FROM LIANA:
We didn’t get too ambitious for our next stop – heading only 32km further south down the coast to Skennars Head – which is smack bang in the middle of Lennox Head and Ballina. The scenery was beautiful and the weather bloody hot.
This time we were staying at Ballina Headland Holiday Park. Kids playground? Check. Giant inflatable jumping pillow? Check. Pool and Spa? Check. If we weren’t sleeping in a portable oven and living out of $8 storage tubs you might be forgiven for thinking we were living it up.
The first day of getting to a place is generally a tedious process of packing and unpacking again. A more detailed breakdown of this is sweating, swearing, kids getting in the way, stuff falling out, discovering something has melted, more sweating, trying to find a cold drink, an argument followed by some passive aggressive silent treatment. This time we were lucky enough to also include a swim in our day. As I said, living the dream! That afternoon we went into town to pick up supplies (read: drinks and loaf of bread) and stopped off at Sharpe’s Beach on the way back. Just before getting on to the beach I yelled at Daniel and Kaia to stop – a snake was crossing their path less than a meter in front of them and Daniel hadn’t spotted it. The beach is completely surrounded by dense grassland so it’s no surprise that they were there. I’m not exactly up to speed on my snake identifying, but it was brown coloured, and Brown Snakes are prevalent in that region so we’ll go with it being a Brown Snake. After all the remote bush hikes we’ve done, and the first snake we spot is on a populated beach – come to think of it I proper prefer the latter rather than coming across one on our own. No doubt when I hear him retell the story it will evolve to being attacked by a den of snakes.
The next morning I had my heart set on checking out the Lennox Community Market which was on for the month. As I’ve said before, I’ve gotten pretty good at knowing how to get my husband to do an activity I want, but I know the buck stops at markets. Unless it’s a market giving away free alcohol or meat on a stick, no amount of bargaining or sexual favours are going to get him to a market. So Kaia and I headed off in the morning – with me convinced I was going to spot the Hemsworth or Damon clan (who I had heard on the radio were back in town). The markets were pretty rubbish based on my expectations. I do have to say they had the most amazing gyoza I’ve had in Australia. We purchased a bag of fruit to prove that the trip wasn’t a wasted effort (to Daniel), and convinced that no celebrities were there we headed off for an afternoon of barbequing and swimming.
This Monday, instead of starting the weekly grind of drop off and office life, we headed back to Broken Head Nature Reserve to do the Three Sisters Walk. The rock formation represents a story about a young Aboriginal woman who was caught in a strong current when swimming in this area. When her sister attempted to save her, they both drowned and were transformed into stone. Not sure where the third sister comes into the story though…but it’s a beautiful walk, spectacular views, and a few secluded beaches to easily walk down to. A picnic (perhaps that’s a bit of a stretch, a pack of Coles cheese and bacon rolls) on the hill overlooking the Three Sisters was a pretty good reminder of how lucky we are.
The next day we decided to further embrace this camping lifestyle and go fishing for our own food….after a stop at Kmart to purchase a rod – just like the pros do no doubt. The guy at the bait shop recommended a little spot on the Richmond River called Faulkes Reserve. On the way we passed Ballina’s claim to fame – the Big Prawn. It’s literally in a Bunnings car park – personally I think the sausage sizzles at Bunnings are a better attraction but each to their own. About 4 hours later in searing heat we ended up with a packet pasta meal for dinner. We caught a few small fish from the pontoon but was more the thrill of the catch than anything to feed a family of four. And to think of that 20 minutes spent on YouTube learning how to fillet a fish in preparation.
I think we’re now all starting to adjust to life on the road – being more active and adventurous during the day, living out of a smaller space, and I already can’t think of eating off proper plates again – the clearing up is just too easy to throw it all in the bin. Kaia has stopped asking when we’re going “home”. Each night we have a little tradition about saying what our favourite part of the day was – no matter what we’ve done or seen that day her favourite thing is always the playground. Hopefully at some point she’ll start to realise how lucky she is.
FROM DANIEL:
We’re covering some serious distance now huh… 32Km, Someone’s going to be losing their journey planning role pretty soon if this keeps up… Anyway, nice site in Skennars Head. The guy at the park was an absolute legend in assisting me reverse into the pitch, obvious pro. Nice Park with good facilities although without a separate vehicle to your rig you’d be pretty limited for things to do (not much within walking distance). A couple of short hikes were undertaken in the area, all very nice. I especially liked the coastal walk from the site to Sharpe’s Beach. There’s a longer hike from the site to Lennox Head that I would have liked to have done but apparently that couldn’t be accommodated in our itinerary due to a pre-planned trip to the local market (don’t get me started on markets… never anything you actually need, just tack that you end up paying way over the odds for…).
Had a close shave with what given its size must have been an anaconda, the thing tried to ambush Kaia and I while we were quietly minding our business walking down to the beach. Did a bit of fishing at Faulks Point using prawns as bait. Didn’t get anything going out long (other than arm ache) but had a few small ones in the shallows that entertained the kids. Helped a bloke get his boat in (he was struggling with the wind). He kindly rewarded the gesture by given us all his left over bait, great until Kaia decided to feed the birds with it… picture the Hitchcock movie, The Birds.
Where are the Actons? 
Leave a comment