The Eastern-most Point in Australia

Day dawned in Mullumbimby and, unlike our previous camp, no ice was apparent. After getting ourselves sorted out we decided the first stop should be Byron Bay. It wasn’t until we got there that we realised it was a Sunday, but this didn’t seem to have any effect as everything was open and busy. It then dawned on us that it was also the middle weekend of school holidays, which may have helped explain why, when we tried to visit the lighthouse every possible parking option for three kilometres was already taken. After a similar experience at the next beach area we tried to visit we decided to try our luck in the town itself and if this also didn’t work – then find something else to explore and come back the next day hoping that it may be marginally quieter given some people may be back at work.

 

Luckily the town itself was easy enough to park in so we had a wander. One of the first things we discovered was that there was also an international junior surfing competition running in Byron which would only have added to the people around and probably meant that coming back the next day didn’t help much anyway.

 

Byron Bay itself was a visit that we had been uncertain of for some time as it has a reputation for being both beautiful and quirky, however having lived in Margaret River we were interested to find out how much of this remained and how much was a reputational hangover from earlier days. As it turned out the reputation was well founded and the town probably hung together better due to Margaret River. This in part appears to be due to the main street being flatter, whereas Margaret Rivers main street is a fair uphill toil. In addition the railway line running adjacent to the main street, although now disused, has resulted in minimal cross streets giving a greater level of continuity to the shopping strip. Finally, the warmer climate has probably resulted in a different feel to both he style of shops and the set-up of the strip. I am not sure for instance that the ice cream shop would have been doing the same volume of trade in July if it was located in Margaret River!

 

The first thing to catch Max’s eye was Subway, but we were able to ignore his multi-faceted (and anything but subtle) hints for long enough to wander several other blocks. Eventually this included coming across an Asian foods store that also sold Yum Cha. Liz therefore ordered a range of pieces and we introduced the kids to one of our favourite treats. Harry was also excited as only chop sticks were offered and he has always liked eating with them. This liking may in part stem from Max’s unwillingness to even try however.

 

This time, with no choice, a rumbling belly and a great liking for food generally, Max was forced to persevere with the chop sticks for a while, with the outcome being that he ended up reasonably proficient (for a first try) with them and actually decided he didn’t mind using them. Harry also developed a taste for Jasmine tea although we are yet to discover whether he genuinely likes tea itself (he also professes to like peppermint tea) or just the concept of drinking tea. Max on the other hand is demonstrating a general dislike of all things tea, which makes my tastes (black tea or green/jasmine tea only) seem cosmopolitan by comparison.

 

Continued exploring through the town unearthed several shops that could have resulted in me having to find a few weeks work to enable us to continue if Liz had been unchaperoned for any period of time. In fact Liz decided she could happily live in Byron Bay and I worked out that it was unlikely I would ever find a job anywhere that could support her living in Byron Bay .

 

Last stop in town was a home-made ice cream shop we had discovered earlier. The range was phenomenal with the result that Max decided to purchase himself a triple scoop to enable him to at least try three different flavours and Harry went for a double for the same reason (by this stage Harry had already spent too much elsewhere to allow himself any more). Liz and I however confined ourselves to much more conservative helpings that were nonetheless beautiful.

 

We took these with us and decided to try the lighthouse once more in the hope that the numbers of people had thinned since the morning. This seemed an unlikely chance with the sun due to start setting, but you never know.

 

When we arrived we were startled to find that parking spots galore were available at the peak, so disembarked and set about having a poke around. One interesting find was to see that the original two assistant lighthouse keepers residences are now rented out as holiday accommodation. If I ever visited Byron for a holiday in the future this would be one of my accommodation options for exploration, as the idea of being able to step out at both sundown and sunup appeals, even if I would probably want to disappear for the days themselves given the number of visitors the place attracts.

 

The lighthouse itself appeared similar to others we have visited in South-West Western Australia (unsurprising really given that they were all built in similar times and for exactly the same reason), but the lookouts were a must, both for the picturesque nature of the coast and the opportunity to visit the Eastern most point of Australia. The whole ambience of wandering around a beautiful coastline at the Eastern most point in Australia, home-made ice-creams in hand while the sun set was phenomenal.

 

Next day Liz was feeling the strain a little and needed a quiet day in camp so the boys and I set off to find a beach. We ended up at Brunswick Heads (appropriate really given we were camping on the banks of the Brunswick River), which wasn’t particularly exciting from the point of surf, but was fantastic for the kids. This was the first time they had really had the chance for a swim since we set-off as the weather had finally warmed.

 

The whole of the morning was therefore spent relaxing and playing in and around the water. At about 2pm we decided it really was time for lunch so I went up to the car to put something together. As I was in the process of making lunch however I accidentally closed one of the doors, only to find that the keys had fallen out of my pocket and were lying on the floor of the car, my mobile was sitting on the front seat and when the keys had landed in the car they had obviously hit something that depressed the lock button –v so there I was – car locked, no way of getting in, spare key back in Mullumbilly with Liz, lunch half made inside a car sitting inn the sun with the fridge door still open to ensure that all the food in it should spoil, no way of contacting Liz and the kids still happily playing on the beach although starting to get agitated due to hunger pains growing.

 

Luckily, just as I did it a guy pulled up into the neighbouring parking space and before he had even got out of his car he obviously worked out that something was amiss. He immediately offered to drive me back to pick up the spare keys, so I fetched the kids and off we went. On the way he explained that when it came to cars he believed a little in karma and worked on the fact that he would need assistance every so often, therefore it was only right and fair that he helped others out when they needed it. This worked out for me as I had only jump started another camper that morning and have a similar belief so all ended up right with the world, although lunch was delayed by half an hour.

 

Following this, and a roast that night that Max decided was one of the best meals he had ever eaten, and the first roast he had ever enjoyed it was time to start getting sorted out for our sortie into Queensland, the last mainland Australian State yet to be visited on this trip. After the kids went to bed however there was also a need for some decorations as it was Max’s ninth birthday the next morning – so out with the streamers and balloons.