A rest in Bellingen.
“I was only planning to stay one or two days” is a statement you here from most of the residents who reside in the Bellingen hostel.
After working on farms and helping in lodges for a few months a Bellingen rest is just what was needed. I had booked for four days and was brought to the hostel from Macksville by the hostel owner early that Monday morning. The hostel is a fairly new building that was built in an early period style to replicate the original buildings of the area. Although the building sits at the back of a car park once you enter into its grounds everything faces down toward the river and gives you a serene lush green view overlooking the river and nearby hills. A large half covered deck sits to the rear of the building which sits many of the residents all looking as chilled out as each other.
One of the real appeals of this place is the range of people that visit and stay here long term. The broad range of the ages of the people who gather to chat means that there is always someone to chat with and to try and put the world to rights. Once you get yourself parked on a seat on the deck it is very hard to remove yourself and force yourself to move on. My stay lasted for two weeks although I could have easily stayed longer sitting around the fire on an evening discussing everything from world politics to conspiracy theories. Some days the hostel fills up with families escaping the city life or the passing through backpacker that is keeping to a tight schedule.
I found that this place gives you the opportunity to slow down a little, to be able to do nothing if that is what you want to do. Stay a while and you will know when it is time to leave, wether you are heading north to Byron or south down to Sydney, a rest in Bellingen will do you good.
