We made our way from Alexandra Heads to Yamba without much difficulty, although traffic was heavy and moved slowly in places and there were some torrential downpours along the way. It was, again, quite a long drive - almost 6 hours, including stops at scenic pullouts and at Byron Bay for a short walk on the beach.

When we arrived in Yamba, we parked and phoned Brian Smith (Smitty), a friend of our good friends, the Kiryluks, who met him during their teacher exchange to Australia. The Kiryluks had contacted many of their Australian friends in advance of our visit asking for their charity on our behalf, and Smitty had been kind enough to offer to put us up for the night. He drove over to retrieve us and we followed him to his home near the beach.

That evening, Smitty took us for a quick walk down to the beach and then invited us to the Pacific Hotel for "tea". At first, we were concerned about just having tea because we were starving, but then we figured out that "tea" means the main evening meal. We really felt quite Australian, having fish and chips and a burger with beetroot on it. Smitty introduced us to some friends of his (Tony and his family) and it started to feel a bit more like Christmas, telling jokes and stories. The Pacific Hotel was a great locale for the evening, as it is reputed to have the best views of any hotel in Australia. Afterwards, we walked home, had a quick visit before bed, and then slept well looking forward to the walk that Smitty had offered to take us on in the morning.

December 24, 2007

We'd meant to get out the door by 7:00 am, but when we left at 8:00 am, Smitty said that was just right! He'd fed us an excellent breakfast early that morning and with our hats and suntan lotion in hand, we drove out to Yuraygir National Park, which has the longest stretch of undeveloped coastline in New South Wales. There, Smitty led us at breakneck speed to a far off point. The entire walk was 8 km (there and back) and Margaret marveled at what good shape we must be in. Tessa was horrified by the many spiders waiting patiently at eye level along the path, and it didn't help that we saw two iguanas along the way. Between bugs and lizards, Tessa's love of bush walking has not grown much. For the rest of us, though, the walk was lovely. Smitty took us down to the beach where we had a quick swim and then we continued on walking along the beach while he told us a little about the area and the ocean. It was a lovely day - not too hot, not too cold. For us, that is. Smitty told us it was very cold for this time of year, but for us it was just right.

When we got back to Smitty's, we said our farewells. Smitty's relaxed nature and ability to make us feel at home was wonderful, and we were very grateful for his hospitality.