Australia 2023

We have finally made it to Yamba, about 2hrs south of Byron Bay after doing about 600kms today! The Yamba Beach Motel is not a fancy as our AirBnB from last night, but it is oceanfront (we have a park view though) so no complaining from me.

I’m drinking a glass of warm white as I write (cooled with an ice cube Canadian style), but it is well deserved after the adventures today has brought.

After Ellis arrived back at the airbnb this morning, he offered us the opportunity to take part in a short (2.2km) ‘moderate’ hike up Tomaree Head. Being an avid (although new) hiker, I jumped at the chance, not even questionning the ‘moderate’ - how hard can a 2.2k hike be after all?? 1.1k was easy, that was the walk down the mountain! The ascent to the peak, took about 40 minutes, but was very steep for my weary legs and of course, the weather was rather warm. Mothers with babies passed us, older hikers on their second ascent of the day passed (and again later for their third) and people generally looking a little less fit than I. Nonetheless, I made it to the top and wow was it worth the struggle. (Ellis did it in bare feet, the whole thing, up and down!). The view was quite overwhelmingly beautiful, just stunning blue ocean water as far as the eye could see.

On the way, down, Ellis chose the more challenging option, through the actual bush, remember he was barefoot. Looking keenly for spiders and snakes and general other wildlife, I was on high alert for the duration while trying not to trip over tree roots or down the side of the narrow path traversing the hill. It was a little dense for my liking, but another item ticked off the list all the same. By the time we got to the bottom, we were boiling hot. I did something I have not done since I was about 18 years old. I got changed out of my dress and into my bikini behind the back of the car in a very public car park. We crossed the road and were immediately on a very pristine and gorgeous sandy beach, about 20ft from the lapping blue ocean. Wade needed a wee, so was right in, Ellis dove through the gentle wave while I precariously stepped small step by step into the deep water thinking of nothing but sharks and jellyfish. Eventually, they convinced me to go up to my shoulders and although chilly, it was magnificent, we hung around and swam a bit, enjoying the crystal waters, so clear and nothing but soft sand beneath our feet. By now, it was 11am and we needed to get on the road for our 600kms drive to Yamba. Again, getting changed back into my dress behind the car and drying our swimmers on the parcel shelf.

Ellis encouraged us to take a detour into Bellingen, a small healthy eating/lifestyle town, trapped in time with everyone coming from the Main Street supermarket carrying second-use boxes originally intended for fresh food (you know the big shallow ones you get at Costco) full of their shopping items. I needed a wee, and for the second time that day, did something unusual for me, used a public toilet! Ellis went in barefoot of course (gross). He led us to a middle-eastern cafe with dirty tables and delicious food - the smoothest and tastiest hummus I have ever consumed.

After leaving Belligen, he took us on yet another detour, to the Promised Land! We were much further inland and yet again, had to toil through a bit of bush before reaching a little known river spot in the trees, where we saw a bush turkey - it looked a lot like a regular turkey but smaller and as if he was wearing a bright gold jangly necklace but it was only his natural sagging (turkey neck skin, I have some of my own I am unwillingly working on these days) turkey neck skin.

We headed back to the car to embark on ur final 2.5hr journey to Yamba, via another trip not on foot through the bush (via car this time) to drop Ellis at what he described as a friends commune, for the night.

The route to the commune had Wade and I on high alert for the entire journey. Off the main road on to a dirt/gravel one car width path with no street lights, again, thick with bush on either side. With lights on high beam and a slow speed, we saw many frogs jumping across the road (dirt track). After driving for about 20 minutes, Ellis told us to ‘chill the f**** out’ (laughing) as we were sure we were driving to our death location, where we would be held in a basement and used as a human plaything until the time came where we would be eaten by the cult community. Anna the host was very pleased to be reunited with Ellis and warmly waved us off on our return journey to civilization. We knew it was a windy journey back with turns that we weren’t sure we could remember so were quite eager to be on our way quickly.

The journey back to the main road was equally as intimidating, neither of us could sit back in our seats, driving just fast enough so that if a nightdress clad woman with blood all over her happened to jump out in front of us, we would knock her over yet not kill her in case she had just escaped a 10 year captive situation.

After making it back to the main road, we started to relax, put on some Robbie Williams, and followed the signs to Yamba, another 30 mins or so away.

We made it, Wade cracked a beer and some warm wine for me. Just heard from Ellis and Anna the host is bringing Ellis into Yamba in the morning, so we are meeting for coffee and to watch him surf before heading off to Byron Bay.Read more