After the last few days we had had enough of traffic, roundabouts, road works, and general congestion.

We were very happy to hit the highway and bypass all the rest of the Gold Coast, theme parks, Coolangatta etc, and soon crossed the border to New South Wales. First major turn off was Byron Bay. We considered whether it was worth checking this out as we hadn't liked it much eight years ago. Decided to give it one more chance, but probably shouldn't have. It was as we remembered it, crowded and pretentious, but so much bigger and busier than it had been. Trying to find parking was a nightmare - not only was there very little parking of any sort, there was no parallel parking at all, and what parking we could find was meter parking for very short lengths of time (and very large amounts of money). We eventually found some free parallel parking, but about a kilometre out of the main street, so had to walk back a long way. We thought we would stop somewhere for lunch - the only hotel on the water was busy, noisy, and had a bouncer at the door. No thanks. We eventually got some fish and chips and sat on the grass by the shore. This was a very pleasant surprise - two pieces of grilled fish, including salmon, some thick chunky prawns, and chilli calamari, as well as chips. The only good thing in Byron.

We pushed on to Ballina, which was only about 30 kms on but we took the back roads, not the highway. Bad move - curvy and twisty and roundabouts every few kms. Exhausted by the time we got there. The tourist info centre told us there was a market the next day, and also mentioned Summerland Farm - a wonderful enterprise of a macadamia and avocado farm which employed disabled people and tried to give them training and a livelihood. As well as packing avocadoes, they ran a restaurant where the people were trained in hospitality. We had been there on our previous trip and were keen to see it again.

We settled into Alstonville Showgrounds for the night, then went to Summerland for breakfast keen to support them. We needn't have worried. When we arrived we were asked if we had a booking, and were only squeezed in because there was just two of us and we were early. Several other families came and were turned away as they were fully booked.

The market at Ballina turned out to be a seafood market celebrating the fishing endeavours of the whole place. After all, the entrance of Ballina is marked by a giant prawn. Balina itself is a lovely town backing onto a river and with lots of cafes, gardens, picnic areas etc.

We then moved on and had a short stop at Evans Head, another small quaint little fishing village with lovely gardens and cafes on the river. There was a short walk to the heads where the river met the sea and the surf beach raged.

Next stop was Yamba. This is a very long town, spread down the length of the Clarence River for about ten kms off the highway. As you travel there are lakes, marinas, creeks, estuaries, channels - so much water, including oyster farms. The town at the end was a bit disappointing and did not look out onto anything. To reach the sea, there was a very steep hill up to a lighthouse and down again. Did not bother.

We stopped at Maclean Showgrounds for the night - also along the Clarence River but further inland. This a very sweet little town with strong Scottish origins, and the showgrounds are right on the water. Tried out the blow up bean bag / balloon couches we had brought as it was so windy. Very relaxing.

Georgy's bit

Byron Bay on the last weekend of NSW school holidays was "Chokaz". The unwritten dress code could be summarised as "hip and slutty".

Ballina always had a light and laid back feel. Easy parking at the tourist info centre and the Maritime and Naval Gazing Museum. The Big Prawn seemed even bigger, and the Fishing Co-Op is still as I remember.

Due to poor road signage and navigation confusion we missed Lennox Heads and used the worst road available, which made road works sign a sight to behold. The deadly potholes were placed with surgical accuracy in an impossible to avoid way.

To claim back some of what we missed, we found Evan's Head to be clear and pleasant. Yamba gave the gearbox a workout going up and down for no clear reason.

Maclean had a showground overlooking the river - time to test the air loungers. The Aldi one lacks stability but the blue works well. The power boxes were dedicated only for shows and locked for campers. Found a working power-point and made espresso in the morning. A nice whiff of coffee roasting was wafting all morning walking through Maclean, yet no clear winner. It was on our way out of town that we found the real cafe. Always follow your nose.