NaDan

There is a magic word going round the camp at the moment and it is not Shazam.  It came from people asking Nathanial his name and then calling him Daniel so we started calling him Dan but then realised we need to say his sound which is Na so now we call him NaDan, and if we are angry it is NaDam and when he is a father it maybe NaDad.  NaDan is our goodluck charm so now this is our magic word.
Today is pouring with rain so what an opportunity to blog up.  We have already done a big walk on the beach, got wet, went for a swim and got more wet then had a shower and got even wetter.  On our walk we discussed whether you would rather be a hero or sidekick, then we had a bacon and eggs brunch and played our 1 millionth game of monopoly deal which Wooz won with a deal breaker again.
Yesterday was our last day with E and Joan before they head further north so E and Gaz played golf at Ballina while the boys went shopping with their $50 they got from Grandma and Pa.  They bought some new clothes and then we had a nice butterfly lamb on the barbee back at the caravan park in Skenners Head where E and Joan still were.  E only had 15 points at golf, we smashed him the day before on our big walk, and won a schooner for coming last.  E and Joan came up to Byron the day before and we did the lighthouse walk in the morning our first and only full sunny day.  Thanks so much for a wonderful first 6 weeks of our trip Grandma and Pa we had lots of laughs and your help was really appreciated.  Kirst doesn't know what she will do now!

As you can see the boys weren't that happy about it.  But they fired up in the arvo when we drove up to Minyin falls and did the 6.5km walk.  We checked out the falls from above and sussed out whether
the massive drop was makeable or not.

Then decided we would take the long way down and walk.  It would make it easier to get back if we took one of the cars down to the other carpark, the only problem was I drove out to fast and E and Wooz went the wrong way.  We waited 25 mins for them to return and tried again finally getting started at around 3.30pm which meant we needed to make haste or we would be walking in the forest in the dark.

Unfortunately we were about 1km into it and there was a bit of confusion with directions which set us further back and sure enough we walked the last couple of km's in the dark.  We did set a cracking pace which made it pretty tough for E and Joan, and only Gaz, Arch and Wooz made it to the base of the falls which was amazing.

We ran about a km back to the others to catch up which was a great effort from the Wooz whose thongs fell apart from the pressure.  Excellent effort from NaDan as well walking most of the way and not complaining.  This is how dark it was before we got to the falls.

We drove through Mullimbimby on the way home and E suggested stopping for a pub meal and a couple of schooners which was very nice and NaDan had a go at winning the meat platter in the raffle.  What a day.
Anyways Arch is still clocking up lots of surf time at The Pass

and this is generally what it looks like- beautiful straight lines and fun little waves.

Wooz was out there carving up today as well and Kirst on the boogster.  It was also time for me to invest in a new board having had an amazing 7 years of sevice from the waterskate, which survived Dad running it over and many hard knocks especially at the Schank.  I have truly loved that board and now Kirst has claimed it in her bid to learn to surf, in other words it can retire peacefully.  Now it is time for the dominator markII to take it's place in history and stand united with The Child and the first of the dominators.

.

NaDan took some photos of a typical morning having breakfast, which involves Kirst and I trying to eat while the boys wrestle and yell around us,

 and as you can see Kirst is not that happy about it!
We also had a bike ride in the rain today down to Suffolk Park and then cooked a roast chicken in the annex because it was raining and the smoke from the hot plate nearly choked us all (good one Gaz).  We live on through rain and smoke, and whatever other challenges we have though because of the magic NaDan.

Dick Head

We left Emerald beach and stopped at Yamba for a burger and chips down on the beach, great spot and the drove to Evans Head caravan park which had smaller cabins then our campervan.  There we had a quick argument about where to go next (collective sigh) and we ended up at Skenners Head, just through Ballina which E ended up renaming Dick Head.  We have a small adjustment time arriving in a new place then we settle in nicely and get into it and we definitely did that.  We only had 3 nights because we booked Byron for the 18th and turns out we would've liked to stay at Dick Head longer.  We arrived in Byron yesterday lunchtime and it has not stopped raining since.   We had a cabin that was very cosy at Dick Head while the camper got fixed (we inherited a new hot water system that runs on electricity as well as gas too) and would have been more comfortable with all this rain.  Arch hasn't worried though he has spent nearly all the time in the surf out at The Pass.
Anyways in 2 days we did heaps of fun things and the caravan park had a pool and spa so the boys loved it because when they got cold they had the spa to warm up.  Even Big E ventured into the spa with his boardies on.  Wooz got quite good at his freestyle- he could swim, talk, breathe and wave at the same time.

Nathanial worked on his doggy paddling.

And Arch tried his new swim costume which we called "high lying"!

While the rest of us tried some low lying walking across the bridge at Ballina.

We loved Ballina, especially the skate park and the walk along the wall and the famous ice creamery where all the sports stars go.

We also had a lovely 9 holes of golf at Teven where the boys found a frog in the ball washer- apparently they hide in those spots to get away from the pythons. 

Then we had a visitor at the cabin that heard the boys had been catching frogs.

Then Kirst and Arch demonstrated their great technique.

 Then Kirst pointed out that it was a full moon night so we all took a night walk which was hilarious.  We saw lots of bats and E wanted to know where the balls were.  Wooz kept saying "shutup EEEan" trying to mimic Joan.  The boys were planking in the grass and trying to scare us and we were looking for ghost surfers out in the water which was beautiful in the moonlight.

So it is goodbye from the boys again, the Hallies arrive in Byron next Tuesday, so we will update then.

Scoffs

Does that mean to overindulge or to deride as not good enough?  Well we didn't try Scoffs but we definitely scoffed at the pizza and pasta in Emerald Beach and there is no doubt that we have overindulged this week so Coffs is now known as Scoffs.  We have surfed every day, we have had icecreams every day and we have had a lot of big bananas.  We even went to the porpoise pool today where magic happens so Kirst transformed her husband into a seal, and Woodley had a kiss from a dolphin and turned into a prince.

Con got to feed  Bucky the dolphin as he leapt into the air and then we all went to the point to catch some waves.

We have had great waves every day as you can see.

We also had a big newcombe ball contest playing last night in the dark because Arch wouldn't get out of the water at Arrawarra.  Kirst, Joan and Arch got up in a dodgey result so we had the rematch this morning and I can't remember who won.  Joan celebrated by doing the banana dance.

Well Ian Man and I turned up at Bonville Golf Course (the Aussie Augusta) on Wednesday morning not expecting much and were told it was $120 a round and you had to use carts because it was 11km to walk it on the paths.  Well you can imagine the course ate us up and E was so exhausted at the end I had to drive him home.  Anyway while we were busy competing in the US Masters the rest of the crew did a nice walk along the coast and ran into a fisherman who had just reeled in a big Aussie salmon and gave it to the boys as a present.  So we returned home to a big feed of fish that had been overcooked on the barbee and was pretty average, but the salad was good.

The boys did a great job of washing the car this week too, and if you look closely Nathanial was able to move the sponge without his hand! 

So it is now time to jump into our next adventure, and head to Evans Head.  It was a matter of tossing up which head we would head for as there are more heads along this coast then a guy could dream of.

Red Wok at Red Rocks

 Not only was there a very funny Chinese restaurant at Red Rocks but the beach is called Blueys!
We chucked the boards on the roof just before lunch and did a little adventure to suss out 3 different surf breaks that we had heard about- Woolgoolga, Arrawarra and Wed Wocks (say all them 5 times fast).

They are all just north of Emerald Beach where we are staying in a Big 4 resort style caravan park with all the extras, including very nice ensuites.  So we became Big 4 members and I am officially Dary Hall on the card.  Ian Man and Joanee have joined us again from Armidale and we are behind their caravan in the photo below.

Nathanial wants to be a professional tennis player and not go to school so Big E checked whether he had any talent, then we packed lunch and went off to Woolgoolga.

It was blowing an absolute Benny Gale at Woolgoolga and there was no swell on the protected point but the boys posed in front of the blue lighthouse and did the Karate Kid with Emerald Beach way in the background.

We had lunch at Arrawarra then hit the surf there, with nice 3 to 4 footers breaking off the point and plenty of dolphins around.  Joan and Nathanial decide not to get wet and Kirst forget her fins and therefore didn't domintae the waves as much as she would have.

The last spot today was Blueys which was really pretty and sadly a location where an aboriginal massacre occurred many years ago where they were forced off the cliff.

So to catch up on the last few days, we had a Big Saturday at Crescent Head, starting the day with all the crew in the water catching waves and Kirst counselling a salmon watcher in the surf, then Kirst beating us in a big game of bowls at the country club although Wooz was the stand out hitting the kitty relentlessly.  Then we played golf on the 6 holer which was on the cliff with amazing views, we even spanked a few balls out to sea and then the boys got some air, mountain biking down the last hole.  Then we hit Vick's Chinese at the country club in the Hall tradition and you can see Kirst very excited about the steamed rice.  

The rest of the crew were very happy for her.

We had the big bacon and eggs cook up the next morning for mothers day and the boys made a terrific card and breakfast menu.  We rang Nanny after that and then we took Joanee out for dinner at the Seaview in Woolgoolga and everyone toasted all the mums that we know and love. 

Then Monday we had a great walk down to Sandy beach and Arch and Wooz practiced their snorkelling in the pool and Nathanial practiced his yogic flying.

 Then we hit Coffs in the arvo for a major shop at the surf shop- Nathanial finally got a new scooter that noone else is allowed to ride, Wooz got his boardies, Arch and Kirst got wetsuit tops and I got Parko's book.  Then we had a ride on a motorised skateboard which is very cool and very expensive and then we hit Coffs golf course for 9 holes where Arch was the standout and my bag fell off the cart and the shaft on Richies driver snapped.  Should be fixed for tomorrow though when E and I take on Bonville.

In the meantime a big goodbye from Wed Woks.