Page 7 of TeamJD Travel Blog Posts


Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Lennox Head May 16th 2012

Lennox is so gorgeous that, for the first time during our trip, we reversed our travel direction and headed back south for a couple of days.There were no regrets and it was definitely worth it! I went to a Sivananda yoga class with www.yogawhitelotus.com in the beautiful circular ‘loft’ at the Lennox Head Community Centre. It was the Sivananda tradition that got me into yoga several years ago and it was so lovely to come back to it. The teacher, Madhava, had actually lived, trained and taught at the Sivananda Yoga and Vedanta Centre in London which I used to go to. Small world! I’d highly recommend White Lotus to anyone in or passing through the area. The next morning we headed back to our lovely little gym, checked out th... read more

Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Byron Bay May 12th 2012

Byron Bay. Where to start.Here is what the Lonely Planet has to say about it: “Byron Bay’s reputation precedes it like no other place in Australia. It’s a gorgeous town where the trademark laid-back, New Age populace lives an escapist, organic lifestyle against a backdrop of evergreen hinterland and never-ending surfable coastline. With such a heady high rap in mind, the pitfall lies in arriving in this utopia along with every other backpacker on the coast, and wondering what all the fuss is about. Never fear, the sensation doesn’t last long. Byron’s unique vibe has a way of converting even the most cynical with its long days, balmy weather, endless beaches, delightful accommodation, delectable food, delirious nightlife, ambling milieu and the charis... read more
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Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Lennox Head May 11th 2012

We woke up to beautiful sunshine and a stunning view of the ocean and a seemingly never ending beach… so decided to hang around Lennox Head for the morning, before driving on to Byron Bay. Lennox is just gorgeous and flew straight onto the ‘wonderful places’ list. It is unspoilt, relaxed, friendly, beautiful and peaceful. Its ‘centre’ is literally just one long strip of shops opposite the beach but there is much more behind the scenes. Being fairly upmarket and modern, Lennox has a very cool Cultural Centre and you can tell it’s got a great community spirit. There is so much on offer - from cookery classes to every imaginable type of yoga – that you could keep busy for quite some time. We tried out the local gym and ticked off the need for ... read more
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Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Ballina May 8th 2012

The first thing we saw when we drove into Ballina was The Big Shrimp. Argh! I refuse to take and post photos of these monstrosities as I simply hate them. Before finishing up my job in Melbourne, a colleague asked whether we would be doing the big things on our trip. I replied yes, thinking she meant the Sydney Opera House and Ayers Rock etc! Apparently there is a whole website dedicated to The Big Things… Ah well, I might come round to it one day, but for now I think it represents the epitome of tackiness. The shrimp aside, Ballina is lovely and quite peaceful. We arrived around lunchtime, so stopped in a park to prepare some food when we saw a couple of tandem parachutists come into land across the road. That was our ... read more

Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Yamba May 5th 2012

On our way to Yamba, only about an hour’s drive from Grafton, we stopped in at Maclean. This town has a strong Scottish heritage which is apparent from the moment you arrive. The power poles are painted with all the different Scottish tartans, there is a Cairn with plaques displaying clans’ mottos, the street names are written in English as well as Gaelic and there is a Highland Gathering each Easter! Neither of us had expected to find such a place in Australia and I felt strange ‘rediscovering’ my own Scottish roots.Sadly the Maclean Historical Society, housed in a quaint 1879 stone cottage, was closed while we were there but we admired the view from the lookout and drove around the town checking out the tartans on the power poles. This part of NSW is the ... read more
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Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Grafton May 2nd 2012

Woolgoolga is a small town 25km north of Coffs Harbour which is renowned for its sizeable Sikh community. We had planned to be there for the Curry Fest – an annual celebration involving music, dance and lots of curries! – but sadly missed it by a few days. Instead, we thought we would drop in on our way through and treat ourselves to a yummy meal. But it was a real disappointment… there was only one curry house and that was closed!Aside from a big helicopter on a stilt in the Returned Servicemen Club car park and the Raj Mahal, a derelict and graffitied temple with two giant broken elephant statues, there wasn’t much to see either so we continued on our journey to Grafton. When we realised that the camping spot we were aiming for ... read more
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Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Coffs Harbour April 29th 2012

Unbelievably we made it out of Bellingen! The morning we left was quite funny because somehow I managed to stall us so that we didn’t get out of town until lunchtime. I seriously did not want to leave (how hard can it be to persuade a boy that this is the place we’re meant to be and it’s ok to abandon our travels?!). So I had an extreeemely slow breakfast… took foreeever doing the washing up… remembered I needed to go to the shops… and post a letter… and go to the cash machine… then fell in love with a couple of houses before realising they were both for sale (a sign or what!)… and then took us on a drawn-out drive around the outskirts of Bellingen… and 9km of gravel road to see the farms… ... read more
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Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Bellingen April 26th 2012

First of all, many congratulations to Di and Joe who tied the knot on Friday 27th!We wish you both every happiness in the world! Secondly, Bellingen is awesome! I could quite happily stay here. Forever. We arrived on Thursday afternoon and, after a much needed lunch feast, went for a cycle around the town which lies on the not-quite-spelled-the-same Bellinger River. The different spelling seems to have been the result of a misinterpretation of poor handwriting somewhere along the line. While out cycling, I was catapulted back into ‘reality’ when received a call inviting me to be a panel member at a conference in Melbourne in November. I must say, work is so far removed from my mind at the moment and it was a nice feeling to say fanx, b... read more
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Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » South West Rocks April 24th 2012

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Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Port Macquarie April 20th 2012

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