Casino to the Gold Coast

Lunatic Hotel, Drake, NSW

Our trip to Casino was only 124 km but it took two hours as the road was very hilly and winding although very pretty.  We stopped for a break at Drake where we saw an interesting hotel/shop/laundromat/cafe etc. named the Lunatic Hotel. This is a very popular destination for bikers as there is suitable accommodation along this ideal road for the motorbike fraternity.
We then crossed the longest De Burgh timber truss bridge in NSW at Tabulam. The single lane bridge was built in 1902.
Casino was celebrating ‘Beef Week’ which began at Evans Head where they have ‘Beef meets Reef’. We drove to the coastal town and enjoyed the festivities of the market day and street parade.

Nimbin Museum

Another day was spent driving to Kyogle and then to Nimbin, the most notorious hippie village in Australia. Famous for its alternative life-styles, Nimbin is a very interesting town with many different shops, smells and people. We visited the Nimbin Museum with a great collection of items which tell the story of the aborigines, pioneers, hippies and drugs in this area. Another interesting building in Nimbin is the Hemp Embassy, originally in the museum building but is now across the street. The Hemp Embassy is devoted to ending the illegality of cannabis use.


Lismore, NSW

After wandering and absorbing the atmosphere of Nimbin (but nothing illegal) we continued on our round trip via Lismore, a city with a large shopping area and some old buildings before returning to Casino.
Our departure from Casino was delayed while we had ‘Breakfast with the Butchers’ in the main street. Free steak and sausage sandwiches and milk were supplied by the local butchers and milk company and many organisations had stalls and other activities including cow milking competitions and cow-pat lotto. The locals dressed in Aussie related costumes and shops were decorated in Aussie themes.

We left Casino and made our way to the Gold Coast of Queensland passing through Clunes and Bangalow and by-passing Byron  Bay, Mullumbimby, Murwillumbah, Tweed Heads and Coolangatta before arriving at Helensvale.
Bus transport was used to get around the Gold Coast area as parking the ute would have been impossible. While in this area we went to Australian Outback Spectacular, a great show and dinner, and also had a lunch cruise with friends around the canal system where we viewed the homes and boats of the rich and famous.







Gold Coast, Qld