The Mullimbimby Middle

Another Day Not On The Bike.

The weather forecast rain, and quite a bit of it. We decided that if we were going to get soaked cycling we should stay somewhere dry so we booked into the Mullumbimby Middle Hotel because that was the only accommodation we could find within spitting distance of the Northern Rivers Rail Trail.

We made big plans to get away early from the Arakoon Campground, but we were way too good at drinking tea to achieve that, and then when we did get away we had to stop for morning coffee lest Roger become all discombobulated and out of routine. Then of course we had to stop at the Big Banana at Coff's Harbour, and then we found the Little Italy rest stop and had to stop again to try the coffee... you get the picture.

Clouds making an appearance ahead of tomorrow's forecast rain.

It is an offence to drive through Coffs Harbour without taking a picture of the Big Banana, icon to tourist kitsch that it is. Both of us have awkward childhood photos of us lined up with our siblings, squinting into the sun and dressed in our best 70s outfits, standing in front of the same banana.

After all the dallying we finally rolled into Murwillumbah in the late afternoon to take up our room at the Middle Hotel, right in the middle of town. We parked behind the hotel and carried our bags up the external stairs through drifting clouds of smoke ("That definitely isn't cigarette smoke!" said Roger. And he should know, having grown up on the Sunshine Coast in the '70s). Our room defied all general principals of construction, having a floor that sloped in several different directions at once.On the verandah outside our window locals drank and bantered happily (and loudly). We went for a wander down the street past a man who relaxed in a doorway, happily tootling on a tin whistle with no particular adherence to any established rules of music. Back in the pub we searched in vain for a spot to make tea or coffee but finally had to accept that our stay in the Middle Hotel would be sans kettle, fridge, or microwave although in compensation we found a delightful room with a book case holding elderly encyclopaediae, and walls papered in genteel English hunting scenes.

This would be a good spot to have a kettle and tea/coffee facilities.

The morning brought more rain. We sat on the verandah overlooking Mullimbimby's main street, ate our cold breakfast, pined for a nice hot cup of tea, and decided that the Northern Rivers Rail Trail could be cycled tomorrow when the sun was expected to make an appearance. Not being able to make ourselves spend the entire day in the Middle Hotel, we headed off to explore in the rain.

Breakfast on the verandah of the Middle Hotel.

We watched surfers in the rain at Byron Bay.

It doesn't matter that it's raining. He's wet anyway.

Byron Bay has moved upmarket from its seedy Mullimby-esque beginnings, which merely meant that the tat in the shops is now over-priced and aimed at fleecing international tourists and the odd-bods and interesting people wandering its streets make a little more effort to entertain and engage the passing public

Back in the 'reading room' at the Middle Hotel, we planned our assault on the Northern Rivers Rail Trail. The Trail had been opened a scant few months ago and represented the state of NSW dipping its reluctant toe in the world of rail-trail infrastructure, so we were very keen to use the trail and provide lots of positive feedback to encourage further rail trail development in the laggardly State.

Finally, to the accompaniment of more-or-less tuneful merriment from downstairs, I put my earplugs in and went to bed.

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