Lennox Heads and Bellingen

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Lennox Heads

The Greyhound dropped me off at Ballina just before 10 p.m. I rang the hostel to get them to come and collect me - 12 km is too far to walk without 25kg of luggage. I then waited patiently by my luggage next to the bus. Greyhounds have to stop for a 40 minute rest every 4 hours - and when you are on a long journey it is a mix of annoyance because of the extra travel time and relief at staving of DVT.

So whilst I sat by the bus and waited all the passengers travelling further down south went into the cafe along with the driver - who left the bus open in case anyone wanted to stay sleeping on the bus. Within two minutes a trio of local boys, none of whom could have been more than 10, cycled round and dumped their bikes nearby. One of them had a rucksack on his back and he lead his little friends onto the bus saying "let's see what we can rob off the bus", just in case I was in any doubt as to their motive for getting on. He was quite switched on - he stood at the top of the stairs and called "is there a John Harman on board" to make sure nobody was left on the bus. I got on the bus after them - they didn't even blush, just laughed and got off and went into the garage shop. They spent the next 20 minutes waiting for me to leave the bus's side so they could nick a few pillows - nobody leaves money on the bus, not even I am that stupid. When the driver returned they gave up on their vigil and cycled off, sticking two fingers up at me as they left. Poor little mites - I am quite sure they are back there every night.

Graeme, who owns and runs Lennox Heads hostel turned up to pick me up and gave me a quick run down of the locality and what activities there were at Lennox. I asked the first question every backpacker asks when arriving at a new beach - any sharks in the sea? Graeme told me that he always informed guests that if they managed to cross the road to the beach safely they were bound to be safe from sharks. Then he laughed that smug laugh that only the truly humourless quite master. I didn't join in the laughter. I got knocked down once in London by a man in a white van - wouldn't you just know it. Cheeky git didn't even stop to see if I was OK, just popped his head out of the window to have a quick glance at the state of his van before being confronted by an angry newspaper vendor whilst I limped off to get my train. My point here is I've been knocked down - and I bounce, not being overly skinny. Sharks - well they like a bit of a meat, and although there are times when I would welcome weight loss - I didn't quite have limbs in mind. So in Australia I like to check on what might be lurking out there - because I am convinced there is always a shark lurking somewhere here - even if it is only little green men type sharks trying to get you to sign up for obscure direct debits. But apart from the crap jokes and full length knee socks I quite liked Graeme, although I have to say I find it hard to believe that Lennox hostel is a centre of calm and relaxation - the kitchen alone had no less than 20 signs with various rules and regulations.

Anke of the dodgy camera was waiting for me at Lennox. We had a catch up chat about where we had been and it was lovely to be in a dorm with just the two of us. Luckily there was only the two of us because we spread all our belongings over all six beds. The next day we took boogie boards and tried to repeat the techniques I had learned at 1770 - but the sea was far too rough. We just got swept along the shore. The waves were too fast - I like a nice big gap to prepare myself for each launch, somersaulting with boogie board may one day be an Olympic sport - and on that day I will make it on to the British team I am sure, but in Lennox I just inhaled an awful lot of sea water. We gave up with the surf and went to swim in the lake. Lennox has the most amazing lake - Lake Ainsworth - which is stained by tea tree oil - so it is black like black tea. It tastes just like spring water but is completely black and is the most bizarre experience. I couldn't get over swimming in the black water and swam every day, the first day I didn't venture far because I was a bit spooked by the blackness of the water - but at least you'd see the Great White easily enough if there was one that had just waddled up from the sea and could survive in 4 metres of freshwater. You can't take any chances in Australia. But the second day when Anke had gone one of the other hostel guests very kindly accompanied me on my first swim right across the lake and back - which was very sweet of him, after that I was absolutely fine and quite happily ventured out on my own.

I really liked Lennox - it was a very laid back place with a lovely beach, beautiful views and walks, and the amazing tea tree lake. It was also lovely being with such a relaxed crowd of people - with a few diverting exceptions. It had a nice village type atmosphere - nice little shops and cafes. I went running barefeet along the beach in the early mornings - well once. The second day Ali came with me and I started limping after less than 15 minutes. Running the day before and then swimming right across the lake and back may have been a bit over ambitious for someone of my fitness level - sub zero.

My first full day at Lennox was Anke's last day there. I was sad to see her go - everyone you get to know and travel with you have to leave behind, but we might meet up in New Z and luckily Lennox had other really nice people for me to chat to. There was the man from Tasmania who had swam with me, Hung, Ali and two year old Maisie from Melbourne who were staying a week there. Maisie was hours of endless entertainment, I was really taken with her. She didn't come near me that often - but she liked to chat about me "is Viv in the shower", "Is Viv going to Byron". She had the most amazing vocabulary for a child so young, and was very funny and also a beautiful baby - you just couldn't take a dislike to her. Unfortunately the new person in my dorm did - and snapped at both me and Maisie on her first day. I was a bit taken aback, but maybe she was old and tired. You meet all sorts travelling and although I often think "this place would be perfect if it wasn't for X" - they may think the same about me and actually the fruitloops add to the entertainment. I am sure I have typed this exact sentence about 4 blogs ago - but I can't be bothered to read my own drivel.

After this the old dear kept to herself for the rest of our stay which was a shame as the rest of us had quite a time. There was a Janine who was Australian and very entertaining whilst sober, but got a bit lairy after a few glasses of red wine - but hey, who am I to judge! In fact when Anke left, she ran after Anke clutching her arm demanding her home address so she could come and visit - I advised Anke to get in Graeme's car and make a hasty retreat, but J wasn't easily dissuaded once she got a bee in her bonnet. Tony a teacher who was working in Lennox and stayed at the hostel in the week, going home on weekends. Eilidh and Andrew from Scotland who, by chance, had landed a fruit picking job and so stayed at the hostel for three months longer than planned. They had only been in Oz two days when they landed the job, but if you work in agriculture you get an extra year on your visa so they decided to go for it. By fruit picking standards they were on a good number. They got paid by the hour not the kilo, Eilidh got to work indoors. Poor Andrew and his hay fever suffered a bit, particularly as some days it rains like it will never stop, but he had a nice warm hostel full of fruitloops to come home to. On the Sunday Marc and Jen from Adelaide arrived with baby Ruby - they were friends of Ali and Hung's, so we were a nice chatty crowd. In the day we lazed on the beach or by the pool - or just hung around and chatted on a rainy Saturday. In the evening we chatted and drank or watched TV. That was a surreal experience, sitting in the lounge surrounded by virtual strangers all watching the same programme - Ali remarked that it was like having an instant family - and it was, it was a really enjoyable week and I had a great time.

Sunday I went to Byron Bay and met up with Andrea from Hervey Bay for the day. We went to the much famed monthly Sunday market. Eumundi market was far better to my mind - Byron was trying to hard to be hippy and alternative. We tired of the market quite early and so decided to walk the scenic route up to the lighthouse. I was still limping pathetically from my run in the morning with Ali so I probably held Andrea back quite a bit. There were beautiful views of Byron's beaches, and we walked out to the most easterly point in Australia and battled past the Japanese tourists to get a quick snap of each other with the bay in the background. We thought we saw a whale - but it was just some rocks, and we really did see a school of dolphins. We stumbled across a large lizard which was not at all daunted by us -funny that because we were terrified of it. Andrea spotted it when it poked its head out from the undergrowth and clutched my arm so hard I thought we were both going to die immediately. We watched the lizard for ages - too scared to walk past it and laughing in that way that you do when you know you are behaving like a halfwit - but you also know you are going to keep behaving like a halfwit out of sheer terror. For its part the lizard ambled out in front of us and confronted us - it even made a little run at me at one point. I very very bravely shrieked and ran towards Andrea - never forget I am a trained killer!

In the evening I went off to the pub for a few drinks with Tasmania man. We drank Tooheys Old - which I hadn't realised was a particularly strong drink but it clearly was because after only two pints my little Tasi friend suddenly had more arms than an octopus. At first I thought he was joking, then I suggested maybe he stop touching me - he was nice enough, just not my type ... and we were in a public bar. He laughed good naturedly and gave up, but from the next morning onwards he never spoke to me again or even looked me in the eye - which was a shame because Lennox had a lovely crowd of people and I couldn't see why there was an issue. One day I will meet a man who isn't a virgin or clinically insane ... or both. If I haven't mentioned it before - Australians pubs are more like very large entertainment centres. They have the pub bar, a restaurant sometimes, usually some kind of cafe, a 'pokies room' - fruit machines, and a TAB - bookies. I am always quite amazed that they don't also charge you to pee because every conceivable other inch of space is designed to get money out of you.

Monday I decided to hire one of the hostel's bicycles and go for a cycle. I thought I would cycle to Broken Heads beach - which was on the way to Byron Bay. Byron was 17 km away, so I refused to consult the map and assumed that as Broken Heads was 'on the way' it would be about halfway. In actual fact it was nearly all of the way there, so I had a 30 km cycle ride on a bicycle with no gears - and no rear wheel brake that I could find. Every time I went down a particularly steep hill on the way there I was part terrified that if I had to brake I would have to use the front brake - otherwise known as the suicide brake and part cursing because at some stage on the way back I would have to cycle up that hill - with no gears to ease the ride! Broken Heads was very beautiful - but again I decided the surf was a little rough for me to venture in. On the way back I was cycling along the road - with cars and lorries hurtling past at 100 kmph, and me on my little wreck of a bike, when I passed a huge snake. It was very thick, very black with yellow diamonds, and very very near my feet - so I decided against stopping to take photos. I just pedalled an awful lot faster. Later on I saw one exactly the same in a nature reserve - Diamond Python, kills its prey by crushing it to death. Good time to keep cycling. When I got back I asked Graeme how come the bike had no rear brake. He told me that it is common in Australia for bikes to have a rear brake actioned by pedalling backwards and "it always confuses our European visitors". He laughed his unfunny man laugh. Ho ho ho. Kill kill kill.

Tuesday was the day we were all excited about - well actually just me, but I whipped the others up into a betting fervour to back something in the Melbourne Cup. The Melbourne Cup is Australia's version of The Epsom Derby - but so much bigger because the whole country comes to a complete standstill. By the time the race begun I had already bet on 5 horses and was convinced one of them would come in - and it did!! Sadly two Japanese horses came in front of it, so I only got $18 of my $40 multi bets back - but better than nothing and it was a very exciting race. We went to the pub to watch it and were much entertained by a local woman who clearly thought she was an adult barbie doll - pink sparkly top AND shoes, sprayed on jeans, peroxide blond curls - and a face older than Ethel from Eastenders. Very scary. She was desperate to be the centre of attention - dancing, gyrating, sticking her tongue out - even press ups at one point. Every woman in the room was looking at her with utter scorn, none of their men dared look, but I suppose Barbie figured any attention was better than none. Janine, Jen and I were shrieking with laughter - and Janine and Jen kept on trying to steal Barbie's thunder, which only made her up her antics.

Tuesday evening back at the hostel was clearly international fruitloop night. About 10 of us sat round the table quite happily chatting and laughing. In the lounge sat a strange Australian lady who had arrived that day - and told every single person her life story except me - I wandered off after only one sentence. She just seemed odd and I couldn't be bothered to listen to any more freaks. Also later in the evening she went to the hostel manager and said her hairclip was missing - and one of us had clearly broken into her room and stolen it. The Tasmanian guy again got very drunk and kept on lurching up to the table to tell us about his impotence, before lurching off again. Janine decided to add to the entertainment by constantly haranguing me because her handbag had been pinched in the pub, and I was the last person in the pub with her - I was tired of telling her that it hadn't, and it obviously hadn't - she had it in her hand, but if it hadn't been we would all have been convinced. It was a really funny evening - funny ha ha and funny peculiar all rolled into one. The Melbourne Cup - it does strange things to you.

It was a really hot evening and I couldn't sleep so at midnight I got up and went for a walk along the beach - along with about half the town. It was very odd. The wind was completely still, but the sea seemed to be raging in the east and in the west you could see the lighting lighting up the night sky. At some time in the night the storm did hit and I got up at 5 and went for another walk along the beach. The sky was still odd - pinky calm dawn in one direction, white clouds and blue blue sky making the Sistine chapel ceiling in another direction, and the thunder clouds still gathering towards the south.

Bellingen

Wednesday I was really sorry to go - but you have to move on, there is too much to see here. I got the bus to Bellingen which is a little town about 20 minutes from the sea. It is very laid back and was a really pretty little town. Unfortunately it rained most of the time I was there so I didn't take any pictures of the little town. I just mooched around the second hand bookshop, chilled out in a cafe, watched The Castle on video - even though I have it at home, had seen it on the bus the day before - it is always worth another watch. My first night I had the luxury of a room all to myself - and an ensuite bathroom all just for me. I was in heaven. I spent about an hour having a shower and performing some essential repairs to my battered body - I don't know how I collect so many bruises over here, but I am covered in them most of the time. They just appear - I can't even remember how half of them got there.

The next day I was joined in the dorm by Helen from Worcester who was very nice and had a hire car - so we drove up into the Dorrigo rainforest. The views are meant to be stunning, but due to the inclement weather we could see for only a few metres. The next morning we went kayaking along the Bellinger river which was beautiful. We were very lucky with the weather which waited until we got back to rain again. We weren't so lucky with our steering - neither of us could steer to save our lives. We were so bad even the cows ambled over to see what on earth we were up to, but we had a lovely time kayaking and even went in for a swim - despite the freezing cold.

My next stop was Newcastle - nearly Sydney, but not quite.

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Photos

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The tea tree lake

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Byron Bay Sunday monthly market

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Just a few of the many rules and regs at Lennox.

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View from Byron Bay

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The very small, very brazen and very scary lizard.

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Byron Bay

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Maisie - big knees for such a little girl!

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Melbourne Cup Madness

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Ruby and the girls.

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Lennox Head - Alison, Hung and Jen picking their bets.

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Lennox beach and the weird dawn sky

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Weird sky

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Swimming in the Bellinger River