Springbrook National Park and Byron Bay

After the petrol filter of our car was changed again on 21.11, we happily drove to Springbrook National Park on Thursday. We drove past Hinze Dam on the Panorama Drive to Wunburra Lookout. It started raining heavily during the drive up the mountains to the first lookout. After the first stops, we had difficulties starting our car again. This continued until our car almost didn't start in the middle of the national park. So, we decided to drive back to Coolangatta to the workshop. On Friday, the fuel pump was changed and since then our car starts perfectly again.

In the afternoon, we drove a bit further north to Elephant Rock, a lookout.

After lunch, we went to Alf & Kathleen Neumann Lookout where we had a beautiful view of the ocean and Burleigh Heads. Right on the beach, we spent about half an hour building sandcastles and met a German emigrant mother with her 3 kids. We spent the evening at the river in Burleigh Heads. In the moonlight, we watched fishermen who caught small sharks twice. We spent the night in a small side street again, this time right in front of a construction site to not annoy any residents.

On 24.11, after breakfast at the beach, we went to Springbrook National Park again. This time, we saw Hinze Dam in the sunshine and of course, we did a geocache.

On this day, we visited many lookouts and saw lots of waterfalls. At Canyon Lookout, we asked for help with a photo and directly addressed another German emigrant - Thomas. ;)

The highlight of Springbrook National Park is probably the "Best of All Lookout". Located quite high, you have a view of the whole plain to the south. You can even see Byron Bay from there.

We camped this night at "Numinbah Valley Adventure Trails" camp and paid $24 for a meadow with a portable toilet and numerous flies...

On Sunday, we slept in and then went to Natural Bridge with Glowworm Caves. A short hike through the rainforest lined with lookouts. The highlight here was the natural bridge with a waterfall.

For Krissi, the carpet python lying right by the path was much more interesting. It can bite, but it's not venomous. But before we could enjoy this little tour, Kenny had to prove his talent as a mechanic again because the coolant hose was torn. It was quickly shortened and refilled, luckily everything is working again. We have already invested $2,300 in repairs and maintenance and now hope for a trouble-free remaining time. We drove to the Cougal Cascades via Murwillumbah where Kenny could jump off a rock into the water again. Krissi treated herself to a short swim in the Currumbin Walley Rock Pool. Then we went back to Coolangatta at the beach.

The 26.11 started with breakfast at the beach in Jack Bayliss Park just before Kingscliff. In Kingscliff, thanks to high temperatures, we went into the water early in the morning. We couldn't resist the crystal clear blue water. We had lunch at the next beach in Casuarina Park. We were briefly accompanied by a stray dog that had escaped. When Krissi was about to call the number on the collar, the owner appeared and there was a happy reunion. At Cabarita Beach, there was another great lookout with a view of the coast and numerous surfers. We continued to Hastings Point and Clarrie Hall Dam on the way to Nimbin.

We spent the evening and the night in the small village of Nimbin, which is located a bit further inland. Numerous small shops and restaurants invite you to linger. Everything is super colorful, alternative, and the desire for the legalization of medical marijuana is everywhere to be seen. :D Our camp for the night was at Nimbin Showgrounds, $20 including electricity, kitchen, warm shower, nice owner... heavenly J Highly recommended. We spent the evening at Oasis Café with delicious iced coffee accompanied by guitar and drum sounds.

After a second short walk through Nimbin the next morning, we headed back to Brunswick Heads and then to Byron Bay. Fortunately, we found an available campsite at Glen Villa Holiday Park. We spent the evening in the town with a drink and a great view of a busy street with drunk schoolies, the Australian high school graduates :D In our camp, we were approached by the owner of the surf school KoolKatz. So, for $40, we were supposed to learn to surf the next day.

We spent the next morning relaxed at the camp. At 1:15 p.m., we were picked up in a van with a trailer full of moderately secured surfboards. In the end, there were 9 students and 2 instructors. Heavy rain started on the way to the beach, but we were still optimistic. The rain stopped, but we still went to about 5-6 different beaches because our surf instructor was never satisfied with the surf conditions. At the beginning, everyone was in a good mood, but in the end, everyone just wanted to get in the water somewhere and was a bit annoyed by the unwanted tour. It must be admitted that it was a difficult day with light storm and rain, but everything was super disorganized and the owner himself seemed clueless. Finally, we were shown 3 times how to stand up on the board and then we went into the water. For Kenny, who had taken a surf course before, and Krissi, who luckily had watched a few YouTube videos, it was no problem. In our group, there were 6 people who had surfed before and 3 who had never stood on a board. Instead of the promised 2 hours, we spent 1.5 hours in the water. Unfortunately, we didn't really learn to surf independently because the lesson consisted of running to the teacher in the waves with the board under our arm, lying down on the board, and being pushed by the right wave. In the meantime, everyone else had to wait outside. No one in the group felt really able to go surfing independently after that. The funny thing is that the owner had promised us the day before that we would surf at least 40 meters... It may have been 8 meters. One of the female students who had more trouble standing up was apparently quite rudely approached by the owner asking why she couldn't manage... If you didn't surf 40 meters, you should get your money back, that was the school's promise, why we didn't ask for our money back, we don't know either. The group was great, the atmosphere too, but we could have saved our money.

In the evening, we wanted to admire the Byron Bay lighthouse at sunset, but we didn't make it that far. We got stuck at the beach with Yuan from Canada and his slackline. That was even more beautiful.

Thursday, 29.11 started with a Skype appointment with Jonas and Martin, who were exploring the nightlife of Dublin. After checking out of Glen Villa Holiday Park, we finally set off on the long journey to Cape Byron Lighthouse. At the easternmost point of the Australian mainland, we saw 3 dolphins, 2 turtles, and 2 rays. :)

On the short hike to the lighthouse, we were able to spot one of the two pairs of white-bellied sea eagles on the Byron Bay coast. :) Once at the top, we had to fuel up with a sandwich and delicious ice cream. Then we could enjoy the 22m high lighthouse and visit a short, free tour on the lighthouse. Our tour guide was great, and the 360° view of Cape Byron & Co. was breathtaking.

We returned via a bushwalk, passing newly starting hang gliders. Just before we reached the car again, a wallaby hopped across our path. Then we decided to drive to the nearby Lake Ainsworth. Due to the surrounding tea trees, whose oils drip into the water, it has an unusual reddish-brown color. Despite initial skepticism, we dared to go into the water because the oils are beneficial for the skin and hair. In the evening, we walked through Lennox Head and had dinner at the beach. Then we went wild camping.

On Friday morning, we had breakfast at the beach near Lake Ainsworth and couldn't resist going for a morning swim. At Lennox Head Lookout, we admired several surfers and the cliff that strongly reminded us of Wales & Co.

We continued to Boulder Beach, then to the Rock Pool at Flat Rock Beach (where we were supposed to learn to surf on Wednesday) and then to have lunch in Pop Denison Park. After lunch, we visited the tiny lighthouse of Ballina. After a short walk through the city of Ballina and what felt like hours of watching seagulls, we are now at the river mouth in Ballina, enjoying a cider, watching a few skaters, and waiting for the evening.