On our last day in Ballina we decided to cycle to a nearby (or so we thought) beach where dogs were allowed as Monty could not go on the beach at the site. We have always wondered just how far our electric bike batteries would go and we very nearly found out. We thought it was only down the road so popped Monty in his trailer and set off. We seemed to cycle for hours alongside the Richmond River passing the tiny little post office and not much else. When we finally arrived we realised we had cycled 18km in the baking sun and had to do the same to get back, when we finally limped back into the caravan site we didn't have a bar of battery life left on our displays between us!   
Next morning we packed up and drove south for around three and a half hours until we reached our next destination the beautiful Grassy Head Hideaway. We were staying here for a couple of nights as it is pretty much halfway home. It is a glorious place to stay, there are three villas set in gorgeous tropical gardens with a pool and balconies in the tree tops. The Hideaway is also in the middle of a great spot for day trips out. 
We started with Stuart's Point which is quite unusual in that the beach is reached by a long walk across a bridge over a waterway. It was a very pleasant little town with pretty parkland stretching the length of the waterfront and a caravan park. 
Next stop was South West Rocks which is a beautiful town, much bigger than Grassy Head or Stuart's Point and is made up of two bays, Trial Bay (named after a wrecked ship) and Horseshoe Bay. There are plenty of shops and cafes there and, at the time of our visit, a vintage caravan muster was taking place. The caravans were fantastic, lovingly restored and towed by cars of the same period driven by owners wearing clothes of a similar vintage to complete the look.
Nearby was Smoky Cape with its wonderful lighthouse which operates a small guest house. My sister Gill stayed there a number of years ago and says it was glorious to sit having breakfast watching dolphins frolicking around the rocks below.
The last stop before our journey home was Hat Head, as we drove there we passed field after field of cows each with their own group of attendant egrets. I have heard people raving about Hat Head but I was not so keen. Again a caravan site seemed to have control of all of the waterfront and had put lots of rules in place which I found a bit tedious. It is a very small town indeed and the general store was the usual mix of petrol station, grocery store, ironmongers, chemist, cafe and take away restaurant.
On the way home we took a quick detour via Taree to see the Big Oyster, it is now home to a car dealership but a pretty good Big Thing all the same.