Through my Lens – Northern New South Wales

In the past week I have received many new followers to my blog, particularly since the posts I have put up about my son and depression.
For those that have followed me for some time, this post will not seem out of the ordinary however those that are new may find it interesting that on a blog about finding the beauty in life and living with depression, there is a photography post.
The reason for this is simple.
As part of learning to live with depression myself, I have found that taking time to do the things I enjoy is an important step to living a joy-filled life. Photography (and craft and sewing) are a part of this.
Each Sunday, I do a “Through my Lens” post about some of the road trips I have undertaken in the past. So please, come with me as I travel the roads of Australia. 🙂
When we travel, I always have a camera either in my lap or in my bag near my feet. It is not always my DSLR. Generally it is my little point and shoot. The reason for this is because when I am snapping from the car, I have no time to set up my shots. The point and shoot is perfect for this.
Of course the Garden Gnome is wonderful and would pull over if I asked him to (and he has on many  occasions) but there would be no progress made if I was asking him every 10 minutes to pull over. Hence, many photos are shot from the moving car. These aren’t technically perfect but they tell a story of our travels.

In my last TML post, we had driven through Byron Bay. These photos are taken as we continued travelling south along the old coastal road. These days there is a time saving bypass highway but since we had time, we took the ‘slow road’.
After Byron Bay, we passed through Lennox Head. I don’t think I’ve ever been there before and found it such a pretty seaside town. Just outside of town, there was a lookout that appeared to be quite popular. We were lucky to find a parking spot and spent a lovely half hour there joining many others who were watching the surfers on the break below or looking out to sea in hopes of spotting a Humpback Whale on its northern migration. We were lucky to spot both (although I only managed to photograph the surfers). The whales were quite a distance out and didn’t advertise the times they chose to breach or spout water.
Whilst I was content with taking photos and sitting in the sun, the Tween and the GG walked higher up the hill to another lookout. I did wander a little way down the path that the surfers take to reach the waves below and stopped to watch a Blue Wren and his harem for a short while but he too was too quick for my camera.
Our next stop was in Ballina. We had seen signs about a lighthouse and followed them until we found it. The Tween and I instantly fell in love with this little lighthouse situated on a hill behind the beach. It was literally in the front yard of a home and the children were all out playing around it. You can judge its size by this photo of the Tween and GG standing in front of it.
As we continued down the coast, we passed rivers and cane fields and realised just what a beautiful part of the country this is.
At times, we would be driving with cane fields on one side of the road and a river on the other.
As the afternoon wore on and the shadows lengthened we turned inland onto the bypass highway in order to reach our destination of Coffs Harbour by nightfall, sadly bidding farewell to the beautiful Northern Rivers of New South Wales.
Of course I took a lot of other photos and I will put these into a gallery for you to see as well.

I hope you enjoyed travelling along with me. Next week, we will be in Coffs Harbour which is one of my most favourite towns on the coast of NSW.
Have a blessed day.