Friday 30th March – An ATA Easter

Driving

Bronwen and I left home at 9:17 AM, drove 1 hour and 26 minutes to the Tweed Valley Service Centre, and then another 4 hours and 53 minutes to the ATA Campsite at Melaleuca Camping Area in the Limeburners Creek Nature Reserve, arriving at 4:48 PM. There was very limited mobile reception and we’d had some conflicting information on where the campsite was, but surprisingly, we managed to find it just fine.

Melaleuca Camping Area

We decided setting up a tent was too much effort, and opted to simply sleep in the car instead. We’d even brought a clever mosquito mesh and tape solution to allow the outside coldness in and prevent the inside hotness from being stuck in the car and sweltering us as we slept.

There was some acro, bushwalking, fire twirling, campfire-story-telling, and campfire food making.

Map: Brisbane to Limeburners Creek The beach near the campground Melaleuca Campground was busy Hannah and Ben practicing walking, sideways Bronwen helping Tim straighten Wendy Ben bending Hannah Wendy bending Bronwen Wendy helping Hannah see what it's like to be tall Tim shaping sunlight with Bronwen Bronwen lengthening Tim Wendy checking if Ben has anything in his pockets Hannah trying to conjure a wormhole Tim & Bronwen marking the spot while Hannah divines for it Bronwen lost beyond hope Hannah happy that she has found a rock Bronwen very excited with Hannah’s rock Hannah praying backwards Bronwen copying Hannah Ned being a hero & impressing Bronwen Bronwen enjoying the fire Ben & Tim being men and making fire for the women The very-manly camp oven Bronwen in the moonlight Bronwen summoning another dimension Wendy trying valiantly to contain her unexpectedly dangerous fire Wendy showing off Ben & Wendy making tunnels Ben explaining quantum physics Bronwen looking through time and space Hannah proving she’s the coolest one

Saturday 31st March – An ATA Easter

Surfing at Point Plomer

In the morning everyone went surfing at Point Plomer, apart from me because I’m boring, and my cameras aren’t waterproof.

Ned & the clever car window flyscreen Bronwen & the crew looking for sharks Ben pretending he’s surfing Ben trying this new “stick-surfing” thing Wendy dismounting from her ride

Climbing at Glenreagh

After surfing, Bronwen and I drove nearly 4 hours to Glenreagh, where after getting lost and lots of confusion we finally found Bronwen’s climbing friends deep in the bush at 4:40 PM, and Bronwen did some climbing. We had initially intended to camp the night with them, but access to the campsite required a 4WD, so we decided to head back down to the ATA campsite at Limeburners Creek. We arrived back at 11:20 PM, effectively missing out on the day.

Map: Limeburners Creek to Glenreagh Bronwen, Climbing at Glenreagh A view over to the campsite Bronwen, Climbing at Glenreagh Bronwen, Climbing at Glenreagh

Sunday 1st April 2018 – An ATA Easter

Surfing at the Campsite

All the people who weren’t scared of sharks went surfing at the beach near the campsite in the morning—and, surprisingly, weren’t eaten by any sharks.

Bronwen & Jacqui pretending there’s huge waves Jacqui & her surf-ballet Ben being all cool and surfer-like Ben & the unexpected forward motion Hannah & Wendy wondering what to do now there’s a wave Hannah & Wendy discovering what to do when waves come Wendy doing the “surf” thing Wendy realising she’s going the wrong way Wendy practicing surfer-sign-language Ben testing to see if he can surf sideways Ben’s board refusing to obey him Wendy a bit worried now she’s going fast Wendy escaping before it’s too late Jacqui manipulating food out of Wendy Tim making man-eggs

Flamingo Races at Crescent Head

After lunch—it being Easter—we all drove to Crescent Head so people could race their inflatable flamingos and unicorns.

Hannah & Bronwen practicing being cool Crescent Head Crescent Head Bronwen, Hannah, Tim & Wendy in the great Flamingo Race of Crescent Head Tim & Wendy proving unicorns do exist Bronwen overjoyed to find a real unicorn Bronwen & Jacqui wondering if their butts look big in this Bronwen & Jacqui happily floating out to sea Bronwen & Jacqui still happily floating out to sea Bronwen & Jacqui realising they’re actually kind of far out Bronwen riding to the rescue on her trusty unicorn Bronwen & Jacqui going out for more Bronwen & Jacqui discovering surfing flamingos is harder than it looks Bronwen & Jacqui & The Great Flamingo Chase The unicorn escapes! Bronwen & Jacqui fiercely fighting waves Bronwen & Jacqui taming their inflatable animals Jacqui wondering if women can ride flamingos Jacqui proving women can ride flamingos Jacqui realising she’s going quite fast Bronwen & Jacqui with their inflatable animals now well trained Jacqui’s flamingo is misbehaving The flamingo makes a run for freedom! Bronwen giving her unicorn a drink Bronwen riding her unicorn to safety Bronwen discovering the flamingo is faster Bronwen doing the flamingo wrong Bronwen happy she’s still alive Bronwen taming her unruly flamingo Jacqui pretty sure she’s going to die Jacqui now convinced she’s going to die, while Brownen appears to be actually dying Bronwen & Jacqui at peace with their inflatable animals Bronwen, Wendy, Jacqui, & Hannah pretending to be monkeys at Crescent Head Bronwen, Wendy, & Hannah monkeying it up Hannah, Bronwen & Ally pretending they’re still kids Bronwen, Hannah & Ally swinging Bronwen, Hannah, & Ally swinging worrying high

LED Twirling at Night

Unsurprisingly, there was some LED twirling at night.

Strong man food cooked man style Bronwen making many colours Bronwen circling Bronwen making more circles Bronwen making the most circles

Monday 2nd April – An ATA Easter

Walking at the Campsite

We went for a very early morning (5:45 AM) walk to watch the sunrise.

Bronwen, Wendy, & Hannah waiting for the sun to rise Bronwen & Wendy ignoring the mosquitos Bronwen amused The sun arises! Wendy, Hannah, & Bronwen watching the sun rise Ned & Bronwen blocking the sun for the others

The V Wall in Nambucca Heads

Bronwen and I left around 9:30 AM, stopping in Crescent Head along with the ATA people to get some breakfast, and then leaving Crescent Head at 11:20 and driving 92 km (1 hr 8 min) to Nambucca Heads, where we stopped for lunch at the V Wall, and had a quick look at the beach and the wall.

The V Wall, Nambucca Heads Bronwen, The V Wall, Nambucca Heads Escaped from Baulkham Hills, NSW 18,981 sunrises… Bronwen, The V Wall, Nambucca Heads Ned on a beach he used to play on when he was but a wee boy

Waterfall Way

After lunch we drove another 66 km (1hr 9min) towards Dorrigo and along the Waterfall Way, stopping at Griffiths Lookout at 2:15 PM, Crystal Shower Falls at 2:38 PM, The Dorrigo Rainforest Centre at 3:38 PM, and Dangar Falls at 3:54 PM.

Map: Nambucca to Dorrigo Map: Waterfall Way, Dorrigo Waterfall Way, Dorrigo Griffiths Lookout, Dorrigo Bronwen, Griffiths Lookout, Dorrigo Crystal Shower Falls, Dorrigo Crystal Shower Falls, Dorrigo Crystal Shower Falls, Dorrigo Crystal Shower Falls, Dorrigo Crystal Shower Falls, Dorrigo Bronwen, Crystal Shower Falls, Dorrigo Bronwen, Crystal Shower Falls, Dorrigo Bronwen, Dorrigo Rainforest Centre Bronwen, Dorrigo Rainforest Centre Dangar Falls, Dorrigo Bronwen, Dangar Falls, Dorrigo

Ebor Falls

After Dorrigo we detoured 50 km (47min) out west to Ebor, to have a look at the Ebor Falls. We arrived just on 5PM, so didn’t have much time before dark.

Map: Dorrigo to Ebor Falls Bronwen, Dorrigo Rainforest Centre Bronwen, Dorrigo Rainforest Centre Dangar Falls, Dorrigo Bronwen, Dangar Falls, Dorrigo Ebor Falls Ebor Falls Bronwen, Ebor Falls Bronwen, Ebor Falls Ebor Falls Bronwen, Ebor Falls Ebor Falls Ebor Falls Bronwen, Ebor Falls

Home

After it got dark we drove the remaining 420 km (5hr 21min) home—arriving home just before 11:30 PM.

Map: The entire journey Map: Limeburners Creek to Home Map: The entire journey Driving home from Ebor Falls