Next stop for us was Coffs Harbour. On the way we thought we’d dive into the alternative bohemian hideaway of Bellingen. Despite the distinctly Wild West style of the town with the beautiful covered verandahs adorning the shop fronts (a very common theme in Australian towns to shelter customers from the relentless sun), Bellingen immediately puts me in mind of the town of Glastonbury in Somerset. It is a creative Mecca for hippie types tucked inland from the mid north coast amid the lush and verdant New South Wales farmland.
We had lunch in the Old Butter Factory, the missing link between Bellingen’s dairy farming pedigree and the modern town. Then we had a wander through the quirky boutiques and the mandatory hippy-ware and crystal shops you find in any town such as this. The architectural highlight for me was The Emporium, housed in the heritage listed Hammond and Wheatley building. Its sweeping staircase and epic minstrels gallery are so evocative of the golden era of retail.
It turns out that the covered verandahs that were designed to protect against the ravages of the sun are also brilliant in the event of a sudden rainstorm, as we saunter under cover, ice cream in hand, back to our car to continue on to Coffs Harbour.
One of the main tourist attractions in this area is Big Banana Fun Park. Located on a hillside tucked behind the famously iconic giant roadside banana lies the amusement park of Big Banana. Built on the site of an operating banana plantation, this park incorporates a huge water park, downhill toboggans, a giant slide, laser tag, ice-skating and other attractions. The huge roadside banana was built in 1964 and started the nations obsession with building huge roadside objects as advertising stunts. It was built originally by John Landi to draw people in to his roadside banana stall, and is now the best known big object in Australia.
After a great day in the park, we made our way down to Coffs Harbour Marina for a stroll along the breakwall and up onto Muttonbird Island for a view across the azure waters to the Solitary Islands Marine Park. At the right time of year, the lookout point is apparently a great place to spot migratory humpback whales, but not in January unfortunately. We had to settle for a few Wedge-tailed Shearwaters (a ground roosting native bird) and some pigeons!
Onwards up the coast we had some accommodation near the town of Ballina, a short distance from Byron Bay. Continuing on the theme of Australia’s large roadside items, we stumbled upon the giant prawn of Ballina. This completely bonkers 9 metre tall, 35 ton effigy of a crustacean sits in the car park of an Australian hardware store like some sort of weird fishy guardian. Apparently it was originally a nod to the local prawning industry, but now it is just a selfie station for seekers of large antipodean objects. We of course stopped for a selfie or two ourselves before finding our Airbnb. I mean, who could resist a close up look at a half million dollar mollusc!
That night we wanted to book a surfing lesson for the kids with a local surfing company. We were pretty late to the party trying to book a lesson in the popular Byron Bay the night before, and our choices were limited. I came across a company called Kool Katz Surfing who were cheaper than the rest of the competition, had availability, and offered a money back guarantee if the participants failed to stand up on a wave for at least 40 metres! Sounded perfect, so I contacted Terry and booked us in for the following afternoon. We got the days lessons done at night as the kids were keen to have a whole day of fun.
The next day we got packed up and headed into Byron Bay to grab some lunch by the water before the surfing fun commenced. We had time for a wander around the town here as well. In years gone by Byron was a sleepy hippy style town, buzzing with young people seeking perfect surfing beaches and a laid back party atmosphere. Nowadays the prices have gone up and it’s more of a chic destination, full of beautifully curated but pricey shops and restaurants. It’s great for a wander, but I fear the original demographic may have been priced out.
Unfortunately, just as we were about to head over to meet Terry, I received a message from him saying he had ended up in hospital and we would have to reschedule for the next day. Luckily we had a backup plan, and instead headed off to the nearby Killen Falls for an afternoon dip.
This rainforest watering hole is a popular haunt with locals and tourists alike. After you’ve made the 10 minute walk from the car park through the wooded path down to the river base, you then have to make your way along the slightly perilous riverbank before you are greeted by the waterfall and swimming hole. The water here is home to a large population of small turtles among other things. You can easily spot them from the viewing point above the falls, but they don’t let you get too close when swimming. We were lucky enough to catch one sunbathing on a rock though. There are plenty of fish and eels in the water, which can have a nibble or two, especially if you have any cuts like I did!
The shallow water is lined with slick rocks, and it can be quite hard to make your way to the falls themselves without stumbling and falling. The best advice is to stay low in the water to avoid falling and breaking your ankle. One woman had even perfected an ingenious backwards crab crawl method of scrambling over the rocks (hilarious to watch, although no more hilarious than me slithering my way through the water I would imagine). The falls are a popular meeting place for local kids to swim, play music and smoke pot, so if you’re easily offended then avoid. I, luckily, am virtually impossible to offend, so I loved it!
The next day we had another crack at getting in some surfing. I had phoned Tezza (as he preferred to be called) the night before, and he insisted that he was out of “hospy” and we should be all good. We turned up at the address he had given me, and it turned out to be his house. We were greeted by a sun weathered and limping vintage surfer dude who introduced himself as Tezza. Tezza kind of looked like an older, gnarlier version of Owen Wilson. Or perhaps Jeff Daniel’s’ character of Harry Dunne in “Dumb and Dumber”. He oozed the sort of laid back Aussie charm and “couldn’t give a toss” attitude that TV and film culture would have us believe is indicative of proper Aussies. He wasn’t worried about offending anyone, or using cultural stereotypes, he was just Tezza. Take him or leave him. I love this, I think the whole world has gone mad for political correctness, but I reckon that movement has given this entire continent one giant swerve. And it’s all the better for it. “Cor Blimey Guv’nor” was his de facto opener when talking to us Poms, and he repeatedly called the two girls from the Netherlands Big Dutch and Little Dutch. There was also some tongue in cheek stereotyping of the two French gentlemen seeking to extend their surfing experience. But nobody cared! Everyone just accepted Tezza for the larger than life (and probably a couple of stubbies short of a six pack) chap he is.
After the shambolic process of assigning everyone wetsuits in his garage, and repeatedly miscounting the number of participants in a Laurel and Hardy-esque sequence of events, we finally set off. Without any directions or destination address! We just had to follow Tezza and hope we didn’t lose him. To be honest, by this point I already felt like I had received my moneys worth in entertainment value alone, the man was a comedy genius!
We did all make it the beach in Ballina, and after dragging the boards to the waters edge we readied ourselves for the intro from Tezza and his mate Jezza (yep!). After a pretty basic safety talk, and a quick lesson on how to get up and stay up, “She’ll be roight!” Shouted Tezza, and off we headed off to the perfectly formed waves happening out in the estuary. Bizarrely, Tezza had bought his collie, Mango Fandango, with him without thinking where she was gonna spend the next couple of hours. Luckily, Kate wasn’t going in the water, so she had the dubious job of entertaining and distracting poor old Mango who clearly just wanted to follow his owner out into the surf.
The waves were small but perfectly formed and regular. The water was warm, and shallow enough to not have to worry about the kids. Despite the initial clownery, the surfing session itself was perfect for the kids, and they both had a great time. We all did. Hunter is pretty good anyway and was smashing it. Bam has never stood up on a board before, and she was the first one to catch a wave. And she stood straight up and rode it at least 30 metres! It was perfect, and really reignited their desire to go surfing. It was hard to drag them both out of the water at the end to be honest. Tezza and Jezza were great, helping everyone get on the waves, and providing the banter along the way! If you want a fun, no frills introductory surfing lesson in the Byron Bay area, I can’t recommend these guys enough.
We made it back to shore just as the thunderstorm that had been looming in the distance finally reached us. We said our thanks, shook hands and took some group selfies as the lightning flashed above us and the rain started to lash down. It was a great day.