Brisbane to Byron Bay to Coffs Harbour before reaching Sydney. The most important purpose of our Australian trip was to catch up with Riley, and spend some time with him in Brisbane.
We spent a lot of fantastic time with Riley in Brisbane. All grown up, independent and a great tour guide, with a maturity recently matured! Picnic lunches enabled by public access bbqs mostly everywhere (a tip: we found Teflon sheets to use on public bbqs, which means you don’t have to clean them before use, and leave them clean after use).
Tambourine National Park was truly spectacular – tree formations and foliage were grand with amazing natural intricacies.
We also spent time with Riley’s mum, who has an amazing generous capacity. She helps the homeless, invariably (but not exclusively) New Zealanders, who have no access to the Australian welfare system when living here (Australians have access to the NZ welfare system, automatically).
She had taken in a family of 9, just a few days before we arrived, as they were destined for the street. Although there were people everywhere when we arrived at her three bedroomed house, it was clearly a ‘giving’ house, a refuge for many and filled with aroha. We also were privileged to help out at a weekly street feed beside Woodridge train station, and had a first hand experience of poverty in Australia.
Humbling
It’s very easy to be homeless while traveling, given that we can cross people’s palms with plastic and have resources to feed ourselves and give ourselves shelter.
Byron Bay was beautiful. We spotted whales migrating when we arrived up to the lighthouse. Perfectly peaceful and picturesque.