On our drive from Hervey Bay to Brisbane the highway and the capital city were enveloped in smoke. Several fires were burning along the sunshine coast and inland. With sorrow we were following the sad news coming out of NSW where over a million hectares of land, many properties and tragically also human lives were lost. We were just grateful that so far our family and friends have not been affected. 
We had some business to attend to in Brisbane, but more importantly caught up with Austins cousin Richard and his beautiful family, including new editions Lily and Tristan. We also saw our boating friends Sandra and Reg, and longtime friends Gisela and Rod at their new home in Broadbeach.
As major fires were still roaring less than 100 km south of the NSW boarder, we decided to pace ourselves and headed to the nearby town of Tyalgum in the Northern Rivers region. The steep, tightly winding road led through some beautiful rainforest. Every bend presented us with spectacular views over rural valleys and forested mountains, including the majestic Mt. Warning, now unfortunately veiled in smoke. 
Tyalgum is so small, it could easily be overlooked. But it is a charming place which has retained its old lovingly restored weatherboard houses. There is a gorgeous café called “Flutterbies" set in a covered laneway and garden surrounded by a bakery, coffee roasters and gift shop. Recently more small boutiques and a market place selling clothing, jewellery, and books have been added. It’s a great place to browse.
We camped on the local show ground. A mural on the side of the grounds canteen featuring the “Red Baron" intrigued us. “Watch out it’s the vun from Tyalgum”, it said. It turns out that an Aussie gunner called Cedric Popkin was actually the one who fired the decisive shot which brought down the infamous Manfred von Richthofen. 
And it so happened that the same Popkin after being injured in the war became the postmaster of the little town of Tyalgum! If you wonder, like I did about the word “vun”, it's meant to be how Germans pronounce “one”.
Well, we loved the place but having exhausted its sites and history we moved on to Murwillumbah, another charming place in the Northern Rivers region. Surrounded by sugar cane it is only natural to have a distillery. 
It is called “Husk Distillers”and produces agricole rum, a rum made from the fresh sugar cane juice instead of the usual molasses. What attracted us was their main product, a blue gin called “Ink". The addition of the butterfly pea, an asian flower, is responsible for the blue colour of the gin which turns lilac when tonic is added. Apparently, the butterfly pea flower has medicinal properties and helps to protect skin against premature ageing! That was a good enough reason for me to try an “Ink & Tonic”! At $89 a bottle Aussie refused to buy one and recommended instead to purchase some butterfly pea tea at the next health food shop. For extra anti-oxidants one can always visit the local “Mandurah Tea” plantation.
A must in Murwillumbah is to visit the modern Tweed Regional Gallery. Built in 2004 it really showcases the regions beauty with fantastic views from each of its windows. The museum is small, but one of the most interesting art galleries I have seen. A huge draw card is the 2014 addition of the Margaret Olley Art Centre. 
It not only displays many of her and her friends Fred Jessups still lifes, but also houses the exact recreation of her Paddington home and studio. Margaret Olly was born in Lismore and had spent her childhood and primary school years in Murwillumbah. It was her wish to have all her artefacts and household items, many featuring in her still lifes, brought here. It took a whole year just to catalogue the content of her Paddington house and register their exact position within the rooms. In spite of the crammed chaos, I find the rooms warm and homely. I don’t know though, if I would have been game to attend one of her famous dinner parties!
She loved to cook, but was also known to mistaken the turpentine bottle for the vinegar, easy to imagine seeing paints and brushes in between kitchen utensils. Apparently Margaret Olley never used an easel but painted on a hard board in whatever room had the “right light”.
One of our little excursions from Murwillumbah brought us to Fingal Bay and Fingal Head, a magic spot overlooking the “causeway”, named after the "Giant Causeway" in Ireland. The unusual basalt rock formations were the result of cooling and contracting lava following vulcanic eruptions. Fingal Head separates two beautiful beaches and is adorned with cotton palms, probably the only trees which could withstand the fierce local winds. 
The temperatures finally cooled down and clouds appeared bringing some much needed rain. The following morning the smoke was almost gone and we moved a little further south to Mullumbimby. Here the street scene is definitely hippyish. Flowing Indian dresses, interesting tatttoos and dreadlocks are the norm, even with the over 50s.
Due to its large perimeter while being only sparsely populated, Mullumbimby is Australia's biggest small town. It is a good starting point for visiting other beautiful places, like for example Brunswick Heads, made special because our son-in-law, Luke, grew up there. The surf outside the heads was quite rough but was ideal for local kite surfers. Families with small kids found the banks of the estuary river a safer alternative. On the terrace of the Brunswick Hotel, formerly owned by Luke's grandparents, we enjoyed a delicious, relaxed lunch. Today has been another hard day for us, soaking in the sunshine and holiday atmosphere of Byron Bay!
