Oh Bello you have been so good to us it’s hard to say goodbye! This place is an organic foodies dream and everybody is just soooo friendly! I’m not sure if it’s because travelling I have such a shorter list that I can relax and enjoy having conversations with strangers or if people here are just more open to conversing but I feel like I’ve made more friends in our few days here than I have in months at home! What a breath of fresh air! Arriving here was exactly that – a breath of fresh air. Comfortable fresh air. Because I can’t deny the parallels between here and home. Ah but we are creatures of habit aren’t we?
Our first stop was the Showgrounds to set up camp under the shady camphor laurels. If you’re planning a trip to Bellingen you really can’t go past the Bellingen Showgrounds for accomodation. $10 a night and right beside the river and a short walk into town. It’s super family friendly and pretty much everyone that was staying there had kids and everyone formed a kind of informal Showgrounds crew who would all go for swims at the river together. Once we’d settled in I couldn’t wait any longer to jump on the bike and go check out the Bellingen community gardens which is just around the corner, and what a PARADISE! It’s like stepping into the garden of Eden!
The garden is definitely wild, with that “uncultivated abundance” feeling that actually takes true forethought and design to create. It’s my favourite kind of garden. The winding paths meander through forests of mugwort, motherwort, stem lettuce, kept shady and cool by overhanging bananas and mulberry. Everything looks like it’s happy and thriving and our favourite part of all was the human-friendliness of the garden. There’s art and sculptures wherever you turn, a big outdoor kitchen and a beautiful stage decorated with an incredible eagle sculpted out of scrap metal and surrounded by a grassy amphitheatre perfect for picnic performances. There’s no allotments in the garden, just show up and pitch a hand where it’s needed! We were lucky enough to be there at the same time as some regular members whose one complaint was that they wish more people would come and harvest so the food doesn’t go to waste. Well you don’t have to tell me twice! We harvested chocolate sapotes, pepinos, cooking greens, salad leaves, and tomatoes by the bucketfuls! If you don’t have time to volunteer your energy you can leave a fair donation instead in exchange for produce.
Bellingen is also blessed with some amazing places to eat, my favourite being the hearthfire organic bakery where we bought freshly baked spelt sourdough and strawberry chocolate tarts. Because how can you say no?
There’s also a really fabulous whole foods store which has such fairly priced organic food. It’s a really picturesque spot overlooking the river and with food growing out of the front of the store and a deck where locals come and jam together. Actually I was really impressed with just how much food there was growing on the streets in Bello. There’s greens and herbs at the doctors clinic, a massive grapevine growing over the brewery and flowers and veggies in garden beds all up the mainstreet of town. Not to mention the suburbs which are full of chickens, goats and rambling vege gardens sprawling onto the sidewalk.
Although Bello has definitely been hit by the hipster bomb it still retains this really authentic country charm. There’s locals riding horses in the river and mud-caked utes make up a worthy percentage of the vehicle population!
The town is also just oozing with culture, there’s art on every street and a busker at every corner. The trees are full of crochet and God’s Eyes and there’s definitely no shortage of cafe concerts. The town also has some really great intitiatives, like a weekly class held by the local indigenous custodian to come and learn the local language, a free book-swap library and the awesome “cupboard of plenty” where you can donate food when you’re in abundance and take food when you need it. How fantastic!
And last but not least I have to give thanks for the BEAUTIFUL waterholes and river spots around the area. Being able to walk down to the Bellinger River whenever we need to cool off is such a blessing and we were lucky enough to be taken to some jaw dropping swimming spots alongside the Never-Never creek, with crystal clear water, abundant fish and plenty of ochre. It fills my heart with such joy to see Yilla growing up experiencing these pristine places of natural beauty and barely touched wilderness. We will definately be coming back to Bellingen again, and again, and again.
Food Oasis 