I’m on holidays! <Insert happy dance>
I have a long list of things to do (washing, mowing, tax return)… But instead, I will be taking off, cutting loose, letting my hair down, being fancy-free (and quite possibly partaking in many other clichéd movie-like holiday activities).
Dave and I have bought tickets to the Global Carnival, a three-day world music and culture festival in my hometown of Bellingen, New South Wales. The festivities start on Friday 30 September and we have the week off work. Naturally, this means it’s time for a road trip, the default Aussie adventure.
We’ve mapped a road trip route of 763 kilometres… or there abouts.
Day 1: Brisbane, Queensland to Mullumbimby, New South Wales
This is a day of:
- Singing loudly with the car windows down
- Slamming on the breaks as we pass a cute little op shops, before perusing the wonderful world of useless knick knacks and talking ourselves out of buying them
- Exploring the Mullumbimby area, with it’s luscious greenness and quaint little towns, shops, eateries.
Day 2: Mullumbimby to Yamba, or somewhere near there
This day will hopefully involve:
- Some type of beach-basking glory
- A roadside picnic
- Finding a campground around Yamba somewhere. Suggestions anyone?
Day 3: Yamba to Armidale, via Grafton then Armidale to Bellingen, via Dorrigo
Highlights of this day will be:
- Waking up to the sound of birds outside the tent
- Navigating curly roads through the Nymboida area
- Exploring the churches and university buildings in Armidale
- Taking a peek at the Bellingen area from the Dorrigo National Park Sykwalk
- Descending down into Bellingen from Dorrigo Mountain (in my opinion one of the most beautiful drives).
- Arriving at my Mum’s house!!!!
Day 4: Bellingen
This day will be full of:
- Beaching,
- Walking
- Eating
- Drinking coffee in cute outdoor cafes
- Exploring the shops of Bellingen
Day 5, 6 & 7: Bellingen Global Carnival
Here we will enjoy:
- Dancing in the sunshine
- Eating foods from every region of the world while sitting under Camphor Laurel trees
- Meditating, yoga-ing, lazing on the grass listening to world music.
Day 8: Bellingen to Brisbane
The homeward bound trip…
So, in short, I’m excited. Time to get moving! I’ll keep you posted along the way.
If you have any suggestions for stops along the way, please let me know!
Nic Freeman 
drive safely have a great trip. thinking of you luv to your family
Mum
Thanks Mary. We are there and back safely. Had a great time catching up with my family and getting away for a bit.
We enjoyed staying at the ‘Calypso Holiday Park Yamba’. Sunsets from the van park were great overlooking the water (close to Clarence river mouth) in the direction of Iluka. (Ablutions were good too).
Happy travels!!
Thanks for the tip Christine. We did swing by Yamba but ended up staying in a national park near Broomes Head, just across the river. It was called Lake Arragan and Red Cliffs campgrounds in Yuraygir National Park ( http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/nationalparks/parkCamping.aspx?id=N0040 ). Will definitely go back there – roos in every direction, beautiful landscape, campfires and beachfront. Will write more about it soon. Nic