May 2007

Only spent a couple of days here. This is one of the places that i had heard of the most before i started my travelling. I hate to say it but found it slightly disappointing. The beaches are nice but they are everywhere along the east coast. This place is full of skyrises and to be honest is no more than an 18-30's haven! This is the place to party. We decided we wanted some of the action so we paid $25 to go on the organised pub crawl with our hostel- surfers paradise backpacker resort. It really was like being back on your first holiday without your parents...hilarious fun watching all the kids get trashed on alcho pops!

Not much else to say about sufers paradise, just spent my time being a beach bum and soaking up the rays and took some pics of surf rescue huts and vehicles...what, it needed to be done! Have only seen one life guard in action with his red speedos...and that was to rescue two guys i was travelling with who had been taken away by a dangerous rip around the headland whilse surfing!!!

Ok so there has been a few things i have noticed while in Oz and i thought i would share them with you...i will add as i find more.

1) Lots of couples especially in cities go for a run and take their children in a stroller with them...dad is always up front pushing the child and mum is lagging behind trying to get rid of the baby weight...is this becoming a phenomenon in the UK too????

2) I keep meeting people who have decided to travel along the east coast of australia where it is beaches, beaches and more beaches and they either:
a: dislike the sea
or
b:hate sand!

AMAZING!!!

3) OUtside all Oz bars and pubs they have a statement that says if you are intoxicated and appear drunk they have the right to refuse entry. Ummm correct me if i'm wrong but aren't a good percentage of people who go to a pub planning on getting drunk and will be intoxicated!

4) OK so New Zealand is the coldest place i have been to so far and i know it is hot for half the year but for a place that gets really cold why don't homes have any central heating or double glazing...madness!

I know there are more but i can't think of them right now...will add when remember. Just wanted to share those with you for the time being.

Well it had to happen sooner or later didn't it! I bet you've all missed my little rants so here is one to make you feel like i'm back already!!!!

So i have been sitting in a well known chain of internet cafes they have in Oz (don't want to write their name and end up in some sort of liable case!) since 12.15. I managed to download 15 photos in 1 hour so i decide to splash out on the extra dollar and upgrad to pre -paid which is suppose to be 4 x faster. Well after an hour and 40 mins it has managed to upload 28 photos! Since i have 94 pics alone of Australia zoo you can imagine how annoyed i am getting right now. The staff are useless...its not their fault but have no answers! I am working only on one other window at a time....totally crap!

Also due to joining facebook the time i was planning to update my blogs has been spent trawling through lovely msgs and stuff people have put on my page. Just what i needed guys as feeling home sick at the mo so keep it up!

So just a quick fill in of what i have been up to. After Byron we went to Surfers Paradise, then Brisbane, onto Noosa, Rainbow Beach, Hervey Bay where i went on a 4x4 safari on Fraser island, one of the biggest sand islands in the world. Then we went onto the town of 1770/Agnes water, onto Rockhampton then Mackay. Up to Mackay i was still with a few people from the crew i met back in port Macquarie but am now on my todd again! I am now in Airlie beach where i am awaiting to do my sailing trip to the whitsundays on 23-25th May.

So all is good, looking forward to NZ, think a change of country will do me good. Planning to do a bit of fruit picking an hour north of here in Bowen...give me some routine and to settle for a bit. Of course the money would come in handy too!

Hope all is well with you all back home. Take care and i shall do more detailed blogs asap. Now i hope you can appreciate why everything is a bit out of date, apparently oz have worse internet connections than bloody Thailand and Vietnam!

Love and miss you all

T xx

This is more like it! Got here and straight away could sense a good vibe. That may be due to this place being well known as a hippy town second only to Nimbin down the road.

First night we had to split up, Hannah, OJ and myself stayed in Belongil Beach house while the others had to splash out on an apartment for the night in Aquarius. This was good news for us as we could crash their place to cook and have a party. Also the campus had a fantastic bar and chill out area with a great happy hour that we went to more than once!

We then stayed in the Cape Byron YHA and met Sara; a curly flame haired beauty from England. Once again PMQC were reunited. Not a bad hostel for a YHA...had a great pool and we could borrow body boards so some more hilarious boogie board action by me was attempted. Managed to keep my bikini on in this session just about!

Spent about a week in Byron, it was a really lovely chilled out place to be. The hippy vibe was everywhere in the form of bead shops, organic cafes and surf shops galore. The great thing about this place is that there is no macdonalds or other chain stores (apart from a supre weirdly.. a womens clothes shop!), just little independent stores. I spent a few hours browsing the many clothes and surf shops...lots of bakerys had to be avoided....my pasta baby is well develpoed now!

Unsure now of how i spent my days as done so much since.One day we hired bikes and went to Broken heads. Hannah, celine, sara and myself all have v sore bums after our epic all dayer on the bikes. We conqured some steep hills and saw some lovely beaches. Once we got to broken heads we took a walk around the headlands. Great views from there across the shores.Another day was spent walking to the light house. This was a really lovely walk and again we got some great views. We stayed here and watched sunset which was lovely.

We took a day tour to Nimbin, which was loads of fun! Nimbin is known as the weed capital of Australia. On the way i noticed a road sign for Tweed heads...however someone had crossed out the 'T', i found that quite amusing! We were taken to the sunday markets in a nearby town to Nimbin which was one of the best markets i have been to in Oz so far. I nearly signed up for woofing but instead of farm work it was instrument making. For accommodation and food you did 4 hours work per day making instruments- it looked ace! There was so many tempting food stalls, the smell was amazing! We were then dropped off in Nimbin and able to check out the town...the whole one street. It was stoner heaven, joints and bongs were everywhere and people smoked openly in the bars. Hash cookies were being sold on the street and the weed culture was all on display in the Nimbin museum...also the place to go if you wanted to by weed it turned out!

On the way back we stopped at some waterfall but due to the drought it was more of a trickle than a waterfall...stunning views none the less.

So after 2 nights in the YHA i was craving some individuallity and something a bit more fun so myself, Hannah & Celine checked into the Arts Factory. We stayed in the pentagon, an 8 bed massive tent! Oh yes i paid $30 to stay in a tent! The place was awsome, so relaxed, hammocks between trees, a lake, massage tent, swimming pool, jacuzzi and sauna. The campus was huge and had a restaurant, bar and even a cinema...it was a whole little world. Apart from a few thefts this place rocked and i can see why everyone recommended it- made a nice change from the usual hostels along the east coast. One night we watched Notes on a scandal. Another night we had the obligitory night out in cocomangos and cheeky monkeys. This place is known for its table dancing and 18-30's style games and antics! Needless to say i made sure i was suitably drunk before heading in!

Could have stayed here longer and embrassed the hippy in me! I did go to a meditation session which was cool...sitting in a darkened quiet room trying to find myself....maybe it was good i left when i did!

Afraid this is not going to be much of a blog as there isn't too much to say about these couple of stop offs between Sydney and Byron Bay.

Port Macquarie..this is where Australians come to holiday, the Southend of the Oz world. It is a beautiful place and it was a welcome retreat after the hustle and bustle of Sydney. I stayed in my first YHA hostel...with only 35 beds. As soon as i arrived i latched onto a guy named Simon. We got talking as he was holding the resident bugie names buff head! We found loads to chat about (mainly my fav subject of food!). He invited me out surfing with him in the morning and i accepted the offer. Well when it came to it i stuck with the body board as the waves were fierce! I will try again soon....maybe??????

Apart from lazing onthe beach i checked out the Marina, Koala Hospital, the breakwall (each stone along it is decorated by locals and visitors with personal messages and art). It was a really relaxed area and i chilled out and unwound from the hectic lifestyle of Sydney. The added bonus was meeting several other travellers to form the PMQC (port macquarie crew). Celine, a 28yr old from France who has just lived inThailand for the last two years; Hannah, 23 from Chippenham who works for the Police Press office; Rob & Jayme - a guy and a girl from Canada and OJ, a 19yr old from Worchester. We just came together on a goon night out which started at a BBQ at the hostel and ended up on the beach around a campfire.

So after a few days together in Post we then all decide to head to Coffs Harbour together....the home of the BIg Banana!

Ok so that is truly all i can say about it. It has a theme park based around a big banana. Apart from an amusing time in the souvenir shop we weren't that impressed. We walked around coffs and checked out all the beaches along this part of the coast which were nice but nothing special. We introduced Jayme to curry however and taught her how to peel and chop an onion...bless!

We did go out on one of the nights but Coffs really didn't have a nightlife to write home about so we just stayed in the hostel the 2nd night and watched a film.

Lets just say we were ready to move onto Byron!