FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX: 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