Lismore - well if it's good enough for The Queen ....

Lismore

Whilst in Byron Bay, we decided to take a day trip out to Lismore. It's only about 30 miles away, and was a pleasant bus journey through countryside that probably included some of local agriculture like coffee and macadamia nuts.

On arrival, we had a good lunch at an excellent café next to the bus station, before braving the heat to go and look for koalas. We had read that a good place to find them is up at the Robinson's Lookout, so we walked up to that area to check it out.

Koala, Lismore

We felt a little strange walking along a street of houses, peering into the trees. We caught the attention of a dog in one of the gardens, but thankfully it wasn't too concerned. One of the residents stopped to speak to us as she went past, and said that she often sees a mother and her youngish cub in the trees along the road.

And sure enough, we soon spotted one, nestling up in the branches. it was the only one we found, but we were quite pleased to have seen one up here.

Gollan Hotel, Lismore

There isn't a great deal in Byron Bay. We had a look around the market and shops, and walked along past the Gollan Hotel, which still has a display in its window from when The Queen and Prince Phillip spent a night here, as part of their tour, back in 1954.

It seems they were lucky they left when they did, as heavy rains started as they departed, resulting in huge floods in the town.

Kookaburra, Lismore

Our bus didn't leave until the evening, so we had planned to have something to eat first, in that gap between the shops closing and the bus going. Which was a fine plan, until we discovered that nowhere opened during that time. We tried various places, to find they were just closing, and asked for suggestions of somewhere that might be open. We eventually got directed to an Italian place that they said usually opened earlier than most, and it was just opening as we arrived.

I can't say that Lismore is a place I would be rushing back to - though Nic will forever have happy memories of his lunch at Palate at the Gallery.

Byron Bay

Byron Bay

From Brisbane, we carried on down the coast, to Byron Bay. We had met a couple of people from here on our South America trip, but unfortunately bad timing saw them being in the UK while we were here.

Byron Bay is generally thought of as a hippy town in a beautiful setting. The location certainly is pretty, but there's nothing very alternative about it now. There are a few indicators about its past, such as quite a few craft business that likely started out as hobbies, and a bit more vegetarian food than normal - including an excellent falafel place called Orgasmic, though I'm not sure they're quite that good!

Byron Bay

Byron Bay

We had the impression that people did come here as part of a new lifestyle, and quite possibly some of them never left. Certainly we saw a few groups of homeless people around, at least one of whom only had a hole where his nose used to be.

Some of Byron Bay may feel a little like it is resting back on its reputation in some areas, but in others it is a vibrant and interesting place.

Kookaburra, Byron Bay

As in much of the East Coast of Australia, the beach and surfing here is a major draw, but that wasn't of interest to us. We did however take a walk along the Cape Byron Conservation Park to the lighthouse, and the most easterly point in Australia.

Byron Bay

The walk was nice, although a little too much of it was set back from the coastline, so didn't have much in the way of views. We did spot a kookaburra in the woods, and as we got near to the lighthouse, we saw a wallaby.

Byron Bay

We also spotted something out in the water - it was a bit too far out for us to identify it, but as there only seemed to be the one there, it was presumably a whale, not a dolphin. There was a group of kayakers not too far away, but I don't know whether they managed to intercept it.

Wallaby, Byron Bay

Byron Bay

Byron Bay

Byron Bay