Desh, Abe, James and I decided to take a spontaneous trip down south to Bundjalung National Park, just passed Evans Head in New South Wales. On the way down we stopped by the small town of Ballina to grab some lunch.
I’ve swung by down that town before and enjoyed amazing pizza at Raamon’s so was hoping to grab some of that again.. but unfortunately, they’re only open for dinner! Desh and I couldn’t help but notice there was an Op Shop right next door and decided to indulge in some country buys. We ended up getting 3 items each, at a price much cheaper than Brisbane!
The lovely ladies thought we were shopping for a fancy dress party but didn’t realise that’s just our style haha. Our cars were packed so the boys weren’t super happy we went shopping but oh well! Desh and I enjoyed some amazing fish & chips and A Shop Called Dory’s.
We kept on trucking down until we finally got to Black Rocks Campground at Bundjalung National Park. Right away we got welcomed by a wallaby. Then we got to our campsite. What a great place! Best campground I’ve ever been to, every site is segregated by native bush and has its own picnic table, makeshift clothes line and a fire pit with a cooking utensil on top of it. All without it looking like a holiday park, and how could it? We’re surrounded by kilometers of national park at the edge of the coastline. We set up camp then headed out to the beach.
We set up a picnic at the top of a sand dune bordered by national forest and enjoyed cheese and crackers. We then went back, set up a fire and cooked mushroom risotto. The rest of the night withered away with marshmallows, smores, shisha and fire. We also popped down to the beach as it was a full moon and we had to enjoy the moonlight and the meditation of waves crashing.
The night was absolutely freezing. People thought we were crazy for going camping in winter but we weren’t the only ones in the national park. I had to sleep with a beanie on as my ears were freezing so I might’ve regretted it for a moment in my sleep. We woke up to the morning sun working hard to defrost us. We started our day with a delicious breakfast cooked by James then a hike to find Jerusalem creek to go fishing. Unfortunately, every trail we went for was flooded out so we weren’t able to find a good spot. We then climbed a sand dune and everyone took a nap. I awoke and decided to explore a little. Up and down the sand dunes, through a bit of forest and then investigating some large black caves – I then attempted to fish on the beach but our rods were really better for the large creek we were expecting.
It was a beautiful weekend – it inspired me to go hunting for a roof rack so we can free up some space in the car. Thank golly for Gumtree. Can’t wait to go camping again, winter camping is definitely better than the scorching summer.
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