April 3

What a fabulous day! I lie in my bed, with Amber snuggled up at my side and it was just one of those days I had to feel thankful. My best friends and I have been swapping stories around the campfire and we almost mae it to 10pm! That's extremely late for camping.. even though it's NSW time and at home it's only 9!

We woke leisurely this morning to the intermittent sound of the pump, punctuated by bird calls. After weetbix and tea we slowly packed adn picked the owner's brains before we drove away. Nimbin is only 15km down the road and none of us have ever been there so we bet each other how many time we would be offered illegal substances, and headed off.

We drove through colourful streets where the locals matched the shop facades. Parking just through town we wandered back to the info centre and received expert advice about what to do in the area with kids. When we asked "where's good place to eat with kids?" the answer was, "you can't escape the smoking... this is Nimbin!". The original Rainbow cafe was recommended for lunch and it didn't disapoint. Staff and patrons were very friendly and the food was organic and excelent. This establishment is a co-op and established in 1973. In the gardens, a sandpit awaits little ones and nachos and smoothies hit the spot.

Also recommended came the candle factory, in the old butter factory building. This was an unexpected treat. When we arrived, the owner was busily ironing his candles (yes really!) which gives them a shine and smoothes the edges... he volunteered to show us the other candle-making processes and we really enjoyed learning about parafin by-products and watching how the wicks are lowered in to vats of hot wax (with heavy drips adorning the outsides).

It was quite a drive from here to Coffs Harbour so we got a wiggle on through Lismore,Woodburn and Grafton. We were staying at Moonee Beach, just 12km north of Coffs and this turned out to be a hidden secret well worth finding. The beautiful inlet welcomed us just as Lawree the owner did (with kids' colouring packs). We picked a spot well away from others (suprising at Easter) under shady trees then took our foling chairs and a beer to the beach and watch the kids play. Gavin and I took a short walk out to the ocean which was lovely in the early evening light.

Meatballs, an open fire and roasting marshmallows wrapped up a beautiful day. Amber wrote a note from the Easter Bunny for Kate (who is a veliever, and we settled in for the night.