already warming our room when we checked in afterwards.
The east coast was experiencing another unusual weather system where forecasters were predicting possible snow in Queensland for the next day, this is not what we signed up for!!
Although the sun set from our balcony was truly spectacular, based on the forecast we decided we wouldn’t commit to the 6.45 am bird walk just yet …..
The next morning, you guessed it, we skipped the bird walk (it was 1.2 degrees) in favour of a delightful full breakfast and then checked out whilst waiting for the next item on our action packed agenda – “Meet the animals.” Well, there weren’t actually that many animals, the tiny possums were cute but I went to the back of the stage when Russ the python (!) came out.
All in all the side trip to O’Reillys was a great experience and we were grateful that we had been able to leave the Moho safely at Alison’s house.
The next day the Jimny was in the garage as we had experienced a few issues with the last tow and wanted to have it checked out before we headed any further north. The company that supplies the towing set up are based in Brisbane and it was their agency in SA that had installed but they were happy to refer us to their installer in Brisbane for a look. It seems that ours was the first that had been installed with a ‘new’ system and they apparently found some issues that “very likely” explain the unusual symptoms we had had. We caught the train from Alison’s house up to Beenleigh and then drove the Jimny home along the horrific M1 motorway in peak Friday traffic. What a nightmare, I don’t know how these guys handle it routinely.
The forecast for the next day was great and we were very excited as Alison had organised to take us out in her boat to South Stradbroke island for lunch. Most people aren’t fortunate enough to experience the Gold Coast from the water and with the sun on our back and the wind in our hair five of us made our way out to Tippler’s Restaurant on the island . We had a wonderful day and were very impressed with Alison’s nautical skills. Russell did assist with his knots recalled from Sea Scouts π
Unfortunately our time on the GC seemed all too short and on Sunday morning it was time to say our goodbyes. Although I thought about sneaking this little darling into the Moho, her toilet training needs some work so she stayed at home π
Our route today would take us north, just bypassing Brisbane over the Gateway Bridge and eventually on to Twin Waters on the Sunshine Coast where we were treating ourselves to a few days in a resort and catching up with some rellies.