North Haven to Byron Bay: Rainforest Walks, Surf and Whales on Our Australian Road Trip

Eat Clean, Health and Dream | Melbourne to Brisbane with Teenagers

Our Australian road trip was continuing north.

After Sydney, Port Stephens and North Haven, we were getting closer to somewhere I'd wanted to visit for years.

Byron Bay.

But first, there was another morning of sunshine, another unexpected swim and a rainforest waiting for us.

Sunshine, swimming and a bakery stop

We woke at North Haven Holiday Village to sunshine streaming through the cabin once again.

It was becoming a bit of a pattern on this road trip.

The weather seemed determined to give us beautiful mornings, even if we'd occasionally been caught in torrential rain later in the day.

Before packing the car, we wandered around the holiday park grounds.

And then, because we couldn't resist, I headed for the outdoor pool.

It was empty.

Completely mine.

So obviously I had to get in and the boys joined me.

There's something about having a pool almost entirely to yourself first thing in the morning that makes you feel like you've discovered a secret part of the holiday park.

After our swim, we got in the car.

But I wasn't quite ready to leave North Haven.

Albie had spotted a bakery café when we'd driven into the area the previous day, so naturally that had to become our next stop.

Coffee.

Something to eat.

And a morning wander along the waterfront.

Not a bad way to start another day on the road.

A rainforest stop on the road north

I'd already looked at the route and decided that rather than simply driving for hours, I wanted to build in a few places where we could get out and move.

The next stop I'd picked was Sea Acres Rainforest Centre near Port Macquarie.

And it turned out to be a brilliant choice.

The secluded location made it an easy place to park, stretch our legs and get the boys away from the car for a while.

Because, as much as teenagers can happily sit in a car with headphones, phones and snacks, they still need to get out and move!

The rainforest boardwalk winds through the lush surroundings, giving you the chance to experience a completely different side of Australia's east coast.

Entry was $10 for an adult and $5 for a child when we visited.

For the three of us, that made it a relatively inexpensive stop for something completely different.

Wildlife, wood carvings and a rainforest café

We didn't see loads of wildlife.

A few bush turkeys.

A lizard.

Some birds.

And probably plenty of creatures that were far better at hiding than we were at spotting them!

But the wildlife wasn't actually the only thing that made the walk worthwhile.

The boys became particularly interested in the wood carvings along the route.

It gave them something else to look out for and made the walk feel more interactive rather than simply "Mum wants us to walk through a forest."

There was also a rainforest café and a gift shop.

We resisted the temptation to buy anything—although there were plenty of books and things that caught our attention.

It was one of those stops that didn't take up the whole day but made the journey considerably more interesting.

And that was becoming my philosophy for this road trip.

Don't just drive from A to B.

Find something along the way.

Get out.

Walk.

Explore.

Eat.

Look around.

Then get back in the car.

Another long stretch north

Eventually, though, we had to keep moving.

Back onto the Pacific Highway.

Through Port Macquarie.

And onwards towards Coffs Harbour and further north.

This was another substantial chunk of driving—around four hours of car time for this section—but we'd broken it up with our rainforest stop and other little breaks.

That made such a difference.

Four hours sounds a lot when you're sitting looking at the route on a map.

But four hours broken up into smaller sections feels considerably more manageable.

And the scenery certainly helped.

We were heading further into the warmer, greener and more tropical-feeling part of the east coast.

And gradually, we were getting closer to Byron.

Finally…

Byron Bay

Byron Bay had been on my must-visit list for years.

I'd heard about it from friends.

Some friends actually live in the area. I'd seen the photos. Heard about the surf. The nature. The culture.

The lifestyle. The general Byron vibe.

And, like so many people, I was drawn to it.

As we got closer, I could see why.

There was something different about the landscape.

Greener.

More tropical.

Lush.

And that feeling that we'd entered somewhere with a strong sense of identity.

Our accommodation was booked for two nights at Ingenia Holidays Byron Bay.

https://www.ingeniaholidays.com.au/our-parks/new-south-wales/ingenia-holidays-byron-bay?utm_source=googlemybusiness&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=googlemybusiness&utm_term=park-listing

After our really positive experience with the holiday parks at Middle Rock and North Haven, I'd decided to use Ingenia again.

And wow.

It did not disappoint.

The cabin surprise

I'd booked a standard two-bedroom cabin.

What we were given was a two-bedroom superior.

I'm not going to complain about that!

And the setting?

Absolutely stunning.

The park was incredibly green and tropical, with our cabin feeling almost like it was tucked away in the bush.

It reminded me of somewhere Craig and I had stayed previously in Palm Cove in Tropical North Queensland.

The boys were immediately impressed.

And, thankfully, they wanted to explore.

After days of driving, having somewhere that actually felt like a destination rather than simply somewhere to sleep was a welcome change.

"A whale lover, I take it?"

When we checked in, I asked the receptionist what she recommended we do first.

She took one look at my tattoos and said:

"A whale lover, I take it?"

How did she guess?!

😂

She recommended heading up towards the lighthouse because the whales were on their southern migration.

Well.

That was enough for me.

"Boys, let's dump the stuff and head to the lighthouse."

Thankfully, both were happy with that plan.

We had two nights here.

We could unpack later.

There were whales to look for.

Byron Bay Lighthouse

We jumped back in the car and headed towards the lighthouse.

The drive up was beautiful.

And then, before we'd even reached the lighthouse itself, I spotted something that made me stop.

Surfers.

Down in the bay below.

Of course.

This is Byron Bay.

Surfing had been one of the things that had drawn me here in the first place.

When we reached the lighthouse, it was busy.

Very busy.

There wasn't a parking space immediately available, so I was chatting to the parking warden while looking out towards the ocean.

And then…

Two humpback whales breached.

Fully.

Followed by a tail slap.

I honestly couldn't believe it. After all that talk about whales. After driving all the way up here.

After the receptionist had sent us to the lighthouse specifically because of the migration.

There they were.

Right in front of us.

It was one of those completely unplanned travel moments that you can't manufacture.

I turned to the boys.

"We're coming back first thing tomorrow."

Because if we'd seen two whales and a tail slap within minutes of arriving, I wasn't taking any chances.

Back to Byron for supplies

Still in awe, we headed back down towards town.

We needed food supplies, so Woolworths became our next stop.

One thing about travelling with teenagers:

The food supply is never optional.

We picked up what we needed and headed back to the cabin.

The boys wanted to explore the playground and pool before darkness arrived.

And after another big day of driving, walking and exploring, I was more than happy to let them.

It was nice to have somewhere we could actually stop for a couple of nights.

No packing everything back into the car the next morning.

No checking out.

No driving.

Just a chance to settle in.

A different pace

This was the point in the road trip where things started to feel a little different.

We weren't simply moving north anymore.

We'd reached somewhere I'd wanted to experience for years and I was doing it with my boys.

We had two nights.

We had a beautiful cabin surrounded by greenery.

We had a pool.

We had surf.

We had the lighthouse.

And apparently, we had whales.

The boys were beginning to understand why I'd wanted to come here.

And I was already wondering what the next morning would bring.

Because we'd seen two humpbacks from the lighthouse.

But I had a feeling Byron Bay wasn't finished with us yet.

Next morning: an early start, whales, more of Byron Bay and the continuing journey north towards Brisbane.

And perhaps, if I'm lucky, even a chance to get in the water myself.