It’s been some 35 years since I last visited this iconic town located in the most eastern part of Australia. At that time it was pristine and now it looks a lot less than that. While nature dealt it a great hand with beaches and landscape, the people living in the town seem to be oblivious to just how tourists vs infrastructure are a complete mismatch. The roads are now all goat tracks and it looks very much like a town left to deteriorate without any planning for growth. However I was amused by the council literally putting parking meters everywhere including the beaches without anything to show for it. They have lived off a reputation that cashes in on an endless supply of millennials due to music and arts community festivals without too much thought on anything other than that. I’m sure the locals would say otherwise but to an outsider it looks like a tired old town that lost it’s way.
