We had an amazing Australian Christmas this year. We were spoiled by Keith and Micky who had arranged a very special celebration at their home in Bangalow, NSW. They have an amazing home and are great hosts so it was a treat to be invited to theirs for Christmas. Bangalow also has a great street party on Christmas Eve with a samba marching band and all! After a welcome cocktail (cosmo of course) we headed down to join the festivities and had a delicious dinner at Ate. On Christmas day there were a few sore heads but nothing that couldn’t be soothed by Mickey’s delicious Eggs Benedict. After a rest we all piled into the car to Broken Head for a picnic (a scrumptious smoked chicken and mango salad with champagne) and a swim. All in all a very memorable first Australian Christmas for Mark and I. Thanks boys!

After Christmas we went up to Dad’s property in the McKellar Range. The property hasn’t been lived on for fifteen years so it was a feat to make it up to the house. The land is completely overgrown and the driveway is not drivable. We were assailed by leaches and ticks but we made it anyway. We saw a snake and a lace monitor (big lizard) and several wallabies (like a small kangaroo) and met the old neighbors and we even arranged to have the driveway cleared for our next visit. The old house is a bit overrun by bamboo and vines and a small bat, and the workshop looks like it might make a decent shelter for us up there if we get new doors and windows put in it. The new (unfinished) house foundations look very solid still so we may have a start there.

Recognising that there was not a lot we could do at Dad’s place without at least a machete we took off to explore the beautiful region. We camped at Mt. Warning National Park which was a great base to explore from. We visited the Border Ranges, went to Minyon Falls and even got up at 4am to hike up Mt. Warning, which was incredible. The camp ground also gave us access to the region’s gorgeous beaches. A couple of our favourites are Brunswick Heads and Broken Head.

The region is so beautiful and is a foodie’s heaven. It is a rich agriculture belt where you can find delicious local coffee, macadamia nuts, mangoes and much more. We stopped at road side stalls and picked up supplies and visited many cafes – one gem we enjoyed was the Happy Dolphin Cafe in Brunswick Heads. The fresh fish cuisine had an Asian influence which is very prominent in a lot of Australian restaurants. The tastes are fresh and lively and work very well in the hot weather.

After a night back at home to dry out, we headed North for some hot NYE camping…

Christmas with Keith & Micky in Bangalow

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Dad’s Property

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Northern NSW

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