Byron Bay and Beyond

I love Byron Bay.  We have been here several times and have watched the town grow from a sleepy little "surfers" town to a bustling tourist town.  It's miles and miles of beautiful sandy beach is a big tourist drawcard and certainly the consistently even surf still draws the surfers. We booked into Glen Villa Resort and Caravan Park that turned out to be ideal.  It was just a short stroll to Jonson Street and the oceans edge but also right on the edge of parklands that gave us a very quiet stay.  The sites were huge and very easy to back into and that is a blessing in itself although we are certainly getting better at it!

We had seven nights at Byron and the first four were beautiful with sunshine days and plenty of relaxing time poolside.  We did try and go for a swim in the ocean but it was way to cold!  We walked the almost 10km loop to the Byron Bay Lighthouse that was a really hard walk with lots and lots of stairs but we felt much better for the effort.  We ate in some fabulous restaurants and wished that we had more time to sample more.  

The rain hit us hard and fast for the last three nights.  We had winds of over 70km/hour that put a real test to our awning that thankfully held fast.  And with more than a 100mm each day it was good to know that our van has no leaks.  The first day we just stayed in the camp and read our books but on the second day we decided to head inland where it was a little drier.

Our first stop was south to Lennox Head that is also a walk down memory lane for me as we spent most of our holidays at Ballina in my younger days. We walked along the headlands at Lennox Heads but the wind was very strong and actually quite scary walking so close to the cliff edge, so we turned back. Our next stop was at Alstonville for coffee and delicious cakes before heading to Bangalow and Mullumbimby.  We had intended to have lunch here but it was impossible to find a car park.  Everyone had the same idea as us apparently.

We headed back down the range to Brunswick Heads and thought about stopping for lunch here but as we were so close to Byron we decided to just head home.  By this time the sky was looking very black again so it was just as well we were home to batten down the hatches before another wild night of wild wind and rain.

We sadly said goodbye to Byron Bay before once more turning the car back towards Queensland.

Where are we?

We are at Byron Bay, but let me tell you about our week at Noosa Heads.

We had a great week at Noosa Heads catching up with extended family.  It was just pure luck that we happened to be here when Philip's stepsister and her family were at Noosa for their annual break.  We were also able to meet up with Philip's stepbrother and his lovely wife who made the effort to drive up to Noosa for a lengthy lunch with us.  We don't get to see this side of the family very much and we are not the best at keeping in regular touch.  However, after we apologise to each other for not keeping in contact, we always pick up where we last left off and sit and talk for hours. 

Jacki and Damiens kids are now well and truly little adults. Amelia works alongside her mum in the school holidays and Isaac is at the age where he challenges everything. They are a family that is well grounded and we love them all very much. As soon as we arrived at Noosa Van Park, we organised to meet them for lunch the next day and then Philip and I headed down to the point at Noosa to watch the wind-surfers.  And guess who we ran into.....Jacki and the family of course.  Isn't that crazy.  There are literally thousands of people holidaying in Noosa at the moment and we just happen to run into them as they were heading to their car. A few minutes later and we would have missed them. Talk about being right spot, right time.

Our lunch with the family the next day was at the very well known Bistro C.  This restaurant deserves all the accolades that it gets as the food here is superb.  I spotted the Arancini straight away on the menu and just had to order it.  The Arancini was Cauliflower, Mustard and Cheddar with a topping of pickled cucumber. I think it would probably be the best I have ever eaten.  All the others enjoyed their meals just as much as I did from the look of the clean plates.

The following day we hired a Nauticycle.  Philip is missing his cycling so this filled the addiction a little.  We started off at Noosaville and made our way to the canals at Noosa, stopping every now and then for drink stops.  The water at the mouth of the river was quite choppy so it was almost a relief to make it into the canals where it was much smoother going.  I sat on the front of the Nauticycle while Philip pedalled.  I definitely had the best seat in the house. We passed million dollar homes with million dollar boats jettied alongside, but I was not at all envious.  After living in our little apartment you wouldn't pay me to live in a massive home.  All that cleaning!

We had arranged to meet Chris and Katherine at Rococo Bistro in Noosa the following day for lunch.  This was an entirely different lunch where we ordered numerous small plates rather than one meal each.  I really enjoy this way of eating. We spread our eating out over several hours so that gave us plenty of time  to catch up with each others news. Katherine and Chris are both IT specialists and both working in the medical field.  They fortunately have jobs that could easily be transitioned into working from home in this Covid year, however in a normal year they would be travelling to many places around the world with their work and I think they are both missing it a little.  

We stayed at the Noosa Van Park at Tewantin and we were squashed in like sardines. Each and every van had to be guided into the very narrow sites and I have to give a big shout-out to the guides as they are very experienced with clear directions.   "Right Hand Down" "Left Hand Down" "A little more" "A little less" can be heard throughout the park all day.  I have to say though that the park was immaculate.  The amenities are cleaned several times a day and the gardens and pool area were very inviting.  All sites were grassed and fairly well shaded by the many palm trees. However while we were there the tree loppers came in and tied up all the palm trees so that the fronds couldn't fall onto the vans.  I imagine they might do a bit of damage to a van. We found some great walks around the Tewantin area and we walked almost every day.  Philip also did the Noosa National Park walk while I had some pampering time with a mani/pedi.

Just before I took this photo there was another two vans parked right behind us!

We are thoroughly enjoying the van and have both commented that it would be very easy to live in it for an extended period of time.  We will see what next year brings.....

Forever Friends

We have just spent a lovely few days with our friends at Tannum Sands. Lynn and I had been planning this get together for months as they live very busy lives and it is hard for them to find free weekends. Graham is still working full time at Gladstone as Operations Manager at one of the LNG plants.  They, like us, have purchased a caravan and fully intend retiring and travelling around Australia.  That won't be for a couple more years for them so we have in the pipeline a couple of small trips together that I'm already looking forward to.

Lynn and I go back a long way to the Julia Creek days.  As soon as I was introduced to her we just clicked as friends and truly are like "sisters from another mister". She was our next door neighbour and we even timed our pregnancies together (without knowing) although Lynn went on to have four gorgeous babies, we stopped at two. As true friendships go we can have months without contact and still pick up again where we left off.  I am so blessed to have friends in my circle that are like that because I am not the best at keeping in touch......

So.... back to Tannum Sands.  We were booked into the Tannum Sands Discovery Park that was an easy walking distance from Lynn and Grahams home.  Tannum Sands is a very liveable area with miles and miles of sandy beaches dotted with fishermen who seem to haul in fish all the time.  It has a relatively small population and from what I gather, most of the residents work in Gladstone that is a 30 minute drive away.

Over the course of the three days that we were at Tannum Sands, G & L took us to Agnes Waters where they have a beachside rental home.  Lynn designed it herself and she deserves a pat on the back because it is beautifully designed and fits magestically into the surrounds. We drove around Agnes and Seventeen Seventy before finding a great fish and chip shop that had Red Emperor on the menu that is one of my favourite fish.

The next day Graham drove us into Gladstone to the brand new Cruise Ship terminal area.  The council have designed the North Shore area to meet the needs of travellers and we commented that being avid cruisers we would be very happy to dock at this port.  It is lushly planted with lots of greenery and plenty of shady paths. But, best of all there is a Harbourside restaurant (I think it was called Auckland something) where we stopped for lunch washed down with refreshing beers.  I had the grilled snapper with garlic prawns and salad. So delicious.  

Graham blew a shoe on the way to lunch.  It was quite an ingenious repair job.....

We made our way home for a nanny nap and that night we went around to L & G's place for sundowners and the best hor d'oeuvres platter I have ever seen!  Forgot to take photos.  Our hosts filled our glasses with Veuve Clicquot and we drank to Christmas and New Year.  It was a great end to a lovely three days spent with our forever friends.