Drive To The Coast

Left: One-lane wooden bridge (on a "major" highway, no less!) across the Clarence River.


After returning to New South Wales (NSW) and Tenterfield, I headed east on the big highway to the coast indicated on the map, which, as often happens in Australia, was actually a small, winding, mostly two-lane road.

Once I reached Drake Village, the road plummeted into valleys and temperatures climbed uncomfortably. The two-lane road even reduced to one lane, in order to cross the surprisingly-large Clarence River on a wooden bridge. Soon, towns were encountered and the traffic level increased.

Groggy with fatigue at the town of Casino. Confused by a succession of traffic circles (Australians prefer to avoid installing traffic lights, and install traffic circles instead). Stopped at a small park and annoyed people because I parked wrong - 90 degrees to the proper direction. Misread a traffic island and momentarily turned onto the right hand side of a street: I quickly parked, but traffic was light and no problem resulted. Went through a McDonald's drive through window & got a McFlurry.

Passed through the town of Lismore. Annoyed at the map again. At 145,000 people, Lismore is 50% larger than Toowoomba's 100,000, but because it's in the populated eastern coastal strip, Lismore's name gets little letters on the map but inland Toowoomba's name gets big, big letters - utterly misleading!

After passing through Lismore, the road climbed unexpectedly as it got closer to the coast - one last extravagance of the easternmost extent of the Australian land mass before it fell into the Pacific. The land was increasingly-beautiful and lush - even the grazing cattle looked lush. There were some strange pine tree farms: what looked like Bunya Pines in exacting rows and columns on the hillside slopes. But the road wasn't falling even close to sea level as it approached the coast. Somewhere ahead must lay one dizzying drop! But where? Evening was approaching, and the map said I was near the coast, but still, I was far from sea level.

Suddenly ahead appeared Byron Bay, with its counterculture friendly town and its singular white lighthouse.