M&M Smith: 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.