The rain that had barely stopped for the past couple of days looked like it might finally be subsiding as we hit the road and headed north once again.
On the way to Bellingen we took a detour from the highway to the South West Rocks area. We visited the Trial Bay gaol which was built to house inmates who were to build a breakwater designed to make the bay into a safe haven for the ships that plied the east coast in the late 1800s. However, by all accounts the prison was a bit like a holiday camp for the convict convicts ;-). Body boarding was a popular pastime, and the breakwater project was soon abandoned. In those days it seems that horse stealing was the most popular way to get a free holiday, although refusing to pay for drink also carried a 3 month sentence. The prison was later used to house Germans living in Australia when the first world war broke out. Once again it didn't seem that conditions were that harsh.
Bellingen is not your typical Neighbours or Home & Away type Australian town. Walking down the main street feels like stepping into the past; no big chains have shops here but there are nice butchers, bakers and an organic supermarket. The hostel where we stayed had a balcony that overlooked the river. In the late afternoon, loud brightly coloured birds filled the trees near by and at dusk 1000s of flying foxes could be seen flying down the river.
