When my children were young, we often drove across the Queensland/NSW border for a weekend stay at one of the many motels in Ballina (northern NSW). It's been a few years since the last visit, so my partner and I made the journey last weekend, purely for sentimental sake!
First impression was the improvement of the highway - what used to be a three hour trek, now took us just under two. It's a quality stretch of freeway virtually all the way - bypassing the Gold Coast, Murwillumbah, Brunswick Heads and, when the works are complete, also Ballina.
Our abode for Saturday night was the three year old Ramada Hotel & Suites centrally located in the downtown area and right on the river's edge. As usual, we booked our accommodation at bargain rates through HotelClub and we weren't disappointed.
We were provided with a one bedroom riverview apartment on the fourth floor offering great views and extreme comfort. Not one, but, count them, yes two LCD screens to keep us entertained whilst Tiger Woods was hitting the greens at Melbourne for our viewing delight. The second screen was conveniently wall mounted opposite the queen bed....nice touch!
The Ramada is fairly stark in its decoration..it's decidedly minimalistic in design...but who cares about character...we prefer comfort, cleanliness and convenience over that attribute. The Ramada certainly scored in those areas.
Just up the road is an old favourite, the Ballina RSL Club. It was always a great place to hang out with a great open plan bistro area overlooking the river. Since our last visit the club has been overhauled very tastefully and the big open plan area is still a highlight.
On Sunday morning, after checking out and enjoying a gourmet breakfast at a nearby cafe, we drove to Byron Bay, another town we haven't visited for a number of years.
Every time we call at Byron Bay more disappointment sets in. Inner town parking is limited to one hour (except for an overcrowded paid car park) and strictly controlled by an ever present parking officer with chalk ready in hand. Luckily the shopping in Byron Bay isn't spectacular, so an hour was just enough for a browse and another coffee break.
The other big attraction ...visitng the lighthouse on Australia's most easterly point was another disappointment. It costs $7.00 just to park your car within walking distance of the lighthouse precinct. Talk about a rip-off!
Maybe some of that ill-gotten parking money could be spent on upgrading the one way access road - it looks like it hasn't been touched since the last time I travelled on it! After many decades it still ranks in the 'goat track' category.
So here's the summary...Ballina is still great. It's good for family holidays with an always beautiful river, good beaches nearby and still keeping that country town feeling. Byron Bay is a tourist hot spot, that doesn't really deserve to be. Sure it's got good surfing beaches (if you can find a spare spot on them on the weekends) but the town centre is over-rated and best avoided (mainly thanks to a backward thinking local council which appears to grossly dislike progress of any type)!
-Ren Zwiers
