9th June 2015

Another good night’s sleep! This morning, Jamie made coffee and breakfast while I had a shower. The shower blocks at both campsites we’ve stayed at have been excellent, with plenty of hot water. However, unlike Katoomba, where the block was directly behind our van, the one here is a couple of minutes’ walk away. This means that late at night, the little lake beside our pitch occasionally expands slightly!

We had hoped to go kayaking on the local river today, but when I called them this morning, they couldn’t arrange it as it’s out of season and they didn’t have enough staff. So, Plan B came into action: exploring the coast in ‘Sheila’.

Our first stop was the next little settlement south, Broken Head. It didn’t take long to get there, and after parking, we headed straight for the beach. The ocean was already dotted with surfers, and a few families were settling themselves on the sand. We walked to the rocks at the far end of the beach and spent some time watching the surfers before discovering a trail that led up the cliffs and over the headland.

The path brought us to a series of secluded beaches, each with surfers close to the shore, briefly honing their skills before being wiped out by the waves. After a while, we returned to the car and continued our journey further up the coast.

Our next stop was Lake Ainsworth, where again we tried to hire a kayak, but none were available, so we moved on.

We drove through the charming town of Lennox Head, admiring its picturesque streets, before heading up to the headland itself. There, we climbed the path to take in the stunning views. On our way back into town, we parked near the seafront and found a bar, where we enjoyed refreshments and pizza. While we ate, we discussed our next destination and decided to head inland to visit Minyon Falls.

The drive to the falls was nearly an hour long and took us along roads best described as narrow, poorly maintained country lanes, riddled with potholes large enough to disappear into. As expected, the route was mostly uphill, and eventually, the tarmac gave way to gravel and dirt tracks.

One advantage of driving in Australia, however, is the excellent signage. Combined with the SatNav on my phone, we always knew where we were. Eventually, we arrived at a small car park in a peaceful forest glade, complete with marked parking bays, rural toilets (or “dunnies”), and even the free gas barbecues that seem to be everywhere in Australia.

It’s a sensible approach. Providing free barbecues reduces the need for people to bring their own charcoal or grills into the bush, which would otherwise increase the risk of bushfires. Judging by how popular these facilities are, it’s a system that works well. I can’t help but wonder if the UK Government would ever adopt such a practical idea. Somehow, I doubt it.

The falls were just 50 metres from the car park, accessible via one of the wooden walkways that seem to be everywhere in rural areas. And yes, they were impressively high, as viewed from a well-guarded platform to one side of the thundering waterfall. Despite his admitted fear of heights, Jamie naturally climbed over the fence and perched on the very edge of the falls to take photos. Of course, I joined him.

With Jamie’s impromptu aversion therapy complete, we struck up a conversation with a woman waiting for her friends to return from the base of the falls, a challenging 4.5 km trek down a difficult path.Afterwards, we crossed the river and followed the trail along the cliffs on the opposite side of the waterfall, stopping to take more photos. We decided against hiking down to the base after meeting an exhausted woman returning from the 9 km round trip. While she mentioned the views of the falls from below were good, she didn’t sound particularly convincing.

Satisfied with our adventure, we headed back to the car.

The return journey to Byron Bay brought us back around 3 pm. We started with some shopping in town before heading back to the campsite for a bit of relaxation.

Around 7 pm, we drove into town and found the Balcony Restaurant and Bar. True to its name, we were seated at a table on the balcony. We ordered two fine fillet steaks with all the trimmings, accompanied by drinks. The meal was easily the best we’ve had in Australia so far, though, given that most of our diet has consisted of fast food and junk, the competition wasn’t exactly stiff!

After settling the bill, we strolled through the town to the bar we’d first visited after our arrival, where we enjoyed a few more drinks while listening to a live band playing. By 9:30 pm, we decided to call it a night, as tomorrow promises an early start for our return to Sydney.

The town was unusually quiet as we made our way back to the van, a stark contrast to the bustling atmosphere of the long weekend we’d just experienced. It seems the Aussies do take their work seriously and return to the grindstone once the weekend is over.

Back at the campsite, we tuned into the radio for a while before making up the beds and calling it a night.