Lighthouse

23 January, 2010

On Thursday we made it to the lighthouse, and it was beautiful.







We made it to the most easterly point of the Australian mainland. So there you go. Tick. From the lookout, we spotted another lookout point, much farther below.



It required lots and lots and lots of steps, and the worst part of those steps was going to be the way back up.



But the kids were AWESOME! They wanted to go, regardless of the amount of exertion involved, and they didn't complain at all. Except for Eli, and he didn't even walk any of the uphill part. Huh, go figure. We did cheat a bit though and used the path up rather than the steps. Shhhh.



Here are some of Nate's gems:











It was too bad we chose a hazyish day to go up there, because the views would have been unreal. They were pretty awesome as it was though.

The kids and I had sushi for dinner. Nick isn't a fan, so he went to Abra-kebab-ra (which has to be one of the best names I have ever heard and has given me much joy over the last few days, every time we have driven down the main street in Byron) for a falafel roll. We went to O-Sushi, and they had some really good stuff. Brown rice sushi, which I love (and felt so wholesome and just like what my body needed after the extreme hiking of the day - well, extreme with a big toddler strapped to your back), crispy tofu rolls, yum. And really good spring rolls. The wait staff started the bill in the middle and cleared away plates as we ate. At first this felt very thoughtful and like great service, but at the end I realised it made it harder to keep track of how much we had eaten. It was a big bill. The plates were more expensive than the ones at our local sushi train, but the atmosphere was great and the orders going by looked amazing. It was lucky we got there at 5:30 because by the time we left there was a line to get in.

We had a few things we wanted to do in Byron yesterday morning before we took off. Not that I was eager to leave. I could honestly live in Byron Bay forever. I love it. The beaches are fantastic, especially The Pass. The locals are friendly. I love the scantily clad bodies of all shapes and sizes all over town - boardshorts and bikinis in Woolies is the best. I love the food options available. It is a bit crowded during peak season, and I can imagine how wonderful it would be to have a little bit more space on the beach and in the shops, but it manages to be great anyway.

We aren't looking for a new place to live though, we're just passing through, so off we went. First stop, Byron Bay Cookie Company. I had never had one of their cookies (it does seem a bit silly to pay for a cookie when you bake hundreds at home each week), but I have seen them in countless cafes around Sydney. I figured they must be good to be so widely carried. I was wrong! They must just have great marketing. We tried a chocolate chip cookie first, split four ways for me and the kids. They ate their cookie quarters and didn't say a word, didn't ask for any more even though they knew I had bought more than one which is completely unlike them - usually any cookie is a good cookie. Eli wasn't even interested in finishing his little bit. Later I tried the triple chocolate one, and you really can't go wrong with chunks of chocolate, but this cookie was also dry and crumbly. Bummer.

So we headed for Nightcap National Park to see Minyon Falls. The kids and I were there in October and there was no water falling, so it was definitely nice to see an actual waterfall this time. The river bed was still pretty dry and we were able to walk through the rocks which the kids love. I read that there was a camping area at Rummery Park just a few kilometres up the road, so we thought we would check it out as a possible place to stay for the night. I'm so glad we did, because it is fantastic! We pulled up to see a couple of kids playing cricket in the grass and they immediately asked our kids to play, which they happily did. There are lots of different little areas to set up tents, a nice big grass area where the kids could play games, toilets, fire pits and even firewood provided, and even a little camp kitchen with wood stoves. Nick set up the tent (it's nice to have an extra bed when we can) and made a beautiful stirfry with vegetables, tofu and hokkien noodles on the camp barbeques, and our kids played cricket into the evening with their new friends until it got too dark to see the ball; then they brought out torches for a game of spotlight. Eli retired first, then Maya, and Nate lasted as long as the rest of them, loving the kid company.

At least one of the families with kids are sticking around for another night. We think we will too. It is a beautiful place, the kids are happy, we have plenty of food to eat, and it will help get our budget back on track. We'll go for a nice long bushwalk today. Hopefully it won't be too hot!