day 79 Sep 11 Sun Lennox Heads

Poppy's birthday! We deliver our little present and wish Poppy happy 4th birthday and join her for a birthday cake celebration.

 

Another day, another market, this time along the coast at Lennox Heads. It is a quaint little seaside town, popular with surfers as the waves are great here, and in fact all along this stretch of coastline. The market stretches along the beach road and on the shores of the lake... whose waters are stained a rather odd brown colour on account of the tea trees which line the banks. The waters are therapeutic but none of us fancy it much! The beach is so beautiful that we stay here after the market and a delicious coffee and have our lunch on the sand. Sadly in the afternoon the wind picks up and so we head back to Byron where it is more sheltered. As we leave Liz and the gang arrive! They had had a flat battery on their car and so couldnt go where they were planning to and ended up at the same market.

 

We decide to rendezvous later on the beach after we have visited the lighthouse at Cape Byron - the most easterly point in Australia. We drive to the car park at the top - and are staggeres to find the charge is $7 - so we turn round and park 300 metres below for free and climb up the hill along the path. The views towards Byron and beyond are beautiful but looking out to sea there is a huge expanse of open ocean! 

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Cape Byron Lighthouse is the most easterly light in Australia, and one of the most powerful.The cape was named by British explorer Captain James Cook on passing here on 15 May 1770, to honour British explorer John Byron who circumnavigated the globe in the HMS Dolphin from 1764 to 1766.

  

Day 78 Sep 10 Sat Lismore, Bangalow, Byron Bay and Mullimbimby

We are woken at 3 a.m by a cockerel with no sense of sunrise time. He, or rather all of his other cockerel friends who appear to live with him at the rest stop,continues to crow almost non stop until we leave the rest stop later in the morning! We try to go to "Tropical Fruit World" where there are many different and unusual fruits to sample and the "big avocado" but it is not yet open when we arrive at 9 and doesnt open for another hour and a half. We drive on to Lismore as we have heard there is a good local market here, but are rather disappointed in what is on offer. We stop for a coffee in the town and consult the tourist information office. There is a koala hospital here which is open for visits- but the tourist info lady says that we are a) too late for the Saturday tour and b) that the inmates are mostly one gum leaf away from the big eucalyptus tree in the sky and that it is probably not the best place for the girls. She tells us that there is a food festival in nearby Bangalow -  a town which ironically we passed and nearly stopped at on the way up to Lismore - which is definitely worth a visit, so we head back to the van and make our way there. Amazingly as we drive into the town the girls suddenly spot John and Hazel walking down the road but they are walking in the opposite direction and we are stuck in the queue for the car park- they are also here and we didnt know! Not the first or last time this happens in the coming days. We park the van and head into the "Taste" festival on the showground. Lots of amazing produce on show, lots of things to taste and cheap tasting plates  for $5 or $10 on offer from local gourmet cafes, restaurants and hotel kitchens. The sun is shining, there is a band playing and the smells are amazing.

   

The highlight for the girls is a free "rabbit petting" session with 7 week old bunnies provided by Macadamia Castle, a nearby tourist attraction. As we head back to the van for our usual picnic lunch there is a shout from a nearby car - it is Liz and family! We catch up with all their news and decide to head to the beach at Byron Bay for the afternoon and meet up later.

We end up camping at the same place  - Mullimbimby Rugby League Ground, which rents out pitches in the off season around the ground - there are hot showers in the changing rooms and a covered bbq area with sockets.