Maclean (via Coffs Harbour)

After my mate Chris performed more miracles on Vinnie, it was finally time to leave the Newcastle area and head north to Maclean where yet another wonderful member of the Kane family invited me to stay and explore the surrounding area...On the way to Maclean, I had to stop to see the "Big Banana" in Coffs Harbour which is the original "big thing" in Australia which started out as a marketing hype sort of thing in the 1960s...Now there are "big things" all over Australia and you can read more about them here: https://www.australiantraveller.com/australia/most-iconic-big-things-of-australia/. The next "big thing" on my list is the "Big Prawn" in a town called Ballina which I will reach next week.

Michael was a great tour guide while I was in Maclean and introduced me to his cute little town as well as several other nearby towns including hippie Yamba, Grafton, and Lawrence. I got a couple of good bike rides in, had a chance to take a ferry across a river, and have a couple of pub meals.

Various photos on the drive up to Maclean as well as wandering around the Maclean area:

Check out all this sugarcane! Reminds me of living in Lahaina, Hawaii....Many farmers are switching from growing sugarcane to macadamia nuts which are more profitable (well, at least until the market is saturated!)