From Brisbane we direct our focus onto
Byron Bay. The children have not surfed since Exmouth and they are keen. Since
we'll get there on a Sunday, we best make sure we arrive early and park along
the boulevard/beach road. When we get there the road is a lot shorter than I
thought judging on the map and we need to turn around to get to the desired
parking spot. I tell Jolmer he can get onto the parking lot and drive a circle
and get back on the road. Firstly the entry to the car park is a lot narrower
than we would have liked and secondly after some initial careful navigation we
run into a completely innocent parked car with the right side of the bus. It is
an awful feeling knowing someone will return from a nice Sunday-morning walk on
the beach, or a little surf perhaps, to find his car stuck between the curb and
our trailer. Poor person. Lots of people also stop and take photos: another
uncomfortable feeling, who knows how many facebook pages we'll end up on by the
end of the day? When the gentleman returns it is time to
take our own pictures and exchange contact details.
We contact our insurance
company, they are priceless, and even the police show up. The officer tells us
this is such a 'minor' incident that they no longer come out normally for these
things. He says every road trip needs at least one story like this, and seems
genuinely un-faced. The car owner, although visibly annoyed, keeps his
grievance to himself, a very impressive feat.
We finally get off the parking area without
further problems and park somewhere else in town. The beach road is full by
now. We take some time to re-group and only get to the beach much later in the
afternoon. The wind and the waves turn this otherwise really good beginners
spot into a much trickier surf. There is a fair current too.
It should have been a great return to
surfing, but it isn't. That is OK. We decide to come back the next day. To make
sure we are all Sunsmart we don the sting suits we bought for the Whitsunday Islands which never have been worn.
The surf is still tricky but at least the
older kids get to stand up a few times and enjoy the thrill of surfing once
more.
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