And we are off again.....

---

Ok we we finally leave Coffs Harbour, lovely as it is we are itching to get going on the road again. Bret the mechanic comes out and gets Tank started and we are off to BananaCoast Autos to get some new glow plugs so we can start Tank up in the mornings. Bret tells us the problem was Tank needed bigger than the 6volt plugs that he had at the moment. There was an embarrsing moment when Bret called Tank "an old girl" but he (Tank) soon forgave him when he was up and running again with brand new plugs and electrics.

By the time he got fixed up it was getting dark so we drove through the darkness to our next destination, Byron Bay, or at least somewhere close to it. We ended up stopping for a great Chinese meal at a place called Ping Sun restaurant in Ballina. We nearly didn't go there as they had a weird banner outside saying the "Award winning chef would serve you courtiously". I am glad we did stop though as it really was a great meal and Shenton thought it was the best duck he had ever had.

We were only 40km away from Byron Bay and read in our book that there is great surfing at a place called Lennox Head, this was only 9km away from Ballina so we headed there to try and find a place to stay for the night. We arrived in pitch blackness and pulled into a parking space on the side of a residential street. All seemed ok here so we decided to stay for the night. During the night Shenton woke up to see two blokes creeping towards the van (we pressume) they were about to try and nick the surfboard from the top of the van. As Shenton saw them he immediately growled and kicked the van window, which woke me up. I looked up from my sleep with my eye mask on my head ruffing up my hair into a big barnet. They dropped their torch and I heard them say "Shit, did you see that big mullet" and they ran off. They must have thought big hairy head man was in the van with Shenton :-)

In the morning we woke early and found that Tank had taken us to the most spectacular place, this really is the best beach we have seen yet on our travels. It is as good as any beach we have been on ever, including Cayman or Tarifa. It is called 7 mile beach and it just seems to go on forever (well at least 7 miles :-)). We sit with a cup of tea on the beach, watching the waves as I write in my journal. We decide to stay for a while as Fonzi's son told me I had to get used to the white water waves before I take the board out onto any bigger waves. Shenton says he doesn't need to do this, and what does a pro surfer know anyhow, he and his board have got to know each other after being smashed up together on the big stuff :-) So I try out the waves which are a bit messy so instead we play a bit of guitar before we head to a lake which is a few hundread meters from the beach. The lake is a deep red brown colour and the book tells us this is the Tannine from the trees and it is good for our skin and hair, so we take a dip before we head off to Byron Bay.

---

Photos

Shenton caught crabs
What has he been up to at night?

Comments

[Andrea]

Green Tea?
How come Nicola since you have been a Smith you constantly drink tea?

[shirley]

Guitar on the beach
Im loving the picture. Is that the cover for your New Album. Nice set and location eh. Hope you are both well and got over your night time attack. You are a very brave woman traveling with Danger mouse lol. Just keep the Revolver loaded...lol

[Mrs Smith]

Green Tea
I guess I must be still trying to stick to my green roots.....

[Mrs Smith]

Mr and Mrs Smith
Yeah, I think Shenton thinks we are Mr and Mrs Smith from the movie and is trying to recreate the assasinations.