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We had to move on from Yamba because there was someone else coming into our site. We had left our original booking in Yamba rather late because we weren't sure we would be able to get there with Covid and then the floods, we were thankful to get any time there at all, we tried to extend our booking but unfortunately this didn't happen. We couldn't move along the coast because Byron Bay was included in the latest Covid scare for NSW so we decided to go inland to Lismore. We had phoned the showgrounds ahead and asked about the possibility of getting a site and we were assured there wouldn't be any problems. Lismore was only just over an hour away so we arrived quite early, we found the caretakers van and went in to make the booking. The caretakers Ross and Avis were very friendly and they were good enough to allocate a site close to them which felt quite safe to us because they would be here all the time. I had a long chat to Avis and in that time Ross and Robb had organised the drive in and Robb had set up all the outside bits. It didn't take me long to set up inside and then I prepared lunch for the two of us. We are staying here for one week, mainly to get through the whole Easter break and the first week of school holidays and then we will move on. We have had a lazy afternoon making plans for this week and where our next stop will be.
It has rained for most of our first night here and looks like continuing for the rest of the day. Our first stop was to the Information Centre to pick up brochures so that we could plan our stay, unfortunately the Information Centre is permanently closed but the Heritage park is beside the centre and there is a very cute children's railway attached to the park so we thought we would take a bit of a wander through here. We took our coffees with us and found a covered area where we could sit and finish them. This would be a great area for young children with a small water play area, the railway as mentioned before and other typical play equipment set up around the park. There were a few families out enjoying the area, even a couple playing in the water play area. From here we were back in the car and searched to find the next closest Information Centre and found there was one at the Botanic Gardens, we drove there but unfortunately that wasn't open today. This now required a bit of quick thinking for a new plan and I remembered that Lennox Heads had been mentioned when I had researched the area so we put this in the GPS and headed that way. I had never heard of Lennox Head which surprised me when we arrived because it is very close to Tweed Heads and a very touristy little town with a lot of visitors over this Easter weekend, it is obviously a very popular holiday destination and even on this quite miserable day (weather wise) the streets were streaming with people. We found our way to the cliff overlooking the town and bay and I took a few photos, it was too wet to stay outside for long so from here we drove down to the main street and had a walk around. We picked up a gelato and went and sat on the foreshore, under cover, to eat them and watch the word go by. We drove back to the showgrounds from here stopping at Aldi for some needed supplies. We sat outside under the awning for the remainder of the day enjoying watching the rain, it wasn't cold so we were quite comfortable there.
It is still raining but that is not going to stop us we are going to visit Rocky Creek Dam. We arrive at the Rocky Creek Dam Road and turn onto here and follow the signs. We park and walk over to the information shelter and pick up a brochure. There is a choice of walks you can take, the only problem is trying to work out from the map which way to go. We think we have the right track and head off with our fingers crossed, if we have chosen the wrong one we are looking at a 6 km trek on rugged ground, we are not up to that. As luck would have it we have chosen the one we wanted which leads over the top of the dam along the dam wall and then up to the spillage area. it is a beautiful walk with some great views. Unfortunately the walk down to the spillage area has been closed off waiting for repairs. I took a few photos here but I would have loved to have had a better view of this area. We took the stairs back from here up to higher ground and walked through the playground to arrive back at the parking area. This is a relatively easy walk with a few areas being a bit slippery because of the constant rain. That's our exercise done for the day and it is still early so we decide to drive to Eltham an historic railway town with an historic pub, we don't stop here but take a few photos and then decide to take a trip to Bangalow which has been recommended to us by someone living in the area. We get a call on the way here from the caretaker at the showgrounds where we are staying to say we have left out top vents open on the van. That is a bit of a concern because it has been raining all day but we decide to continue onto Bangalow intending to turn around from here and then drive back to camp. Bangalow is a very attractive town so we park and walk up and down the street, it is very busy and there was a line of about 50 people waiting to get into the hotel for lunch, we were searching for a bakery because we are having hamburgers for dinner and needed rolls but there wasn't anything open. We walk back to the car and then drive back to Lismore stopping off at Coles for the rolls before driving home. Luckily we had escaped any rain getting into the van, we thanked Ross the caretaker for the call and I prepared lunch before doing the few jobs that needed doing.
Today we need to take care of a couple of domestic issues, the first one being finding a hairdresser and the next finding a caravan repair business where we could replace our awning cord and find out if they can help with our diesel heating. We have booked an appointment at the hairdressers for tomorrow at 12.30pm for the two of us and then we went in search of a caravan repair business. After a couple of false starts we found one that could help with the awning cord but could not help with the diesel heater. We might need to wait until we return home to sort something out with this issue. It was still quite early so we thought we would take a drive on to Nimbin as it was only 28kms away, we passed the Nimbin Rocks on the drive, I had never heard of them before but they are quite spectacular so we called into the viewing area and took some photos. Nimbin was everything I expected and it was fascinating walking around and in and out the various shops in this very unique town. We did have a bit of a hold up outside the Hemp Embassy where the air was so thick with marijuana we lost track of time. The shops here are all very interesting and I don't think I have seen so many hippies all in one place, it was almost as if the whole town dresses up for the tourists. We visited the Emporium where they have the most impressive display of herbs and spices we have ever seen, however, their prices seem a bit extreme. Our only purchases were at the bakery but it was a very interesting experience for us and if we get time to go back we might do that. The rain has got heavier as the day has gone on so after returning to the showgrounds we haven't done much for the rest of the afternoon. It is becoming quite flooded around the showgrounds and there doesn't look like there is any end to the rain. We have had issues with our water pipes to the washing machine so Robb spent a bit of time trying to fix this problem, it seems like the problem is solved but we will keep an eye on it.
We have a hairdressing appointment today at 12.30pm in Lismore but we are looking for something to fill in our morning. We decided to visit Alstonville as it is not far away. We drive there and have a quick look around and then see a sign pointing to Summerland House Farm so we decide to take a drive here to have a look around. This farm is a working avocado and macadamia farm and there is a complex that houses a large gift shop and a fresh and local produce section that has a coffee shop and small cafe. The brilliant thing about this farm is that it is dedicated to providing opportunities for people with a disability and speaking to the ladies in the gift shop, who are volunteers, there are currently 100 people with disabilities working on the farm or in the complex. Listening to some of the workers outside it sounds like they are allocated various roles around the farm on different days. Very inspirational and we would recommend if you are in the area taking a look around.
We still had time after we returned to Lismore so thought we would have a look at some of the churches in the area. There are some fantastic churches in town but our favourite was St. Carthages Cathedral which is reminiscent of some of the minor cathedrals we visited in Europe. We were very impressed with this cathedral and we spent a bit of time here going through it. From here we drove down to the main street for our hair appointment. Our hairdresser was very obliging and was happy to follow the information on the cards our hairdresser in Koonwarra had given us. Before long we were walking away looking much spiffier than when we walked in. We hadn't had lunch so thought we would visit the cafe at the Richmond Hotel where our car was parked. We both had steak and a glass of wine, we were very hungry and it was a good meal. We returned to our van from here and found they had some strong winds while we were away and one wind had picked up our awning and blown it above the van, thankfully our neighbour had some heavy duty pegs and anchored it down for us until we returned. One of the benefits we find from staying at showgrounds is that the other people here are much friendlier than we find at caravan parks, we were very appreciative for his efforts.
When we were sorted after we returned we called our granddaughter Annabelle, it is her 7th birthday so we did the usual and sang 'Happy Birthday' to her while she looked completely bored and then asked how her holiday was going. They are on a 4 month trip around the West Coast, Annabelle filled us in on today and then Mum and Dad stepped in to bring us up to date with what they had been doing.
We started the day with a trip to Casino, we fancied seeing the Railway Station so we put that in the GPS and lucky we did it was a bit out of the way. It is still a working railway station and is in very good repair. It is quite long as lots of the older stations were and built in the style of many others we have seen. It is open through the week for three sessions each day and seems to otherwise be closed. We were very impressed with the condition of the station and all the equipment, it was closed when we were there which gave us a chance to have a bit of a look around. From here we drove towards Casino City Centre and came across The Parish of St. Mary Church, we parked and walked across the road to have a better look around. We walked inside and it is not as grand as some churches we have seen but still very nice. The priest was up at the podium but didn't acknowledge us so we just walked around when we were leaving we noticed a hearse pulling up so we gather there is a funeral about to happen and that is probably why the priest was there, he probably wondered who we were. We drove around to have a look at the Mini Railway Museum but discovered it is only open on Sundays.
It was still quite early so from here we decided to drive to The Channon to take a look, the drive took us back through Lismore and then out the other side. There is not much at The Channon but it is famous for it's markets and is known for having the first craft market in Australia. We firstly came across The Channon Tavern and it looked quite pleasant so we thought we would call in for a quick beer. We took our drinks outside and sat at the table and the lady sitting at the table next to us said hello and we started talking and she is also staying at the showgrounds in Lismore and as it turned out when she arrived yesterday afternoon she couldn't find the caretaker and asked me if I knew where he was, she was a fair way away so I didn't recognise her at first today. A gentleman came and sat at her table and then not long after the bartender came out for a cigarette. We all started talking and spent the next hour in pleasant conversation. We left her heading for the water falls outside of The Channon but unfortunately the National Park was closed so we didn't go any further. We returned to the showgrounds from here. The weather was very strange today but we did at least have some sunshine when it wasn't raining or the wind wasn't blowing. We are not sure what we will do tomorrow but I think we will start packing up in the afternoon so that we can get an early start on Saturday morning.
Today is our last day in Lismore and what a great stay it has been. Originally we stayed here just to get through Easter and the first week of school holidays but we have had an excellent time exploring Lismore and the surrounding areas. Today we visited Ballina, we have left this until last because of the Covid problems here but that does seem to have settled down without any new cases. I have to say I loved everything about Ballina, the beaches, the surf beach was spectacular, the shopping area and their fantastic pool and water play complex. It probably helped a lot that this is the first sunshine we have had since arriving in Lismore and of course that makes everything look better. I checked out a few of the caravan parks for when we return sometime, I would definitely put this on our list of must revisit. We visited the Big Prawn, I love Australia's big things, the lighthouse, both the children's and the surfing beaches and we took a walk up and down the shopping strip. We drove straight back to Lismore from here stopping at Chemist Warehouse and Aldi to pick up a few items we needed and then we drove to Banzai the Japanese Restaurant in Lismore where we had planned to have lunch. We hadn't booked and were rather lucky to get a table, they were very busy and people were continually coming in to the restaurant. We ordered a couple of set menu dishes and shared our meals, we love Japanese food and this didn't disappoint us, it is a shame we are leaving tomorrow or otherwise we would have returned. When we drove back to the van we unpacked our shopping and then sat for a while to let our lunch go down and then Robb hooked up the van to the car and I took care of the couple of items I could do now to save us time in the morning. We will be having cheese and biccies for dinner tonight, after our big lunch, so I don't have any meal prep to do so we sat outside until it was dark as it was very pleasant after the weather we had the last few days.
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