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Oz2020
  • Robin De Falbaire
  • Lara Brooks
  • Robin De Falbaire
  • Lara Brooks

Oz2020

A 365-day adventure by Robin & Lara Read more
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  • Oz2020

    Byron Bay - first weekend

    October 9, 2020 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 21 °C

    Fast forward to Byron Bay as we have been to busy/lazy to update the inbetween towns and did not stay long...

    The morning before arriving to Byron, we went 4×4 on ballina seven miles beach and Lara caught a MASSIVE australian salmon, she fought with it for 10 minutes. She had a fan club, as two other cars had stopped to take pictures.

    We met Emma and Jake (Lara's sister and her husband) in the afternoon for a fish and chips on the main beach. Ambre (Robin's cousin) was working that night so we went to see her after her work and slept in the van in front of her place.

    The next morning Ambre took Robin on a 1h30 jogging for sunrise at the lighthouse (tiring and steep but so beautiful). Adrien (Ambre's 'friend') came as well. Robin realized he needs to work on his fitness a bit more as Ambre usually does it in 45min.

    Around midday we went to Stone & Wood brewery with Emma, Jake and Ambre to taste the famous local beers. In the afternoon we went to the beach with Emma and Jake to take pictures of the sunset, and ended at the local pub to watch the rugby game.

    Emma and Jake left on the Sunday. We went with Ambre and her friend CJ to Harvest, which is a bakery located in a lovely little town of Newrybar: their gardens and food is amazing, highly recommend.

    In the afternoon, we borrowed Ambre's longboard and went to 'The Pass', which is the famous surf spot along the light house. Nice little waves and great sunset.    Read more

  • Oz2020

    Brunswick Heads - Simple Pleasures

    October 15, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Brunswick Heads - beautiful place on the north coast full of simple pleasures. It is a sea side village that offers everything from surfing, fishing, paddle boarding in clear blue rivers, showers and a great pub - does live music on a Sunday.

    We paddle boarded through the mangrove rivers, and also hired a boat and had a bbq on one of the islands near the break wall.

    Boat day - Amber collected oysters, we caught a flat head and saw turtles and sting rays.

    Paddle board day - we were cheap and hired one paddle board to share. It was lots of fun, and a great workout for the core and arms. The water was crystal clear and the weather was perfect! Must do!!    Read more

  • Oz2020
    1

    Byron continued

    October 16, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    We are now into our second week in Byron Bay, enjoying the laid back, beach lifestyle and all that Byron and the surrounds have to offer.

    We are waking up early for sunrise, doing either Broken Head Walking track or walking near the lighthouse. Now that daylight savings has kicked in the days are long and sunny.

    Robin has been Kite Surfing and surfing - between the different beaches depending on the wind. Here’s a quick summary:

    The Pass - Long boarding and kite surfing when it’s windy
    Watego- long boarding - strong current, but brings you back to shore so it’s okay :)
    Broken head - surfing
    Lennox head - Kite Surfing
    Tallows - all rounder beach, surfing, swimming and fishing
    Tea Tree Lake - sacred aboriginal site, which has a lake surrounded by Tea Trees. There leaves dip into the lakes which releases the essential oils and the lake turns read. It is great for you skin and hair and is such a peaceful place for a nice swim and to explore you inner peace.

    Lara has been avoiding the sun during the day, and coming out in early mornings for sunrise and the late afternoons to enjoy a Swim and a paddle on her new board.

    We have also visited nice places for eating and drinks. Here are a few to mention:

    Harvest - in Newrybar has a delicious deli, best bakery, a restaurant, a vege garden and some nice boutique stores - beautiful spot but expensive)

    General Store - great coffee, good vibes and best mushroom burger

    Road house - nice busy restaurant that is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner

    The Railway Friendly - good atmosphere for some beers with friends, but average staff and kitchen and pub closes very early.

    Lara’s friend Kate was also in Byron for 5 days this week and her and her family were very generous to us. Kate cooked two beautiful meals and welcomed us into their Airbnb’s. Thanks Kate!!

    We are really enjoying the Byron Vibes, Amber is really taking care of us, introducing us to the friends she has made here, and taking us on adventures when she is not working.

    We have not yet decided when to move on from Byron, so stay tuned for the next post!    Read more

  • Oz2020

    Ti Tree Lake - Aboriginal Sacred Site

    October 16, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    We visited here one afternoon just before dusk to have a swim in the Tea Tree lake, know for its medicinal and magical cure, boosting the immune system and blood circulation, giving relief from aches and pains, opening up the skin's pores, and great for your hair and skin.

    Although a popular place with the locals, if times perfectly it is a peaceful spiritual place where you can swim and the magic of the area.    Read more

  • Oz2020

    Lennox head - Kite Surf Hot Spot

    October 18, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Lennox head, popular for those who know how to Kite.
    The photos say it all.. Robbie in his element, enjoying the strong winds :)

  • Oz2020

    Black Rocks Camp Ground

    October 26, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Camp site in the sand dunes of 10 mile beach. Camp site was spread out and quiet. The black soft rocks along the beach are different to your normal sand dunes.
    We woke up early to do a 2 / 3 hour walk - Jerusalem Creek walk. Was very quite and no one else was on the walk we did that day. So it was us and nature.
    The walk was quiet as we saw a large snake the day before and we were both a bit anxious that one may POP out at us at any time. When we reached the end of the walk, where the river /creek reached the see, we found some nice stones to skip across the water and watched the huge eagles fly above our heads.

    Once we had taken in the scenery of what Jerusalem creek and 10 mile beach had to offer, we decided to jog back to the car, so we could warm up for a nice swim.

    We got back to the car all sweaty and ready for a swim. The water was a bit treacherous from Lara’s perspective, so it took a while for her to work up the courage. But Robin dove straight in, like he was a fish out of water. Was a lovely quick swim.

    This campsite also has some great views of sunset if you climb up any of the sand dunes and what the sun disappear behind the mountains.    Read more

  • Oz2020

    Iluka - Free Camping

    October 28, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Iluka was on our radar as when we stayed in Yamba, we saw that it was a town surrounded by water, but also a little quieter and a bit more remote. We were ready for some peace and quiet after our 2 weeks in the hustle and bustle of Byron.
    We drove around Iluka. It was a bit cold and windy with a storm coming. Robin braved the weather and went for a surf, but was out within 20 minutes due to a ‘shark sighting’.
    We headed to a picnic area near woody head, where we would cook a nice dinner and have an early night as it was raining heavily.
    We met a lovely eccentric nomad who was about 60 years old. She had been hitch hiking all around Australia - this included getting into yachts as well. Her name was Michelle and Lara and her had a strong connection as Michelle had a “feeling” that I was a kiwi.
    She told us all about her travels, her issues and her life lessons. She gave us some foraging tips of some of the plants and mushrooms that you could eat in the area.
    She also recommended the rainforest walk, which we also did, and it was lovely.    Read more

  • Oz2020

    Border Ranges National Park

    October 30, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    We headed to border ranges national park after recommendation from local green politician and activist Ian Cohen who gave us his book 'Green Fire'.

    We met a couple of locals, Natasha and Bruce at the campsite, who have been coming here for 30 years. We went bush walking with them and they told us more about the beauty of this place:

    It's a range of mountains which is part of the old super volcano in the tweed Valley. The national park is composed of old dense rainforest which hosts millenial trees called 'antartic beech'.

    Natasha and Bruce were super generous, invited us to their place. Every monday night they have friends over and play awesome music. It was a real private concert for us!    Read more

  • Oz2020

    Noosa

    November 2, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Ambre and Andrien joined us for a few days in Noosa. Activities included:
    - small waves surfing with paddle, longboard.
    - fishing: snot algae in the river unfortunately so no catch...
    - bush walking along the beautiful headlands.
    - paddle boarding along the river.

    We also went to noosa north shore via a ferry, did some 4wd on the beach and launched our kite from the north shore of the river.

    PS: the car locked with keys inside, we had to get a professional to unlock it for us. (Lara's fault)    Read more

  • Oz2020

    Frazer Island

    November 9, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    We spent a week in Frazer Island and were not prepared to encounter such a wild and remote place...
    - many Dingoes, we saw at least 6-7
    - no sealed road, only bumpy sandy tracks
    - bugs and flies everywhere
    - swimming is prohibited on the east side as it is shark infested
    - many bush fires, some camping grounds had to be evacuated.
    - only two places to get water, food and pretrol (costing twice as much as on the main land)
    - a lot of algaes on the coast at this time of the year making it harder to fish (Lara still caught two brims)

    It's a 4x4 only island where it's faster to travel on the beach at low tide than on the inland tracks.

    The national sport on the island is to find a spot where the sand is really soft, drink beers and watch cars as they get stuck in the sand. Obviously our delica got bogged a few times but we are now better at getting her out. And overall she handled it pretty well even thought she needs to get lifted up as we did not have enough ground clearance to go all the way up to the sandy cape.

    We spent 2 nights on the west side which was sheltered from the wind and waves of the Pacific Ocean. The water was crystal clear and the sand white as snow (eh oh).    Read more

  • Oz2020

    Urangan Peir - Sea side entertainment

    November 16, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Heading north, we visited a few spots to do laundry, Robbie spent all day in the hot sun fixing some electrics of the car.. he now claims he is a electrician and a mechanic.
    We stopped in some small towns, and stayed in some national parks, nothing really to note there.

    On Monday we went to a lovely little spot near Hervey Bay called Urangan Pier. The pier stretches for almost a kilometre, and is one of the longest in Australia. We strolled down there and noticed that there were many people with karts carrying all their fishing gear, 5-10 rods per person, buckets, nets, bait.. as we walked along the pier we looked over the railing into the water and saw the amazing amount of activity in the water. Giant trevally chasing schools of bait fish, people catching sting rays, flat head and whiting all over the place. This spot was obviously for game fishing as people were geared up to catch anything. At one point we noticed that the birds were getting in on the action by waiting for a fisherman to throw in his bait, and then diving under the water to grab the bait straight off the hook. Honestly you could stay there all day watching the activity on that Pier. Highly recommend a visit there.

    Didn’t take any videos of the sea action, but Robbie put on a show for the camera x    Read more

  • Oz2020

    Elliott Heads, QLD, Australia

    November 19, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    We had way to much fun at Elliott’s Head that we forgot to take photos. But this is an absolute superb spot for kiting.. and to prove it Lara even had a go. There is a beautiful inlet as well as the open waters, so you get the safety of the bay/inlet and the waves for those adrenaline junkies like Robin.
    We met some lovely kiters as well while we were there, very welcoming and super friendly! Even offered there driveway for us to sleep in, and had only spoken to them for 5 mins..

    Photo of robin was from Lennox head, but we threw it in for a marker :)    Read more

  • Oz2020

    Deep Water National Park

    November 21, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    We came into Deep Water National Park from the north end, as we were coming back from Seventeen Seventy and the free camping site was still closed due to Covid. The sun had already set when we turned it to what we thought was a 20 minute journey into the bush to stay at Middle Rock camp ground. Little did we know we took the hard route in and ended up battling the soft sand road and difficult 4WD track. We got bogged 5 minutes in, and then spent what felt like an hour battling the terrain.
    We finally got to the campsite, had some dinner and tucked ourselves in bed for a well deserved wrest. We would explore in the morning.

    We woke up with the sun and went for a early morning jog on the beach. The location was spectacular. A beautiful beach, a little windy but ZERO people. It was marvellous. Lara went for a little nude swim, the water was beautifully fresh after a nice run on the sand dunes. We then made ourselves a coffee and were packed up ready to move on, stopping at the other campsites to have a shower and a bit of an exploration.

    We found out that we definitely took the hard route, as it only took us 20 minutes to get out, driving south!! Would recommend this National Park if you enjoy the WILD :)

    Sorry only took one photo :)    Read more

  • Oz2020
    Tweed River, Murwillumbah (North)Border Ranges (West)Nightcap (South)

    Mount Warning

    November 27, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Apologies to our dear followers for missing a few footprints due to lack of pictures (having too much fun)!

    We are now on our way down to Tasmania (We are taking the ferry from Melbourne).

    We've been waiting on the Mount Warning track to open while we were in Byron Bay. And were hoping that it would be open by now but still isn't... So we decided to do it anyway!

    We camped overnight at the base of the mountain and woke up at 3am to see the sunrise from the top.

    Many challenges :
    -We had to walk an extra 45min due to the track being closed.
    -Lara had some blood sugar issues.
    -Walking at night, watching for snakes (saw 1) and spiders (saw plenty and were covered in spider webs)

    We pushed throught and made it to the top 45min after sunrise, but what a view! 360° view of the Border Ranges in the west, Nightcap in the south, tweed river in the north and the coast in the east. And what a treat to be the only ones on top of the mountain!

    We got caught by the ranger on our way down, but luckily enough he did not charge us! 🤐    Read more

  • Oz2020

    Wooli

    December 1, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    A 40min detour from the highway lead us to the lovely little holiday town of Wooli. Where a long thin strip of land divides the river from the sea. We spent the night free camping not far from the river mouth, spot chosen by Lara, called the "the little hiddy hole" with ultimate river front view!
    We generally leave by 6am, but stayed at that spot for our morning routine and got approached by the ranger at around 9am. He very kindly asked us to move on due to locals complaining at the influx of campers and they are shitting in the bush.

    We did the coastal walk around Diggers Camp, Robin did some kitesurfing as the wind was chokky blocky!    Read more

  • Oz2020

    Myall Lake / Seal Rocks

    December 3, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    We detoured throught the famous Seal Rocks (no pics sorry) where some 29 boats sunk. And did the short walk to the lighthouse.

    We camped at Neranie Campground, overlooking lake Myall, which is a sandy lake with crystal clear mostly fresh water. Great spot!

    Went for a run/walk on top of the hill by an old cemetery.    Read more

  • Oz2020

    Summit - Mount Tomaree

    December 4, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Did a lovely 20 minute summit up to the top of Mount Tomaree. It was absolutely worth the sharp incline to see the beautiful views of Shoal Bay country, and then a refreshing swim in the bay at the bottom!Read more

  • Oz2020

    Gold Diggers

    December 10, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Met up our friends, ex COVID house mates and now travel buddies to dig for gold and spend several ours engaged in bush crafts. Jess, Vico and Kitta had settled in a lovely free camping spot by the river near Sofala.
    Vico taught us how to pan for gold, and gifted us his very own gold pan, that he had found many golden speckles with. Hopefully we have the same luck and find our fortune in gold one day.
    We also engaged in bush craft, making Christmas presents, bows and other nicknacks with the materials lying around the camp site!

    We then packed up and moved towards Hillend, another small historic town famous for gold, this camp site was not flash, with dirty water (dead🧭 fish and horse poo everywhere) so spent some quality time together cooking, drinking and playing games. However the fun is always in the journey. On our way there robin decided to put his 4WD hat on, and went head on into a big deep pile of mud. Getting the car completely bogged with all four wheels under mud. After 2 hours of digging, Jess came to the rescue by spotting some fellow travellers, and bellowed out for them to come help PLEASE!! With a winch and a sigh of relief, the beautiful strangers saved the day!!

    Next stop in our journey was place called Wyangala Water. A lovely spot near a lake, we continued with our bushcraft and fun times over beers - however the wind got the best of us in the end and we snuggled up warm in the Delica, while Jess and vico fought the elements in the tent!

    Was a fantastic few days, can’t wait to meet up again in TAS for some more adventures in the bush :)    Read more

  • Oz2020

    Prawns Prawns - Huskisson

    December 12, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Had a sneaky little trip to Huskisson which was definitely a detour but well worth it to see Abby Marco Charlotte and John for the weekend. Had a busy weekend full of great food, bush walks, runs on the beach, pub lunch and PRAWN FISHING. Was fabulous.
    We spent 2 nights prawn fishing, Marco and Abby had the full gear ready for prawn fishing with Waders, prawn lights, nets.. we went in with our wetsuits and head torches ! But still had great success. We took enough home for a nice dinner and about a kilo for Christmas too!!
    Was lovely to spend time with them all :)    Read more

  • Oz2020

    Mallacoota

    December 13, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Mallacoota was a small town, quite remote that we had picked out when looking at the map, it seemed like a nice spot that was off the beaten track to go stay and get away from the crowds.
    On our way to Mallacoota and all down the south coast from Eden (NSW) to Gippsland (VIC) all the bush land had been burnt by the 2019/2020 bushfires. It was very eye opening to see the devastation of those bushfires, and it was heartbreaking to think about how many animals would have perished. It was also difficult to see people’s homes destroyed.
    The regrowth of native plant however was impressive, with much of the forest being covered in new growth, which after talking to a local was amazing to see, and slowly she had been noticing all the birds and wildlife reappearing.

    Mallacoota had many lovely free campsites available and ON THE BEACH too!! We had a fabulous time there, running on the beach, doing bush crafts and fishing! We caught too big fish while we were staying there, one salmon and our first tailor - on the small rod too!!    Read more

  • Oz2020

    The Apple Isle

    December 18, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    We had a quick run through Victoria, stopping in to see our lovely friends Ajay and Hannah. But only for one night, as we had a ferry to catch! Finally we were heading to Tassie, which we had been looking forward to. The Ferry journey was easy and stress free.
    We got to Tassie, past through COVID-19 temperature checks and questions and off we went into the bush. We chose a remote spot on the map Waterhouse Conservation Reserve, that was all free camping and absolutely beautiful. ( for those who like to be in the middle of no where and on the beach :) ) we spent 2/3 nights at our camp spot, as we really enjoyed it. We had our first Swim in Tassies cold waters, had an unsuccessful fish and worked on some bush crafting. We had an encounter with a tiger snake slithered up to our car, and parked himself in the tree and watched over us for the rest of our stay.
    10/10 our first free camping spot in wild of Tasmania :)    Read more

  • Oz2020

    Tasmania

    April 6, 2021 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    TASMANIA WE LOVE YOU.

    We spent 4 months exploring Tasmania and would have stayed longer if the Van was equipped for the Tasmanian winter.

    We explored every corner and there was never a dull moment. From beautiful sunny days to 60klm winds that felt like they would blow the van away, we experienced the lot.

    Some of the highlights

    Mona Museum
    Walls of Jerusalem multi day hike
    Great Lakes Trout Fishing
    Gordon Damn
    Three Capes Multi day Hike
    Macquarie Harbour/ Strahan
    Bay of Fires
    Water House Conservation Area
    Wine Glass Bay
    Coles Beach/ Bicheno

    No matter where you go in Tasmania it is beautiful. There is such a variety in the landscape and terrain. If you love nature and the outdoors you will LOVE it. There is a real peacefulness and freedom that Tasmania has to offer, as well as amazing produce, wine and people. Highly highly recommend    Read more

  • Oz2020

    Blackdown Tableland National Park

    June 19, 2021 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    We are back!

    This is the first post since Tassie. From TAS we've driven all the way up to the northern part of Queensland (which is where we left off before Tassie).

    This is a hidden gem lost in the middle of Queensland. This National Park is mainly made of Sandstone which makes the rivers sandy with crystal clear waters and amazing rock pools. Swimming was compulsory!Read more

    Trip end
    September 8, 2021
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