Day 15 Friday June 20^th 2014 Iluka (Woody Head) to Mullumbimby

By the time we reach Ballina it is 21 degrees and steamy. Our old $10 Aldi multi device car charger has finally died, probably from overwork. We walk and drive around the town several times before we find a replacement at Supa Cheap Auto. In fact we have to buy two, one for the phones and one for the Bluetooth. C’est la vie. Our efforts to find a car wash fail but we get chatting to a lovely caravanning couple and they tell us not to miss the town of Serat and the Nindigully Pub on our inland leg.

It’s a steep climb past Byron Bay as they are still making the new road, but the views across to Byron and the lighthouse are fabulous. At Mullumbimby Leagues Club we ask a couple of regulars for the campground caretaker. “See that bloody big Norfolk pine over there, ask for Marg”. Bordered by the footy ground, a golf course and the river there’s a large grassy area with about twenty vans, motor homes and buses it costs us $25.

Mullumbimby township is about two kilometres away and a good walk. The shopping strip is lined with palm trees there is a fair sprinkling of homewares and coffee shops. The real estate is expensive. This is the opposite of Iluka. We have a beer at the Middle Pub and sit at the open window watching the passing parade. The locals are a colourful bunch either well heeled or hippie folk. There is a predominance of beanies, dreadlocks and harem pants among the later and a lot of the wearers seem to be over sixty.

Travelling Kms: 125Kms

2020 Note: You’ve gotta love the reference to pubs as The Top Pub, The Bottom Pub and The Middle Pub. It must get tricky when there are more than three in town.