Bangalow – Byron Bay - Ballina

Had a lovely morning stroll around Bangalow. Actually the carpark we parked in was full around 9am. A popular little spot for all and sundry. Decided it was time to move on to Byron and get down to the beach as it was going to be 34o today!

Took the long and windy and now horrid roads to Byron. Arrived to a fit of holiday traffic. We couldn’t believe the state of the place. There were more pot holes than original road. It was worse than driving on corrugated roads. There is also one road out to the point and a little peninsular (the most easterly point on the Australian coast) and a housing development and beautiful lighthouse out there. The road out is narrow so a wide suspended footpath has been built alongside the road for pedestrian and bike traffic. A large section had broken and fallen away. It was replaced with a huge section of weeds now growing where the path used to be. To allow access they closed one lane of the roadway and installed a temporary stop light system to allow a few cars from each direction access at a time. We were shocked that the system appeared to be a “permanent” installation by the fact that the weeds looked like they’d been there for some time! I can’t believe they put up with this.

The rest of the town wasn’t much better. Tired and worn out old streets and pavements made the town look really unappealing to us. Parking was a nightmare. The town was chockas with tourists and holidaymakers alike. The shops were buzzing. The cafes were full. We couldn’t believe that with money coming into the place like it was that it wasn’t in better shape. We spoke to one shop owner, and import from Melbourne. She said NSW was bankrupt and that there was no end in sight to the repairs that are needed all over the state. We did find some great shops, but boy are they expensive. Decided this place was too stressful and it was time to move on.

Went on to Ballina as we met some people who had an investment property there and they said it was nice. It was certainly a much quieter town than Byron, and certainly the average age was about double Byron, but it had one of the most amazing RSL’s we’d seen. For those of you not aware, on the eastern seaboard, the pokies subsidise huge RSL clubs and they usually have cheap drinks and food. Ballina RSL was no exception. It was alive and thronging with the huge flow of dinners to their flashy abode right on the rivers edge. The town itself is interesting. Its seen a few 5 storey apartment buildings hit the riverside one block back from the main street. The only absence was trees from the rather boring looking main street. It didn’t have any particularly nice buildings so trees would have improved their streetscape immensely. But the upside was its streets were in really good nick. They were extra wide (I think a NSW tradition) and so there was plenty of parking around the place. There are also lots of great little eateries around the town many trying to compete with the flashy RSL and the pubs were offering $15 meal nights etc.