Advertisement
Published: April 28th 2012
First of all, many congratulations to Di and Joe who tied the knot on Friday 27
th!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, but no fanx :-)
Back in travel mode, I decided that Bellingen has the loveliest ever vibe. It’s laid-back, the locals are friendly, the countryside surrounding it is stunning and, probably best of all, there’s a divine organic grocer selling everything from food and toiletries to delicious treats and mojito ice lollies!
You can tell there
is a strong community spirit and an onus on protecting the environment and living sustainably. But here it comes effortlessly and easily.
As we are no longer on the coast and therefore can’t make use of beach showers, we have been staying at a camping spot in the local showground. Our lovely camping neighbours and hot showers have been very welcome!
On Friday we headed out past Dorrigo to explore the beautiful Australian Gondwana Rainforests. The skywalk on which you can view the rainforest from the treetops is pretty cool. We then went on a great hike along the Wonga Walk, past the Crystal Shower Falls (there’s a little path behind the waterfall that you sneak along) and the Tristania Falls (named after the original name of a local plant). It was an absolutely beautiful walk – the perfect opportunity to soak up a big dose of peace and to admire the native flora and fauna, including all sorts of species of birds and a few brush turkeys. My favourites were the ‘walking stick palms’ with their dangling bright red berries and the green canopies created by the stinging tree leaves. They’re lovely to
look at but apparently the leaves are covered in tiny stinging hairs, so definitely one to watch and not touch. Before heading back to Bellingen, we went to see the amazing Dangar Falls, and on our way back we stopped in at the Old Butter Factory which is a little community of shops, galleries, a woodcraft studio, a leather factory, a complimentary therapy centre and a café.
In the evening we went in search of some nightlife and found plenty of it. There were three venues with live music and we chose the Federal Hotel (ie the pub) and listened to the mellow tunes of Alex Hallahan & The Woodland Hunters. As it turned out, they are actually a Melbourne based band and are currently on their ‘Human Veins’ tour. Some of their songs reminded me of James Blunt’s music.
Bellingen has a strong focus on the arts and is home to numerous festivals. Sadly there weren’t any on while we were there, but we did pretty well soaking up the local flavour. A number of movies have been shot here and the latest Bellingen-set flick was supposed to be Eucalyptus, starring Nicole Kidman
and Russell Crowe… but apparently that fell through.
This morning we were lucky to have the weekly growers’ market come to the Showground, just 50m from our camping spot! It’s one of those markets that you could spend all day at – sampling, shopping, chatting – and I came away with a full bag of veggies and produce including some delicious roast pumpkin hummus and sundried tomato / walnut pesto. Yum!
The next few hours were spent ‘doing the shops’ of Bellingen. I worked my way up one side and down the other side of Hyde Street, the main drag. Almost every café was also a gallery and vice versa. Even the supermarket caters to Bellingen’s foodie style with a generously sized deli section and specialist products. The Bellingen Emporium, which is housed in the historic Hammond & Wheatley building, looks like a dusty old department store from the outside but is a real find. It sells luxury garments, leather goods etc and the upper floor is dedicated to gorgeous handmade jewellery as well as middle eastern inspired interiors. Lovely!
The restaurants of Bellingen are something else altogether. Some of them
are fully organic and almost all of them have a menu that makes you salivate on the spot and an atmosphere/décor that prompts you to mentally redecorate your own home.
We took it fairly easy this the afternoon as I’ve been feeling a bit crook and poor Dean has somehow hurt his back (a pinched nerve but, being Saturday, unfortunately no chiros or osteos are open). Also the rain had set in (again!). The most energetic thing we did today was go for a walk down to Bellingen Island. Although it looks like it used to be an island, we’re not convinced it actually still is one. It is however the largest remnant of lowland rainforest left in the lower Bellinger flats and it’s home to strangler figs, white booyong, pepperberry trees and giant stinging trees. It is also inhabited by an enormous number of grey-headed flying foxes. When you look up at the trees, they are literally everywhere! An information sign warned us that ‘bombing’ is a possibility in the mornings, when the bats have full bellies and need to empty themselves in order to make themselves as light as possible. Apparently if you see one
turning itself upside down, to hang from its thumbs, that’s a sign to get out of there! They certainly are quite a sight and fun to watch.
I walked a little further on, out of town, and was again struck by the beautiful surrounding countryside. It’s right on your doorstep, no matter which part of town you live in. The very lush and tropical native plants are also a reminder that we are getting closer to the north coast.
Tomorrow morning we head north to Coffs Harbour. I reeeeally don’t want to leave but then we have probably seen and done all there is and, unless we were to get work and stay for a while, it’s probably time to move along. After some searching, I did manage to find a house sitting position but, alas, it’s not available until mid June. A real shame as it’s a four bedroom property on an acre of land bordering the river, with veggie patches, a small rainforest to provide bird habitat, a small pond with frogs, 2 dogs, 2 cats, 5 quails and 6 chickens as well as a separate studio ideal for playing music or doing meditation/yoga!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.164s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 9; qc: 48; dbt: 0.0808s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Linda Pankhurst
non-member comment
PLEASE TELL ME MORE ...
What time of year did you visit Bello and for how long? Did you encounter sand flies? The reason I am asking, is because I would like to get some honest, first-hand feedback on the "cons" of living in Bellingen. We have only visited for a few days at a time and are now wanting to relocate there. We left Queensland because of the heat, midges and wind and would so like to be properly informed before going ahead with our decision. Many thanks in anticipation of your reply, Linda