The CrossingWest Ballina To Byron Bay
Byron Bay And The Final Seven
The final seven days began with a daylight start, a cruisy 35.7 km into Byron Bay, coffee at Macadamia Castle, and two more memorable chats.
The final seven days started with a very unfamiliar achievement: sleeping past 4 am.
I still woke just before four, but forced myself back to sleep and managed another hour. Starting in daylight felt strange after so many extreme early starts. The 50-plus-kilometre days were finished. From here it would be a shorter, more zig-zaggy week at a super-easy pace, as long as I did not get too complacent.
There was still plenty happening in my head. The final state border was getting close, and I was already trying to work out how people might join me for the last few kilometres into Brisbane. The rough aim was to reach the South Bank parkrun start line at around 3 pm on Thursday, then return for a five-kilometre lap at 7 am on Saturday.
First, though, I had to get to Byron Bay.
A Pacific Highway sign near West Ballina put Byron Bay 32 kilometres away and Brisbane at 182. The first session took me north through Cumbalum towards Knockrow, where Macadamia Castle provided coffee, a castle and a giant knight.
As I was finishing my coffee, I got chatting to Bruce and Graeme. They were heading back to Port Macquarie after spending some time on the Gold Coast, and asked how they could support HAA. So of course they had to be subjected to a selfie to give them a reason to visit the Facebook page.
From Knockrow the route became properly zig-zaggy, leaving the highway for green hills and back roads on the way towards Suffolk Park and Byron Bay.
As I made my way down towards Byron Bay, I came across Dan taking photos of the stunning views. A quick hello turned into a great chat. It was lovely to meet him, and I was looking forward to seeing the results on Dan Mahony Photography.
That simple encounter has stayed with me as a strong and happy memory. Human contact really can be more important than we sometimes realise.
Then I reached Byron Bay, or Influencer and Celebrity Central 😆
It had a great hippy vibe, and there was plenty to look at as I made my way through town. I never did make it out to the lighthouse, though. That is something I still need to rectify.
The final session took me through town and into Discovery Parks Byron Bay, where we stayed that night.
Three sessions gave me 35.7 kilometres for the day. A cruisy 35 kilometres or so 😆
That evening I updated the tracking spreadsheet and it showed 5,399 kilometres. The official HAA distance had always been quoted as 5,400 kilometres, so by my reckoning I only had to walk one kilometre the next morning and then get a bus :)
Images From The Day
