Bye Bye Byron

And just like that, our time in Byron Bay was over. We never did bump into any Hemsworths or Zac Effron but we did have a great time! We savoured our very last hotel included breakfast and farewelled the Ongs, who were going to overnight at Port Macquarie. Our destination would be the city of Newcastle.

Over breakfast, we celebrated Elliot's HSC results, sufficient to get into his first choice of studying Data Science at the University of NSW. There was otherwise very little to report today as most of the day was spent driving other than the fact that the blue skies of course showed its face as we left Byron...

Our arrival and check in into our apartment rentals in Newcastle went smoothly enough. We were put into two 1-bedroom apartments side by side instead of our booked 2 bedroom but were given free parking as compensation. We took it as parking was going to cost us $20 per night! The apartments were good enough. It was well located, clean, spacious and had a full kitchen and laundry. The photos online however looked better than the actual apartments.

Goodbye Byron Bay!

Ramen home delievery for dinner

The living area

The unbelievably blue sky came just as we left. Hmmph!

Byron Bay Day 4

This blog post will be extremely short. In essence, we wanted to relax and enjoy our villa and it was our last full day here. There were baths to be taken, drinks vouchers to be redeemed, a test cricket match to watch and streaming movies and series to catch up on...

Lunch was only sandwiches but it was a surprise hit! Unfortunately Malcolm could not remember where he got it from...other than it was a bakery and it was close to Munch. The servings were generous, the flavours amazing and the price point excellent!

Dinner was at the one hatted Pipit near Tweed Heads. Fiona had managed to get us a spot after calling and accidentally speaking to the chef...yay Fiona! It was worth the drive and the 5pm early dinner time. The food was superb and the best of our meals here whilst at Byron. The ingredients were fresh and combined well each other. They didn't try to be too fancy and we were grateful we didn't have to google any ingredients...The end result was amazing flavours! This is a place we would definitely go back to!

And so endeth our time here at Byron Bay. So many things to be grateful for...in no particular order:

• It was busy but nowhere near the crowded mayhem that we feared (that may have been due to the weather!)
• Whilst it has certainly developed a lot since we were last year, it was still a relaxing trip and Byron Bay hasn't become a major tourist trap (yet)
• Although there was cyclone like weather, we were really only affected for a few days. There were enough breaks in the rain, and sunshine moments for us to see what we wanted to see. We still had wonderful time here.
• It was great to travel with friends! The children got along well and I'm still perplexed as to how UNO can hold so much appeal after so many rounds...
• The resort was awesome and a great place to get "stuck"

Cheers to an excellent last dinner at Byron Bay!

Refreshing lycheet sorbet, almond ice-cream and green mango. Amazing flavour!

Main was grilled mahi mahi

Starter of yellowfin tuna with macadamia miso and stonefruit

Sourdough with smoked macadamia and kefir butters. So nice!

Home made lemonade

Open kitchen

The signs of the times. As we dined, we discovered that NSW had a new corovirus cluster...

Byron Bay Day 3

Today we had a seven am breakfast booked so didn't tackle any "wellness" activities. We decided that retail therapy may be just as effective. The local crop of outlets at Habitat came with the Ming Loh seal of approval so we decided to check them out. Just about every item at every store had its origins fully documented. You could shop here and know more about the history of your lip balm than your family tree. Some things were a little wacky and way overpriced (like a $300 camoflague jumpsuit) and some were actually quite nice and even good value. Jonah and Cameron scored two pairs of shoes each and I scored a pair of "plant based" vegan scratchproof completely biodegradable sunglasses. Just what every girl needs. Fortunately, the rain stayed away and I was given an opportunity to use them. We dashed back to grab the kids and made use of our complementary solar train ticket into town. The train ride is actually a much nicer way to into town as it avoids the increasing busy single lane road and the need to find a parking spot. They might need to find an extra carriage come January!

We did a little more shopping with Fiona and Lara adding to the plunder before we gave up and visited the Poke bowl shop that we had spotted earlier in the week. We felt like good parents making the kids eat some green stuff and headed back as the weather changed again.

Never thought I would be one rocking vegan sunglasses

Steve and his purchases

The solar train

Apparently not that popular yet. Lots of seats

We could spread out in comfort

It was bright enough to wear sunglasess!

Let's have something green for lunch!

Very colourful poke bowls!

Service was a little dicey though...

Redeeming our discounted smoothies

Steve encouraged us to give the adult pool a go. It is amazing the difference that an extra three degrees of water temperature can make! Even with restrictions lifting we were allowed to swim up to the bar, but couldn't sit on the in-pool bar stools. Instead had to drift away to a safe distance to drink them. It wasn't a problem, of course, but was just another one of those things that just feels a little strange.

Dinner was at Bang Bang, a funky thai restaurant. The food was generally good although a touch on the sweet side and portion sizes somewhat small for the price. The service was passable, and rated as passable as no self respecting "Asian" restaurant wouldn't have white rice on the ready! We were told the dishes will just come when they are ready...umm...not white rice. They should have 4 giant rice cookers on rotation in the kitchen! The ambience was nice though and we did enjoy our meal.

Stay tuned for the next instalment of...will it rain or not in Byron Bay...

Time for the adult pool!

Sticky pork belly

Duck

Coconut sago

Malcolm's selfie attempt was so bad the waitress offered to take a photo for us

Byron Bay Day 2

The Ongs were made of stronger stuff than us today backing up for Yoga and HIITS while we (one more than the other!) licked our wounds. That didn't stop us from bouncing back in time for the unexpected arrival of some sunshine. Should we brave a quick hike to the top of the lighthouse whilst th enews reports are still warning of road flooding? Probably not, but then today's blog would be a boring report of phones and board games. As it turned out, fortune favoured the brave.

We  managed to score a couple of spots at "The Pass" carpark and began our hike. We encountered an interesting challenge at the very start of our walk. A tidal channel of 20m or so led to a vantage point with views of Clarke's Beach. The crossing required a balance of timing, bravery, leg length, attire and footwear so that diminished our potential contenders. In the end, there were just three... Malcolm - long of leg, Fiona - brave of spirit and Lara - brief of shorts. There were no spills and the obligatory photos were attained so we were able to move on without undue delay.

We climbed up and down the stairs past the glamourous Watego's Beach which somehow managed to escape much of the brutal erosion that hit the rest of the beaches in these parts. There are some very fancy houses with infinity pools, rooftop lounges and direct beach access. Hopefully their foundations stay nice and sturdy! 

We powered on past the most Easterly part of mainland Australia and on to the lighthouse where Fi rewarded us all with lollies for our efforts. If we'd known rewards were on offer we would've whinged a bit earlier!

The return walk was much shorter by the footpath parallel to the roadway according to google. Unfortunately, Malcolm took Google a little too literally and led us along the road itself which was quite narrow in parts and ended up with quite a few drivers wondering why we were all wandering along a steep, windy, narrow strip with young children. He chose...poorly. A tip for future travellers... the correct path is the one to the left! 

We returned to the resort and were able to enjoy lunch around the pool, cold drinks, ice blocks and UNO. Who could ask for anything more? Well actually we could so we ordered a pizza delivery dinner for the kids and partook in an adults only dinner at Elements' signature restaurant, Azure Dining Room. We had previously dined at the more relaxed Azure Terrace on our first night. The food at the dining was at a whole different level. We rated the food to be better than at Beach. 

The channel crossable when the waves receded

Not so easy when the waves rushed in!

Fiona going for it. Mal and Lara had already crossed

The path on the Cape Byron Walking Track

The famous Wategos Beach

Exclusive and expensive Rae's

At the most easterly point of the Australian mainland

A little more to the lighthouse...

Cape Byron Lighthouse

Is that...blue sky?!?!

Stunning view from the lighthouse

Bad choice Daddy

Poolside ice-blocks. Fancy ones too...but taste is no better than ordinary supermarket ones

Kids love the pool

Cocktail time

The Green Goddess salad. Actually very nice!

Sourdough on warm stones

Octopus

Snapper with shiitake

A very tasty cheesecake with miso caramel

Byron Bay

We woke up to multiple message across all medias from family and friends querying our safety. The bad weather on the far north NSW coast and south east Queeensland was the top story on the news. The winds overnight were horrendous and the rains heavy but the resort did not suffer any structural damage. We pushed on as best we can...

First up was sunrise yoga. Had good weather prevailed, it would have been on the beach. Instead we stretched and held poses in one of the conference rooms. Beggars can't be choosers. We were there just as it was about to start so were "invited" to take the remaining mats right in front of the instructor, center stage. It was like practising remedial yoga...well at least it was for Malcolm! The poor man pulled an adductor muscle from trying too hard which earned him zero sympathy and lots of giggles from the kids.

As part of the wellness package we have $30 credit each for breakfast. This is a sure recipe to bring out the FOMO in all of us. Various combinations of smoothies, ricotta pancakes, tumeric lattes, organic granolas and eggs from free-range, Steiner educated, woke Byron Bay chickens were tossed up to ensure that we had a perfectly balanced breakfast with minimal credit left over. The Ongs were up to the task as well...go us!

Bircher muesli

The classic eggs benedict

A very nice banana bread

The bad news was that the rain continued for most of the day. On the bright side, the pools are heated and there was zero competition for a cabana! We followed Michael Bahari's advice to try the waffle fries by the pool.  Excellent advice, Michael! They were the best waffles fries that any of us had ever tasted.. crispy, but soft, salty and hot. The servings were large and came with little tubs of awesome aioli and tomato sauce. Winner. Michael's first suggestion was to get the coffee made by the Japanese barista... so far he is two from two.

We drove into town in the late afternoon to wander around the shops and check out the main beach before dinner. The shorefront has certainly seen plenty of carnage of late. There were enough fallen trees and debris to attract the attention of at least three news crews. Hopefully, things can be shored up and restored in due course.

Luckily for us our waterfront restaurant had not been washed away yet and Fi had the foresight to change the booking to indoors. Beach was a bit of a splurge, but was very nice. The seafood dishes seemed to win the most praise particularly the snapper and Steve's seafood fregole (we were edumacated by the waiter as to what fregole was). The Ong boys were treated to a 500g dry aged rump and some sides of vegies and fries which they split - it was a creative way to make a pretty fancy addition to the kids menu.

The adults enjoyed tea and chocolate back at the villa before retiring for the evening. The challenge of making the best of our Byron stay in poor weather continues

We were going to get wet in the pool anyway, may as well walk in the rain to get to the pool

The lovely big pool that would have been lovelier in nice weather

Why let a little rain stop us!

A nice but wet outdoor eating area

Waffle fries highly recommend! Only available by the main pool

The ladies had a massage 

Then explored the adult only pool

The children had made themselves very comfortable in the villa

Main Beach, what is left of it anyway

Storm damage

Climbing back up to the footpath

The wild surf

Beach. Fancy restaurant with the family

We made it through! I'm sure there was a good reason why they seated us in the corner...