I wasn't going to do a blog so soon after setting off from Bill's but our New South Wales (NSW) curse has struck again, this state doesn't seem to like us! For those of you who don't know, Bob and I were last in NSW in January 2011. This was the year that they had devastating floods and we were travelling around in Bill's motorhome for a few weeks. We ended up staying on flooded campsites and negotiating the odd flooded road so decided to play safe and return early. Good job we did because, as we travelled north up the Pacific Highway, the road was shutting behind us and all the places we had visited were under several feet of water! However, we still have good memories of that trip and decided to revisit some of the places again this time.

Our departure from Bill's was delayed by a couple of days due to rain - we should have taken the hint! Our first stop was Byron Bay - a surfie and hippie heaven. We gave up on seeing the place on our last visit, due to the weather and the hordes of VW campers trying to park. Our overriding memory is of paying an extortionate amount for a campsite! This time, being older and wiser, we booked a caravan park just down the road and drove in to Byron Bay. I'm glad we made the effort, as the walk to the lighthouse across the headland was beautiful - we saw a pod of dolphins swimming along the coast with whales blowing further offshore. Having visited the most easterly point in New Zealand, we now found ourselves at the most easterly point of Australia! The surfing beaches were busy but pretty awesome. We were both glad to have seen what Byron is all about, although it is a bit busy, touristy and commercial for our liking. We even had to pay for parking, which is quite unusual except in large cities.

While at Byron we visited a local farmer's market at Mullumbimby, which was quite alternative, organic and hippie, as was the laid back town itself. Loved it! We also swam in nearby Lake Ainsworth which is called the Coca Cola Lake by the locals. This is because the water is coca cola brown, stained by the tea-trees, or melaleucas, around the edge. It is quite weird looking down through the water.

So, off we set towards Grafton, with a planned lunch stop at Yamba. Yamba was another place we had previously visited in the rain and, yes, it was raining again as we approached and the windscreen wipers were on intermittent. After a while I became aware that the screen hadn't cleared and flicked the switch to speed up the wipers. Nothing! I flicked the intermittent over to normal speed - nothing! As we were driving down the highway, with fast traffic, it was not ideal not being able to see, so I was flicking the switch every which way in desperation - nothing! As luck would have it the turn off to Yamba appeared and we turned off onto a much quieter road and stopped to assess our situation. After ascertaining that the wipers definitely weren't going to work, and discussing what we were going to do, I remembered that rubbing a cut potato over the windscreen acted like a water repellent and made driving easier in these situations. But, you've guessed it - no potatoes, and Bob didn't believe me either!

We limped slowly into Yamba and tried to get help but everywhere was closed on a Saturday afternoon. We called breakdown out - he told us it wasn't the fuse, we'd probably need a new motor and we wouldn't be able to sort that out till Monday morning. He recommended a water repellent spray for the windscreen and told us a cut potato would also work - yessss, you should have seen Bob's face!! We decided to err on the side of caution and stay the night in Yamba. The rain eventually stopped and Yamba itself was delightful with a very unusual horseshoe shaped surfing beach which allowed us to watch the surfers side on. The campsite also had a full sized snooker table and a bar, very acceptable!

The next day, we checked the forecast, no rain, so we set off for Grafton, a town that is famed for its beautiful jacaranda trees and even has a Jacaranda Festival. Last time we were here was the wrong time of year (and yes, it did rain!) so we didn't see the lovely purple flowers. This time the streets are tinged with a hazy purple light and there are avenues and avenues of purple jacaranda trees - stunning! Our site is beautiful too, quiet and with a small swimming pool. That evening we cycled into town to watch the fruit bats flying. For some reason they didn't fly that night, or they flew in the other direction, but we ended up winning a meatpack in a raffle - lamb steaks, sausages and pork chops - whoopee!

Monday morning saw us visit the electrical automotive repairers! Bad news - Winnie needs a new windscreen wiper motor which can only be got from Melbourne and will take 4 days to arrive so we have had to extend our stay in Grafton.

Monday evening saw us celebrating our friend Paul's birthday. Paul and Brenda were travelling north so we arranged to meet up. They have a caravan so stayed on the same site. We were meant to have gone greyhound racing that evening but, you've guessed it, it chucked it down so we spent a very convivial evening eating and drinking in their van. Happy Birthday Paul!

So, what else have we done while on our enforced stay? We've been swimming and bodyboarding at Wooli - another place we only saw in the rain before. It is absolutely stunning, being on a spit between a river and the sea - white, squeaky sand, turquoise water and completely empty! On the drive to Wooli we also saw kangaroos, a lapwing with it's tiny, furry chick, an Australian figbird, blue fairy wren, a monitor lizard, black cockatoos and a 'snack'!!! It was in the middle of the road, was black and was slithering - that's all I can tell you as my feet were up on the dashboard (an instinctive move, lol) and my eyes were shut!! We've also played tennis, swam in the pool, been shopping and we still plan to see those fruit bats! I am also craving a hot Indian (meal, that is!) and there just happens to be an Indian restaurant here too!

It's now Wednesday and we are hoping Winnie will be fixed on Friday so we can get on with our travels. And, sod's law, it hasn't rained since Monday and the forecast looks good for the next week! It is weird being back in Winnie again though. We found ourselves going to the wrong cupboards and looking for stuff where it would have been in Trannie. However, it is SO nice not to have to make the bed up each night and put away again in the morning! And our plan worked, Winnie now seems huge and we have so much more space to move around in. Cooking is a lot easier too as we have our barbie back. The only downside is parking Winnie as she takes two spaces lengthwise and we always seem to be at the back of the car-park with miles to walk to the shops. NSW also has some weird parking restrictions and often stipulates 'not over 6m' which counts us out, even though the space may be big enough. Still, a minor issue, and we're not complaining, much!

So, the washing is done and on the line, I am now blogging and Bob is catching up on emails and stuff. We have decided to have a really lazy day and make the most of our unplanned stay. Next stop? The pool!!