Day Ten: July 16th, 2013
Port Macquarie to Byron Bay
We knew we had a long drive ahead, so woke up early and left the campsite around 9am. We were sad to leave Port Macquarie, it had rather stolen our hearts. The campsite had been fantastic too.
With some good snacks for the road, we turned the radio up and started covering some ground. We had to stop a few times to adjust the cover we have over the bike rack, but finally got it sorted and made good time.
We saw wild kangaroos, cows, llamas and lots of horses (I'm desperate for a good hack around the open space). We passed the Giant Banana in Coffs Bay, and also a giant prawn sculpture being put up. Clearly the land of large food stuffs - it made the journey interesting never the less.
We pulled into Byron Bay just after 3pm. We parked up and started searching for campsites on our phones. At first we thought we'd got it wrong -$40+ a night for an unpowered tent? Surely not, we paid only $14.50 in the Blue Mountains! But alas, Byron Bay comes at a price. We looked at Glen Villa campground online, and although the reviews said it caters mainly to older couples and had been unfriendly to young tourists, we drove up and enquired at reception. A helpful girl around our age served us and was very nice. However, an older lady, hearing our voices, came out of the back room and started giving us the evils! $30 a night, but not as close to the beach as we'd like. Plus the angry lady made us want to take our business elsewhere.
Byron Bay touring park is $42 a night, but boy is it worth it! Private tracks down to the beach, and only a stones throw from the water. The amenities are immaculate and totally mod-conned out. We only booked in for 2 nights as the town seems pretty touristy, and we're keen to find something a little quieter. Still, we want to experience the famous beach.
We popped up the tent amongst the many bush turkeys that roam the grounds and got down to the beach just in time to catch the glorious sun set. We decided the evening was too good to waste, and after 6 hours in the car we needed to stretch our legs. A quick change and we were back on the beach for a run along the waters edge. Barefoot running is the best - and the sand is a good exfoliant substitute for a pedicure when you can't afford one.
There was quite a crowd gathered at one edge of the beach, with a group playing music on drums and saxophones. A very hippy vibe, it reminds me of Venice Beach, CA. Not a good thing - I hate that place.
We washed our feet off in the beach shower and headed to Woolworths. Making the sweet potato concoction extend to another night, extra tomatoes and chickpeas were added and we had a nice warm meal. I've got an exhausted Elliot on my hands tonight after all the driving, so an early night before our one full day in Byron. Texted the girls at home for some ideas of what we should do tomorrow (several have come this way on their travels). Cheeky Monkeys seems to be a popular shout. We'll need to find somewhere showing State of Origin tomorrow night, so maybe we'll see what all the fuss is about.