A wonderful thing about writing

One of the wonderful things about writing is that it can be done anywhere, and the best places are often away from the office. I hooked up with a colleague from Oz this last week to work on an article we’ve had in the pipeline all year and need to get finished. It rained incessantly for the first few days in northern NSW so all remaining data got analyzed pdq! But even writers have to eat and exercise.


When the rain finally took a break, so did we. An early morning walk took us around the long sweeping curve of the beach from Belongil to Byron Bay, then wound uphill to the lighthouse at the eastern most point of the enormous island that is mainland Australia.

Spring is post-natal season for the Cetacean order, so we stopped frequently to gawp at passing whales, dolphins and a white pointer shark! Probably just as well I didn’t actually see the white pointer when it passed within 10 feet of the flimsy sea kayak I was trying to keep upright on pretty workable surf! The break ended with lunch and a wee bit of indulgence at Fishheads, a café overlooking the beachfront car park.

It’s a perpetual season here, for 1970s hippy VW Combis to rub bumpers with late model yuppy jeeps owned by the country’s rich and famous, who inhabit the fabulous houses and patronize the elegant shops and restaurants hereabouts.