Last few days of holiday

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We are back at Woolgoolga, we arrived and were setting up just as the Melbourne Cup was running! I was wondering why the campers were all sitting together sipping champers! One year we must get involved in the festivities again! We went to look out to sea and there was a whale, not that far out, leaping out of the water. We thought we'd missed them - there are supposedly over 12,000 whales returning to the Antarctic after breeding in northern waters but we've seen only 2 or 3 this year.

It's been a good couple of days. From Byron Bay we drove along the coast towards Ballina and found a couple of new (to us) beaches - Suffolk Park and a very nice one, Tallow Beach at Broken Head. These are around the southern side of Cape Byron so the lighthouse was still in view. Tallow Beach is very popular with surfers and there's a small caravan park there. We had a night at Ballina instead and decided today we must tear ourselves away and start our trip home, though it's hard to leave this lovely warm weather.

We drove through glorious sunshine today, first to Lennox Head where we actually found a big enough parking spot for the motor home in the main street, and where I found a new fashion/home shop which had fabulous things inside. I made a purchase for home, should have made one for me! Then we headed into the hinterland, first to Bangalow .. another double parking area in the main street so I could visit my favourite shops there - it was too hard last time we drove through. The shopkeepers were all dressed in their best and talking about the Melbourne Cup, in fact one had an interesting fascinator in her hair. I realised it was actually one of the big round whispy grass seeds like I'd picked up on the edge of the beach at Byron Bay the other day. She did look smart, so clever and original.

The countryside from Bangalow through Bexhill, Clunes and to Lismore looked so pretty - green hills, dark green macadamias and avocados, bright green Camphor Laurels (is anyone worried about how many of these big trees have now invaded the far north coast? Surely some should be culled), mauve jacarandas and the occasional smudge of purple on the grass - Patterson's Curse, the farmers' pest, but very pretty and toning beautifully. Lismore had jacarandas everywhere too, perhaps a shade darker than at Grafton, in fact we could compare as we once more came into Grafton and once more marvelled at the trees still in flower.

We are having a couple of nights here and may extend, it depends what the weather does - right now it couldn't be more perfect.

Enjoy Romeo and Juliette tomorrow, Isis .. hope it goes well and make sure Mummy takes lots of photos to show me!!

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Photos

On the car ferry
We crossed the river at Maclean to travel on the opposite side to the highway .. and ended up at the back of Grafton

Jacarandas and Illawarra Flame Trees
A pretty combination

Comments

[Railways Reservation]

Railways Reservation
Thanks for best tour report.