just a big ol' recap pt 1
- Elle Richards
- Nov 8, 2020
- 5 min read
so I have been journaling like a madman but lacking majorly on the blogging front. Currently in Coffs Harbour, I have been busy soaking up the sun and just writing, as you don't have to be worried about draining your battery because the brightness is on all way but you STILL end up squinting your eyes just to locate your mouse. I left off when we were leaving Byron Bay (11/10) to pay a visit to Lake Ainsworth in Lennox Heads. We were there for 3 days doing not a lot at all. the lake was by far one of my favourite places yet as the small town of Lennox Heads is easy-going, not too busy and the freshwater lake and the beach are about 100 metres between each other, like literally side by side. it's freaking cool. it was also hell nice to be swimming in freshwater rather than saltwater especially as we weren't showering for questionably long periods of time. I went for a swim early each morning and even a bit of yoga with my pal, Prati. we would cook dinner by the lakeside and then retreat to a different suburb street to sleep each night.
Following the recommendation of the Byron Bay tourist centre bloke, we headed to Killen Falls on the 14/10. there was about a 15-minute walk to the waterfall, a short amount of time but still, Prati managed to slip and fall into the creek as he was trying to vlog as well as break Emi's thongs (aka 'pluggers' as I'm told). due to the lack of rainfall, it was a relatively small waterfall but still fun to chill nonetheless. 4 little turtles were swimming around and on the rocks, Prati tried to catch one but no luck there. I read my Australian history book in the shade.
it was Emi's dinner night and we had a stir-fry thing. we also made a new friend, José! he's a very friendly and playful staffy that belonged to the owner of the massive property (with its own lake!) just next to the falls.
we slept early as being eaten alive by mozzies isn't fun. the next morning, I washed my hair on the side of the road and that day (15/10), we toured around a couple of different towns 45 minutes inland of Lennox Heads. First, we visited Newrybar; a town that pretty much consisted of its main street filled with boutiques and some eating spots. there was a business called Harvest who owned a bakery, cafe, and restaurant and a funky compost/veggie garden with chickens and native Australian flora. they took up most of the main street and had a large sustainability focus, very admirable. we trotted along to another town called Bangalow. another one of my favourite places so far. it felt old-school and cozy with bright red phone boxes, an old police station cottage (still in use), and a lot of old homes that have been converted into quaint boutiques. feeling a little overcrowded when we arrived, I wandered the main street for a couple of hours by myself having a lovely time enjoying my own company and bought some earrings, peppermint carob chocolate, and part of matt's 16th birthday present. we parked underneath what felt like a rainforest and I made lunch whilst Emi and Prati shopped the main street.
Tragedy struck though as we realised Prati's van needed a mechanic's attention asap so we headed back to Lake Ainsworth. Prati made a rather yummy peanut butter stir-fry for dinner. I called home for a few hours and being super tired, we parked beside the lake for the night. (16/10) - mistake mistake mistake; Ranger James knocked on our windows at 7 am to inform us of our wrong-doings (totally valid, it WAS a no camping zone) and to get me and the other van with Emi and Prati in it, moving along quickly. I opened the door with frizzy hair and sleepy eyes, obviously couldn't argue otherwise so naturally, we moved just around the corner (not much better). as I got out of the van after moving, I saw James and his ranger ute drive past, probably not impressed we hadn't really got tooo far. oh well! later, Prati dropped his van at the mechanic, we did our weekly woolies shop, picked up Prati's van, and then headed to 'the hippie town', Federal. I made wraps for lunch, Prati made hummus and we ate oranges. a GROSS insect thought it'd be cute to join the fun and attacked us and flew in my ear and it was not fun (see below). we also got some gelati from a cute (overpriced though!!) roadside stall on the main street - lemon sorbet and white choc macadamia yummmbo.
Flash forward to the next day (17/10), we left Federal around 9ish to check out Minyon Falls. it was quite a treacherous, rocky uphill dirt road, I was a bit worried about the van and ugh, our compost and leftover coconut cream spilled everywhere! it was a 5km walk down to the falls starting at a very dry, bushland track that later turned into the oh so lush and green forest floor. we slowly trudged along with our matching bunnings hats - sun safety!!
once again, due to the lack of rainfall, it'd be generous, to say the least, to call it a waterfall. The water was cold, shallow, and quite dirty but we were hot and sweaty. it's the kind of swim that only becomes pleasant once your body is totally numb. as we chilled there, a lady started singing into the waterfall which echoed around the rocky cliff and everyone went quiet. at first, Emi and I were trying to suppress laughter but then it was rather calming. another man also started playing the didgeridoo a couple of hours later. it was beautiful to listen to this music, the constant trickle of water falling, and the occasional bird or rustling of leaves. what felt like a much much MUCH quicker uphill walk back to the vans was a great relief and we finished off some cold watermelon.
Emi and I planned to cross the Queensland border the following day (19/10) so we made our way back to good ol' Tyagarah for the night. on the 2oth, Prati headed back to Lennox Heads for van repairs whilst us girls headed North to try our luck for the second time at the dreaded Qld border. now that's a whole other story I'm about to type up involving being escorted out of Qld by cops, an almost $4000 fine, and a few tears. fun times right??!
love elle xx
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