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RCI + Me = Inspirational!

Michael Chai

RCI Membership No: 045055123

Michael and spouse, Kenny at Point Danger, Tweed Heads

We began our Gold Coast holiday arriving at Coolangatta on October 18, 2009. It was a beautiful scenic drive to Cabarita Beach and Tamarind Sands was a lovely and comfortable holiday apartment that we checked in.

On Day 2, we began our sight-seeing of the Gold Coast visiting the nearby attractions all of which were fun and enjoyable beginning with the miniature horse farm at Crystal Creek, the lookout at Point Danger in Tweed Heads and hunting for CHEAP macadamia nuts at the vegetable markets. This time around we skipped visiting the theme parks but could not resist the riverside seafood barbeque restaurants, eating fesh barramundi fillets and calamari rings (We brought our own bottle of Maggi chilli ketchup). There were also whale-watching cruises, Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, David Fleahy Wildlife Park, Tropical Fruit World and Catch-a-Crab at Oyster Bay Farm. Many of these had quite high ticket entry prices and/or entry at certain hours / prior bookings and so we passed over some of these but there was still a lot to see.

Truly Inspirational

By Day 4, we were looking for more places to visit.

"What are some OTHER places to visit?" we asked at the front desk at Tamarind Sands.

"Have you been to Byron Bay? There is a really nice lighthouse."

It was a really long drive to Byron Bay (about 100 kilometres) but with a whole day to enjoy, we could afford the longer drive. We left early on October 21 planning a first stop at Crystal Creek. On the way, my wife (Kenny) was entranced with the lavender trees which were in full bloom. They were really beautiful and was something you could not find back home.

We spent 2 hours at Crystal Castle in Mullumbimby looking at the many crystal specimens and fairy figurines before continuing on to Byron Bay.

Byron Bay is a small coastal town sitting on a headland and a winding road led to the lighthouse. It was a hot sunny day but as soon as we got out of our car, we were buffeted by the strong sea breezes that blew continuously even at high noon.

We saw the lighthouse in the distance and began to walk towards it, enjoying the strong sea breezes in the midday sun. As we neared the lighthouse with the sea breezes blowing on our faces and through our hair, we heard the thunderous sound of waves crashing against the coast.

But none of these gave us a clue of the sight that greeted us as we crested the top of the cape.

Australia's eastern-most point

If you thought of places in the world where you would feel the presence of God, Byron Bay would be one of them.

We walked on to the edge of the headland, the eastern most point of Australia. We spent more than an hour gazing down on the turbulent sea waves and breathing in the freshness of the sea breezes.

A path led down right to the edge of the sea for the more adventurous but we stayed at the top enjoying the breath-taking view for as long as we could.

Byron Bay was the high point of our trip and that view alone was worth our holiday cost.