We had heard about Bellingen from other travellers when we were in Murwillumbah. The guys we spoke to said they are quite similar towns and that we should definitely visit Bellingen if we got the chance. As we enjoyed chilling in Murwillumbah we decided it would be worth checking out. It is also nice to have a change from beach towns every now and then otherwise you stop appreciating all the gorgeous beaches!
True to form, Bellingen is a small, but very friendly, rural town with not a lot in it. Although it did have 3 butchers which is bizarre for such a small town. It is quite a hippy town and has a very laid back relaxed feel about it. The hostel is also very chilled and has some strange exhibits in jars with skeletons of dead poisionous animals found on the premises to a wall of naked photographs taken of backpackers (not us! – Jo) at a local resort. The hostel is located in the heart of the town and over looks the valley and the river. It was a lovely view. The hostel also has its own chooks (chickens) which lay eggs that can be bought at the hostel. The chooks are “punk chooks” and have punk rocker feathers on their head and feet, they were very cute.
On our first night we were sat chilling after tea when we looked out the window to see a mass of fruit bats (flying foxes) flying around. No-one else batted an eyelid (no pun intended I hope Ruth – Jo). Apparently it happens every night. There is a local island on the river below the hostel with a large bat colony and every night you can see them at sunset. They flew around for about 45 mins and then disappeared to wherever they feed. We sat and watched them every night.
The Flying Foxes in the sky at Bellingen
