Day: 008
Date: Thursday, 09 July 2020
Start: Woodburn
Finish: Byron Bay
Daily Kilometres: 72
Total Kilometres: 799
Weather: Cool and dry early with a heavy shower around lunchtime then mild and mostly overcast with more rain later in the afternoon.
Accommodation: Hostel
Nutrition:
Breakfast: Muffins
Lunch: Ham, cheese & tomato roll/Chicken pesto roll
Dinner: Nachos/Nachos fries, Cheesecake/Apple turnover
Aches: I'm still a bit saddle sore.
Highlight: Our late afternoon walk around Cape Byron. It started out very wet as we walked along the beach from our hostel, but the rain cleared and we were treated to spectacular views in all directions from various lookouts along the hilly trail that wound through leafy rainforest and also passed the lighthouse. We also took some selfies at Australia's easternmost point.
Lowlight: The first 20km of the morning from Woodburn along the Pacific Highway with narrow edges and lots of trucks wasn't much fun.
Pictures: Click here
Map and Position: Click here for Google Map
Journal:
Our motel room was very basic and very close to the highway, but despite the constant sense that an 18-wheeler was about to come through the wall, we both slept well. Our gear dried somewhat, but was still damp when we donned it and set off at 7am. The road was still wet, but happily the rain had stopped and it wasn't too cold.
The first 20km on the highway was quite busy and we were glad of the cloud cover because we were riding directly into the rising sun which would have made us difficult to see for vehicles approaching from behind. It was a relief, after an hour, to turn off the highway to follow a much quieter river road and we celebrated by having a breakfast stop by the river and eating the muffins we had purchased in Woodburn as we left.
The river road was very quiet, with the huge Richmond River, flowing steadily seawards to our left and pastures and sugar cane plantations to our right. There were some impressive houses along the way and many had set up little al fresco benches and fishing perches across the road right on the river's edge. The journey was tinged with a little sadness knowing that two days earlier a 17yo girl had drowned after her car failed to take a bend on the road and plunged into the river.
We crossed the river on the Burns Point Ferry with local commuters in their cars (safe to assume they all had season passes, since we were the only ones who seemed to pay for the crossing …. $1 each!) and were soon cycling through the busy regional town of Ballina. On the other side of town we found the 15km coastal bike path to Lennox Head which passed beautiful beaches and lookouts and wended its way through leafy foreshore forests. Very pleasant.
We had a quick run from Lennox Head to Suffolk, despite some taxing undulations, and found the Lauren-recommended bakery to buy some rolls for an early lunch (and some vanilla slices for later). Our timing was perfect, because it started to rain, becoming very heavy at one point, as we sheltered under the bakery's verandah and ate our lunch. The place was busy with holiday-makers, so it was a bit sad for them that it was such a grey day, though clearly it hadn't stopped some from spending time in the surf.
From there it was a busy 6km into the fabled Byron Bay and we arrived at our booked hostel (accommodation very scarce in Byron during school vacation) about 12:45pm, hoping we could get an early check-in. Alas, the office didn't open until 3pm, so we parked our bikes by the pool where we could see them and killed a few hours at a nearby table under shelter, surrounded by 20-something year old backpackers, eating, socialising, smoking and playing cards. I fitted right in.
At 3pm, we checked into our room (shared facilities), changed and went for a walk along the Byron Bay beach and around Cape Byron and the lighthouse (see above). Despite the gloomy weather, the views were great and we made a point of visiting the most easterly point in Australia. Originally, when planning this trip, we had hoped to visit all of the cardinal compass point extremes of the Australian mainland. Because we have to wait until the Queensland border opens (tomorrow), we have less time than originally hoped, so may not make it to all points, but at least we have hit the first.
On our way back from the walk, we passed through the Byron Bay shopping area, which was buzzing with holiday-makers, and had dinner at a Mexican chain restaurant before buying some dessert at a nearby bakery and returning to our hostel, which was also buzzing. After last night's 18-wheelers failed to keep us awake, I doubt partying backpackers will be a problem tonight.
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