Smorgasboarder_Edition_45

smorgasboarder
The area was once very prominent in banana
growing but the steep decline in the face of
competition from overseas and Queensland
during the 1990s has since seen many plantations
replaced with blueberries. Woolgoolga is also
home to one of the largest Sikh populations in
Australia, opening the very first Sikh temple in
the country in 1969. The Indians migrated to
Woolgoolga from Grafton to work on the banana
farms during the Second World War. Anyway, the
next time you visit Woolgoolga you’ll know the
reason behind why there are so many Indians
in such a random little town. For those of you
who love curry, in September Woolgoolga hosts
‘Curryfest’ which celebrates the Sikh community.
Woolgoolga was such a cool little multi-cultural
surf town, I surfed straight out the front of the
surf life saving club, a short, punchy right hander
that produced 2 foot waves which I shared with
a few friendly locals. I slept in a nearby rest area
provided for travellers passing through free of
charge and even managed to squeeze in an early
morning log before continuing my journey south.
My final destination before reaching Nambucca
Heads was Sawtell. One of, if not my favourite
destination of the trip, there was something about
Sawtell that stayed with me, maybe it was the
perfect, offshore, 3 foot groundswell that I scored
on the back beach… Maybe.
Found just a stones throw south of Coffs Harbour,
the modest, laid back little town is the perfect
place to settle down for a few days that may
(could) turn into weeks. The shops, boutiques,
cafés and restaurants are shaded by enormous
fig trees throughout the town, the beaches are as
good as they get and the shape of the headland
means that finding a wave out of the wind is
easier done than said. With an abundance of
creeks and rivers within the vicinity, Sawtell offers
great fishing and the opportunity to practice
other water sports, bush walks are aplenty and I
found it was just a great alternative to the hustle
and bustle of neighbouring Coffs Harbour.
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