JULY 2020 : KINGSCLIFF, NSW : a family holiday at a small beach resort

With the restrictions of the COVID 19 virus being lifted in NSW and travel within the state allowed, we decided to celebrate with a family holiday. Three generations, two young families with 6 kids, ranging from 2 to 8 years old. We decided to travel as far north as possible and found a quiet resort on Salt Beach in Kingscliff, north of Byron Bay to spend a week during the  winter school holidays.

Nick and Kristie and their three treasures drove the 7 hour trip north, breaking the journey in Coffs Harbour. We flew with Ash and her crew from Canberra to Ballina.

Mantra Resort, Salt Beach, Kingscliff

The ever-present bush turkeys

A few metres from the hotel reception was a row of shops, cafes and restaurants.

Nearby is Salt Beach, long and inviting but apparently full of risks.

Some time spent at the beach...

But the heated pool and spa were the greatest success.

Even at night.

And the bathroom spas in our rooms.

We found lots of playgrounds...

And we played a range of board games... and investigated coconuts..

Pippa (6) displayed her developing writing and spelling prowess when she berated me for not hearing her when she knocked on the thick door of our room. ‘Do not let your grandchildren out of your rooms’

Early morning walks

and rides..

We rented a van for the week and went on several day trips.

We investigated Byron Bay lighthouse, seeing dolphins and whales in the waters below.

We drove to the small town of Federal in the Byron Bay hinterland and had lunch at a buzzing Doma Cafe. Japanese fusion.

The picturesque Tweed Valley with tropical fruit farms and sugar cane plantations

I took Dakota and Koby to the Tweed Heads Gallery in Murwillambah to see the Margaret Olley exhibition. She was a still life artist, who grew up in the area. She bought a hat factory in inner Sydney and her home/studio was an inspiration for her work. After her death in 2011, several of her rooms were moved and placed in situ in the specially designed space. 21,000 items were brought from Sydney and catalogued.

We booked a whale watching cruise, which left from a small wharf at Tweed Heads. The boat took us four kilometres east into the ocean, where there is a well-known channel where the humpback whales migrate north. We were very fortunate as several whales frolicked and breached around our small boat.

 Coffee with my cousin, Sally, in Brunswick Heads.

We also enjoyed an early morning walk to a small lighthouse just north of Kingscliff. As it turned out, it was the first structure built in the area in 1879 as this part of the coast was particularly perilous for shipwrecks.

We were able to celebrate Mitchell’s 2nd birthday with candles and cake.

We left Kingscliff early on Monday morning and found a playground and busy skatepark in Ballina to burn off energy before we boarded our plane home.

M&M

DECEMBER 2019 / JANUARY 2020 / FEBRUARY : A summer to remember (or forget!) and the continuing COVID19 saga..

Despite heatwave conditions and smoke haze, we were able to enjoy a happy family Christmas in Canberra. The fire season began very early this summer with fires in northern NSW and on 29th November, the Currawon fire began travelling south from Ulladulla, in the lead up to Christmas and the New Year.

Usually we travel to our beach house in Broulee, NSW on Boxing Day - two hours east of Canberra - but this year the fires were advancing on several fronts towards our part of the coast, south of Batemans Bay, so we postponed travelling down for a few days until access via Brown Mountain and Bega was possible.

The fire affected areas

The magnitude of the fires has been equated to a significant area of England.

The fire front, travelling from the Clyde Mountain fire, through the township of Mogo, hit Broulee on New Years Eve at about 10 am. It caught us totally unawares, with residents quickly moving to the beach for safety. Fortunately as the fire approached, a southerly wind came though, moving the flames northward. Sadly the communities of Rosedale and Malua Bay suffered with many properties and businesses lost.

DECEMBER 31

Apologies for the fuzzy map but this shows where the fire was contained in Elizabeth Drive in Broulee, thanks to the quick and professional response from the local Rural Fire Service. Our house is marked with a blue spot further down the street.

When cleaning the deck we found this live ember imprint - a permanent reminder of what could have been.

A sobering paddle up the creek in the aftermath 

Friends in Malua Bay owned one of these apartments, fortunately they were in Canberra and did not experience the fire firsthand.

With the lack of power, heavy smoke, many access road closures and the prospect of further fire activity, we returned home on New Years Day. A sensible decision, in hindsight, as temperatures, strong winds and more fires, came through three days later.

Further fires developed in the alpine areas and in farming communities west of Canberra. The whole landscape is tinder dry, having suffered a prolonged drought. In Batlow my cousin and his family were forced to evacuate from their farm, developed over 30 years. When they returned to survey the damage, their mud brick house was still intact but they had heavy stock and property loss. Now the arduous task of re-establishing all they have previously created.

Meanwhile back in Canberra, the air quality is extremely poor with pools, golf courses, tourist attractions and businesses closed. Canberra is situated on a plain where the smoke from the north, south and west has settled, stagnant with no wind or significant rain to dislodge it.

Three of our grandchildren came to stay with us as our apartment is cooler and better sealed from intruding smoke.

Ashley and children, developing croupy coughs, escaped to Sydney for clearer air for a few days, staying with their cousins.

Meanwhile Mark and I wait to see what developments are at the coast with the aftermath of the fires. We caught up with friends, Cynthia and Geoff, today who are also waiting to hear about the state of their coastal property at Mossy Point. 

A bonus tonight being available for an impromptu meal with Irene and David before they head off to Japan.

PS After nearly 6 weeks of smoke haze engulfing Canberra, today Tuesday 7th January, we had blue skies and there was safe enough air quality to have a meal outside. We celebrated with friends from our apartment block.

JANUARY 7

JANUARY 9TH

JANUARY 11

Attending a fundraiser for the Bodalla fire victims at Pedlar in Campbell, organised by Pam Cowan.

JANUARY 20

A freak hailstorm descends on Canberra

Kingston was on the hailstorm path. Our building suffered window and skylight damage. Our garden courtyard also suffered a direct hit.

JANUARY 29

Fire sparked by a fire surveillance helicopter in the Orroral Valley south of Canberra. The heat of the landing lights ignited the dry vegetation and quickly spread over thousands of hectares.

JANUARY 31

A State of Emergency declared in Canberra. This is a view from the pond in the southern suburb of Gordon.

FEBRUARY 2

FEBRUARY 3 6pm

Southerly winds turned the fires back towards Canberra. The Brindabella Mountain Range on fire, 6 kms from the southern suburbs.

FEBRUARY 7

We are babysitting in Sydney this week. While bushfires still threaten Canberra, torrential rain has hit Sydney. The chaotic weather conditions continue.

FEBRUARY 9

FEBRUARY 10

Australia - a land of drought, bushfires and flooding rains

The photo below - 3 weeks apart - fires and then floods through the same areas in NSW

February and March saw the spread of the Coronavirus, which began in a food market in China and spread throughout the world, shutting down every facet of life, as citizens self-isolate and world economies flounder and the death toll rises. It is reminiscent of the Spanish Flu in 1919.

APRIL 17

JULY 19

15th September

October 24, a memorable day- Covid is under control in Australia. Melbourne drops its restrictions, after two days of no cases and deaths, and opens up after the 111 days quarantine.

And nine months after the hailstorm, the tilers arrive to repair our roof and complete it a week before Christmas on 18th December.

M&M