Mother’s Day was a great excuse for a mini break. A chance for some family time away from the constant work of looking after a house and running a business. Time for change of scenery. We didn’t want to travel too far and Bellingen had been on my list of places to visit for a while! Just four hours easy drive from Byron Bay (if you don’t follow dodgy directions from Google Maps like we did and end up on a very questionable 4WD track!) and whilst similar, with completely different scenery and a much more autumnal feel to the seemingly perpetual summer in the bay. I didn’t even mind the endless rain on Mother’s Day it was so nice to enjoy the cosiness and colours of autumn.

Bellingen town itself is a perfect vintage village with homely country stores, combined with the perfect mix of a great pub and some more modern establishment selling great coffee and pricey but gorgeous homewares and fashion. Heaven! There are lots of places to sit outside in sunny weather and equally as many cosy corners to hide from the rain and cold. Being a fan of Doma in the Byron Hinterland we had to check out Qudo Cafe at the end of the main street. The Japanese and Japanese inspired food was just as good and the beautiful old double story house with verandah and view over the surrounding fields was perfect. Other places we loved were the Federal Pub (thanks Virginia and Mark!). Cafe No 5 and Hyde. A drive out of town to the Butter Factory to visit the cafe and artist’s quarters is also definitely worth the time.

BELLINGEN TOWN

QUDO CAFE

THE PROMISED LAND

One of the best names for a location and it certainly meets up to its name. We stayed in The Promised Land and enjoyed a beautiful view as we made our way to our accommodation on the first evening, with the sun streaming down through the gaps in clouds and setting the countryside aglow. I love the golden hour! The candy pink sunset skies were also breathtaking but sadly I didn’t have my camera with me (photographer’s worst nightmare!). There are some beautiful country roads winding through the near deserted forest and we took advantage of our napping toddler (a rare occurrence) to indulge in a little photo shoot.

THE PROMISED LAND RETREAT

We chose to stay at the gorgeous Promised Land Retreat which were perfect for our little family of three. We had a two bedroom cottage which came equipped with a kitchenette, loungeroom and lovely bathroom with spa just big enough for three. Whilst the interior of the cottages are very sparse this really lets the view of the stunning countryside outside shine. Sitting on the balcony or curled up on the couch watching the rain float down from the hilltop position was a real treat and a very relaxing way to while away some time.

When the rain finally did stop late in the afternoon we pulled on our rain jackets and gumboots and set about finding some puddles to jump in (well the toddler anyway!). The retreat is on beautiful, expansive grounds and we enjoyed visiting the resident horse, donkeys and chickens. There was a beautiful tree lined path at the entrance so playing with the autumn leaves was also a rare treat.

NEVER NEVER CREEK

Bellingen is renowned for it’s beautiful swimming holes and although too cold for swimming when we visited (it took some convincing to get the toddler to believe this!) they were still a lovely place to visit, paddle our feet and soak up the serenity. We visited a spot just down from the cottages on the Never Never Creek that I can imagine would be busy with bathers in the summer.

The next morning the sun was out and I stood on the balcony first thing in the morning marvelling at the amazing light streaming through the trees and creating beautiful patterns through the foggy fields. Up next on the blog our day exploring the rainforest and walking behind waterfalls at Dorrigo National Park.