Tuesday 12 October - Tweed Heads, the most northerly city in New South Wales

Tuesday 12 October: Jasper Hall to Cabarita Beach via Mullumbimby
Cycle Day no:
Total Day Tally:
Weather: a tiny bit of rain in the morning. Then cooler.
Terrain: Very very steep hill country at start, moderate hills in middle, and a12.5% hill at the end. Some of the toughest hills I have done with the trailer and bike.
Distance: 50km

The river level went down - 2km from Minyon Falls - after 5 days rain & we got away from Jasper Hall to Mullumbimby, linking up Rainforest Rescue u with Jasper Hall.

Learnt about the Australian Association for Bush Regeneration - AABR who have practical knowhow in rainforest resuscitation - an important skill since most red cedar forest was cut down under orders from Australian colonial governments. "You can have that land if you clear it" was the adage of the day. We hope to make links between them and Brazil and Sri Lanka.

Cycled back to Mullumbimby, to visit Mullum Mac to get a new backup hard drive for the computer, and then left via scenic old road to Cabarita beach, meandering through stunning verdant countryside and mixed forest, where wattle trees had been planted and cared for, leading to more variety in the forest, compared to so much of forest populated by Camphor Laurels. After settlers had felled all the red cedar and cleared the land, the birds spread the seed of the camphor laurel so widely that it has become a major shade tree, but also a major nuisance too.

Headed past abandoned railway route, and and over to Pottsvile and Cabarita beach where already Australia's unsustainable urban sprawl from Gold Coast can be seen, inexorably heading south, swallowing up pristine land in concrete. 1970s campsite set up in the 1970s by a Ken Hanson, big developer in the areas, later this year to be demolished for 3 storey apartment blocks. A shame. Camping next to a national park and the dunes, going to sleep to the sound of surf, and the small park very well tied, mowed and looked after by Brenda, who emigrated from Stockport, Manchester in 1966 and still has a strong Mancunian accent.

Cycle path northwards obstructed by more building works, building more houses jammed cheek by jowl, with little or no garden for growing edible plants. More tarmac, only a few singular bushes planted for effect rather than much thought about shade or nature.


Chris