Now that the dust has settled from last weekend's Splendour in the Grass, it's time to look back on a roadtrip to one of Australia's biggest festivals.

Sitting outside the main festival season - smack bang in the middle of winter - Splendour's well known for its rain and mud.

But it's been dry for a long while across eastern Australia, and the trend continued through the three day festival with beautiful clear days and bone-chilling evenings.

Splendour is one of those festivals I've always wanted to go to, but never had the chance.

Similar to my last roadtrip north over New Years, the East Coast was millpond flat on the drive up, but the weekend of the festival held promise for some fun waves out of the south.

Working around work commitments the drive can easily be done in two days, and my halfway stop was beautiful Trial Bay. While there was no swell, the pristine clear waters were a sight to wake and work besides most of the day.

The first band I saw were DMA's, with the Britpop-esque trio putting on a great show to the crowd of thousands in the natural amphitheatre. The Presets were a last minute inclusion and sent the tent stage into a frenzy, while Lorde finished off Friday night with blinding sparkle.

Saturday saw a new small pulse of southerly swell fill in across the region, building to 2-3ft and with great winds all morning. I lucked into an uncrowded come solo surf at a place I've wanted to tick off for years, and this set the mood for a big Saturday afternoon and evening.

The adorable Amy Shark was first act I saw that afternoon, and while not a huge fan of her music, the vibe back in the crowd was pretty special as the sun started to set over the North Byron Parklands.

The quirky but unique sounds of Methyl Ethel laid the foundations for what I believe is the best live band going around at the moment - Gang of Youths.

I've seen GOY too many times to remember, but everytime, they put on a show that gets the whole crowd up and moving, singing their lungs out to their numerous hits. Lead singer Dave holds the show, a performer and energy that can't be ignored. Any band following GOY always have big shoes to fill.

Chvrches was a highlight and better than I expected, while the night ended dancing and singing to Vampire Weekend classics.

Sunday was the best day of surf, so some sort of restraint was shown through Saturday's events, and it paid off, as the swell had kicked to 3-4ft, groomed by a cold crisp offshore wind. The crowds had increased from Saturday, but timing my session into the middle of the day saw numbers drop right back along the section of sand I chose to surf.

By Sunday evening I was tiring and with work the next day, took it relatively easy, but MGMT's visualisations were a standout and The Wombats another crowd pleaser. Kendrick Lamar was the draw card, and after starting a little late I could only last half the gig before hunger took over, and I headed off for pizza.

One thing that stood out was how well organised and on time to the run sheet the festival was, and the other for a festival in the winter, the novelty of rugging up into the evening instead of sweating in the mosh pit.

With the start of the new week the swell was on the decline and another stop south revealed an amazing sunrise to finish of the roadtrip.