We had only driven through Ballina in a distant memory without stopping to look around and absorb the town. We had not realised quite how big a town it actually is. Despite losing most of a day to rain, we really enjoyed our visit – great beaches, historic buildings, an unforgettable maritime museum, and an excellent walk to Lennox Head, a lovely town with a great holiday atmosphere.
Getting There
We were Ballina for 3 nights from 28th to 31st March.
We live in Kingscliff but had been in Evans Head for 3 nights prior to this. So it was only 41 Km to Ballina, then 81km to get home.
Kerry’s snippets in fuchsia
History
First Nations
Ballina, together with Evans Head, is of major cultural and historical significance for the Bandjalang People and wider Bundjalung Nation. This stretches from Ballina, west to Casino and south to Iluka.
Dirawong Reserve is regarded as one of the last intact coastal cultural landscapes for First Nations people in NSW. It is the subject of a complex series of spiritual/creation stories and therefore of spiritual significance for local descendants of First Nation people.
It is a tragic fact that the Evans Head and Ballina areas are renowned for a number of brutal massacres of First Nations people by British colonialists.
To read more on the history of the First Nations people click here.
Colonial History
It wasn’t until 1828 Captain Henry Rous aboard the HMS Rainbow discovered and named the Richmond River. Until then the River entrance was well concealed.
Families harvesting cedar were the first colonials to settle on the Richmond.
To read more on the colonial settlement, click here.
Day 1 – Tue 28 March 2023 – To Ballina
Given how close we were to Ballina, I began the day with a morning morning walk along the main beach for 4km and return. A lovely way to start the day.
We took our time packing up as it was only a 41km drive. We got to the the Discovery Park at 10:20 and they checked us in after making sure our site did not need mowing. On the way to the site we stopped to ask the gardener for further directions. We made the usual joke about having to back the van in and he said he would come and guide Kerry in. I watched in wonder. He got the van perfectly lined next to the concrete slab first time, making it look so simple. Easy to follow directions make a difference.
After setting up, lunch and a short siesta, we went into town to the tourist information office. A very helpful young woman soon had us heading in the right direction. We started with the Norton Street Heritage Trail. The first building was just across the road from the Office – the beautiful Riversleigh. It was built in the late 1880s. After a chequered life the building was in a poor state and, thankfully was restored in 2000. Some of the buildings are truly amazing… I would never have guessed that Ballina would have so many stunning buildings.
About half way down Norton St is the Ballina Manor, which started life as a girls’ school in 1925. But it was only a school for 5 years – a victim of the depression. It was used as a guest house, holiday rooms and finally a retirement centre. In 1999 the building was bought and restored. it is now a boutique hotel and restaurant.
Along Norton St were a number of heritage homes but for most the history was not kept.
We drove down to the main street and walked through the area. The Court House is magnificent. The original Courthouse of 1867 burnt down in 1881 and was replaced by this current one in the Italianate style in 1882. It is in between the Post Office and the Police Station. It was once the Post Office.
After that we check out the waterfront, then did some shopping and returned to the van.
Day 5 – Wed 29 Feb – Naval and Maritime Museum
It was a miserable morning and rained virtually all day. A good time to go look at the Naval and Maritime Museum. This is a self funding not for profit organisation run by volunteers.
A major feature is the Las Balsa raft which occupies considerable floor space just inside the door. This is a composite of the remains of the three rafts which journeyed from Ecuador to Ballina in 1973. The aim of the expeditions was to prove that the Pacific Islands could have been populated by migrations from South America in the centuries before the Spanish Conquistadors arrived.
Between 1966 and 1973, Spanish explorer Vital Alsar led three expeditions to cross the Pacific Ocean by raft – La Pacífica in 1966, La Balsa in 1970 and Las Balsas in 1973. Travelling from Ecuador, South America, to Australia, the first expedition failed, but the second and third succeeded, both setting the record for the longest known raft voyages in history – 13,800km and 14,000 km respectively. The raft is massive and includes the tall mast and sail.
The following photo tells the story of the rafts construction. Other photos of the raft follow that. Again, who would have thought that this treasure is here…
In order to avoid the rafts being damaged by the surf during landing at Ballina, the expedition accepted a tow by HMAS Labuan as they approached the coast. While under tow, a storm hit. Being close to shore it was decided for safety reasons to release Guayaquil, its crew being taken aboard the Navy ship.
The remaining two rafts were then landed in Ballina. They arrived on 21 November 1973. After 14,000 km and 179 days at sea the crews were given a heroes’ welcome. Amazingly all three rafts had managed to stay within sight of each other during nearly all of the trip.
To read more on this amazing voyage, click here.
The quantify and detail of material available in the museum is quite staggering. It probably needs a space 3 or 4 times its current to adequately provide opportunities for people to see everything. The museum has an unparalleled model collection of ships, galleons, yachts, warships and merchant ships, some up to 3.5 meters long. Here are a few photos.
The rain continued for the rest of the day so we spent that time in the van. This museum is an absolute must-see for everyone.
Day 6 – Thursday 30 March – Ballina to Lennox walk
The rain had eased overnight so I decided to do the East Ballina to Pat Morton Lookout at Lennox Head. Kerry would follow later and we would have a look around Lennox Head. The distance stated in the brochure was 8.1km. But I would be starting at the van park so would travel a little further.
There were no signs or any other markings to get you onto the right path. Luckily there were quite a few people around so I could ask them. I started on the walkway at the edge of the park and followed that to the sea rescue building, where there is access to the northern breakwater, then to Ballina Head Lookout.
There are great views down to Lighthouse Beach and the breakwater to the south, and Shelly Beach to the north. The Lighthouse is also very pretty. The track from here is a wide paved road through the coastal scrub.
The next beach to the north is the long Angels Beach. Walking past this the track changes – in fact the are a number of tracks in parallel. I choose the more natural track rather than the bitumen. It is a lovely beach – the lookout is about half way along. There, the pathway is on constructed paving.
The next beach is Flat Rock, with a rock platform about half way along. Whites Head is on the northern end.
Sharpes Beach is another long one, with a dramatic headland at its northern end. This is where the coastline became more dramatic with rocks and cliffs providing great views. Skennars Head provides some lovely views back down to Sharpes Beach and along the rocky edge to the beach.
Crossing Skennars Head you can progressively see Lennox Headland in the distance. Some good shots.
Next is the Iron Peg – a dramatic rock column at the northern end of Skennars Head.
Then there is Boulder Beach – well named as you can see.
From Boulder Beach the trail spans a wetland where there is a elevated pathway to get to Lennox Head.
The walk to the top of Lennox Head is steepish. I mostly walked near the cliff edge rather than the track.
Then crossing the headland – which is under repair from erosion with the cliff edge fenced off – there are lovely views down to the town and beyond.
Kerry was at Pat Morton Lookout when I got there. It is a great place to just sit and watch the views.
We drove down to Lennox and walked around the town and inspected the long beach extending up to Byron.
We really like the town – it was very busy and had much to offer.
We drove down to Lake Ainsworth. This is one of the few freshwater lowlands dual lakes in NSW. Read all about it.
On the way back to Ballina we stopped at Boulder Beach to show Kerry – lovely views.
At the Lighthouse Beach lookout we say a few pods of dolphins playing in the waves. So many dolphins we stayed and watched them for a while.
Later we walked out to the Northern Breakwater.
Day 7 – Friday 31 March – Drive home
We got an early start on the Friday and were home quickly. We quickly unpacked the van and put it back in storage.
To see photos from this post, click here.