We left Bribie Island in very windy conditions and Steph was petrified of going over the Gateway Bridge which if any of you know of it is very very high. However all went well but by this time we were in the most horrendous school holiday traffic that was heading towards the Gold Coast. Thankfully after about two and a half hours of traffic chaos we emerged at the other end of Brisbane. We looked on the map and the small seaside town of Brunswick Heads looked like a good bet so we headed there and were surprised to be able to secure a lovely spot to camp. Loads of washing needed to be done so this was an ideal place to do it. Next morning as it was so nice we booked in for another night then went for a walk. We wondered why lots of people were on the end of a rock wall and upon venturing down saw there were several whales quite close to shore putting on quite a display so that was great to see. Next morning a lot of people were leaving as they had already been there for a week of the school holidays. It was very entertaining watching them pack up as they had everything and the kitchen sink and it's a matter of everything in its place and a place for everything. It made us realise how easy it is for us just to jump into the camper van and drive away.
Driving down the highway we saw the turn off to Byron Bay so decided to drive in. Bad mistake. The traffic was banked up for kms. We took a short cut to get to the other side of of town and were amazed by the amount of people who were selling second hand clothes on the side of the road. We then headed off down the coast road towards the town of Ballina where this picture of the prawn is from. It was beside the Bunnings store we needed to go to and not far from a seafood shop that also beckoned us to buy the real thing!!!! Also got Stoneleigh here for $8.70 a bottle!!!!Ballina has been in the news this week as a surfer was attacked by a shark and several more have been seen off the coast. Harry and Nola had told us about a great pie shop down the road so we thought it would be rude not to go there. Steph's pie was a yummy Eggs Benny pie with bacon spinach an egg and hollandaise sauce and mine was a really nice steak one. Then heading south again we managed to find a lovely little place called Moonee Beach where you just drive around and pick your own camp site a great idea. This is a seemingly go ahead little place about 25kms from Coffs Harbour. After a quick shop at Coles the next morning where Steph found her favourite Sticky Date Toffee Scones we headed off.