Melbourne airport, 14th Apr, 6.30pm. Our next stop was, inevitably, the supermarket in Rainbow Beach. The town was tiny, there was even less to it than Agnes Water. There were a few shops along one road – a video shop, a few clothes shops, a pharmacy, and a few cafés. The beach was not the promised rainbow colours, but it was a short walk away, so after a nap, we headed down there. And I mean down; it was all downhill, with steep steps part of the way. I checked the video shop along the way, because it advertised second hand books, but they didn’t do bookswap.
I got a coffee on the way back, then we attempted to do laundry. I reckon what went wrong was the amount of washing powder. Aiden hadn’t realised there was a scoop and guessed it to be “about that much”, pouring a generous amount into the drum. So when we retrieved them, there was a bit of discolouration and some worrying size changes. We then tried to dry them in the dryers, but it was ludicrously expensive, so we put them on the lines in the courtyard outside.
Back in the room, we chatted to our roommates, who were from Bristol, two Alices, a Freya and a Jess. Aiden questioned them about life in Bristol, and they obliged, amused at each other’s perspectives on the city. We had plenty of burgers, and the girls hadn’t anticipated the need to buy food (the hostel only provided food if ordered in advance), so we cooked the burgers for the entire room, on the hostel BBQ. Very Australian!
We sat in the bar and chatted away, and I ate sweets and chocolate according to my notes. We were all in bed by 9, being tired from the bus, but we sat up til late continuing our raucous conversation. They certainly weren’t delicate young flowers.
I had set my alarm to take advantage of the free pancakes, but when it went off, I was offended by the early hour, and ignored it, woken two hours later by the maid, who’s cheery “Housekeeping!” offended my sleep-heavy head as well. Apparently I decided a big event of the day was that ‘Aiden used last of butter’ which was probably significant to me at the time. Most issues concerning food generally are.
The Bristolians were packing for their trip to Fraser, and I was doing some planning, booking and scheduling. I emailed Mum, got confused about time differences, then settled down to read. We went to that day’s briefing, hoping to be on the next days’ trip, but we were told on arrival that we had been bumped to the day after. This meant I had to redo all my careful planning, and we had to pay for our extra night. We had the option of taking the Premier bus on the day we got back, but the cost was the same, so we opted for the accommodation. We went back to the beach, which was as bleak as we remembered it, but there was nought else to do, so we made a walk of it. Apparently we shopped, but for what I wouldn’t be able to tell you.
We then had fish and chips. What a luxury, but we were glad to pay the extra. And it was backpacker special, so we didn’t pay too much. There was live music at the bar last night, but we sat outside with the Bristolians, and even got some drinks. It was a ‘traffic-light’ night, so the drinks had to have food colouring to denote one’s availability – red for ‘woah there cowboy’; orange for ‘maybe baby’; green for ‘single and ready to mingle’; and purple for, um, how to put it, ‘come get me’. No, Mother, calm down, I did not have a purple drink.
The previous night was repeated, in that we went to bed early and stayed up chatting. Then apparently, during the night, interesting events occurred, and I was the main eventer. I sleep walked, of all things! The next morning, at breakfast, the Bristolians (Aiden had forgotten until they reminded him) informed me that they had been woken by the sounds I made sitting up suddenly in bed, gasping and panting, as if terrified. I looked around wildly, as though disorientated, then turned on my torch and peered at all the beds. Aiden shouted out “What the hell are you doing?!” but I took no notice, and left the room, came back, then left and came back again. I went back to sleep, and left them all startled and confused.
We were at breakfast because they had woken us when they got up, and we had reminded ourselves that free pancakes were the reward of such an early rising. We did actually finish breakfast to go straight back to the room to nap. This morning was also the day that Aiden woke to find that the slight swelling he had had since the failed dentistry was no longer slight. His entire cheek was the size of two golf balls. He looked like a failed experiment, or a hamster using only one cheek. It was also painful for him, and the taut skin of his face was tender. Everyone was really polite and compassionate about it.
Sydney Airport waiting area, 11.10pm. We went out to the pharmacy but because of our early start, we arrived before opening. But luckily there was not a single point in Rainbow Beach that was over 30 minutes’ walk away, and the pharmacy was only 2 from the hostel, so we left and returned later. We got Aiden some anti-inflammatory meds. Whilst I used the internet, Aiden rang the Airlie Beach dentist (the botch job after the boat) and managed to get him to fax a prescription for the antibiotics that had prevented the swelling to the pharmacy, so we got those as well. We were kinda nervous at this point, worried about whether his tooth was developing complications, like a really bad infection or something worse, especially as we were planning on going to a sand island for two nights the next day.
All we could do was ask reception what the situation would be if things got worse, and hope for the best. We went to the brief that afternoon, which was essentially about safety on the island, signing a car agreement, and ordering booze. Of course, Aiden was on his third set of antibiotics, so we didn’t order any booze (yay, money saving), but our group got some goon. (I explained what goon is right?? Can’t remember what I’ve written over these last few months!)
11.35 We found an area of the hostel that I suppose counted as a lounge. There was really only the outdoor eating tables, and the indoor bar area, but next to the bar was a little hollow that had a TV, Xbox and beanbags. I settled down with a book, and Aiden attempted DJ Hero before announcing it a rubbish game and enjoying Guitar Hero. We then went to the shop to buy sweets and biscuits and coke for the trip ahead, and when we got back, we packed for said trip.
At dinner, we talked to people in our group, namely the Canadians Samantha and Angela, and a British couple not in our group but on our trip called Paul and Samantha. And that night we also got an early night. The Bristolians were gone, and we hadn’t talked to our new roommates.
Sydney Airport Gate 37, 15th 5.30am Oh my goodness, I’m going to New Zealand!
We woke early yet again on Sunday 20th March (almost 4 weeks ago as I write). We popped our luggage in the 3 day storage and checked out, then went for pancakes, yum. We then had an extensive morning brief from the guy who owns the company, and the contingent of four cars we were to be using on Fraser Island. We had to check our camping gear, get our supplies of food and fill our water cans, then check the car over. Luckily, we were in the lead vehicle, eight people instead of ten, and it meant none of us drove, only Dave the group guide did.
This was group D. The Germans Kolja (m), Anna, and Jana (f); the Canadians Samantha and Angela; a Dutch girl that until everyone got familiar with calling her Will was known as ‘Dutchie’; and two other Brits, girls our age Ariela (pretty name, huh?) and Lily. Ari and Aiden started referring to each other as ‘Brissle’ when they found out that they were both going to Bristol Uni. Lily’s grandfather was in charge of the Haymarket theatre in London.
The girls were giggly, flighty things, who seemed capable but unwilling to be if they didn’t need to, if that makes sense. Typical 18yr olds basically. Very glam, all about the ‘VTT’ (Valuable Tanning Time), and eventually got on most people’s nerves. Aiden, being a little besotted with his new Brissle, was the only one who didn’t seem to notice that they didn’t really pull their weight during the rough trip, letting others do things then reaping the benefits for themselves.
Will was a bit of a Bohemian. Her favourite phrase was ‘Serious?’ She provided the lighter for the stove, and was sweet and humorous in conversation. Sam and Angela were ace. I grew rather fond of them. Late 20s-30ish, they were fun yet down to earth, and didn’t take any BS. Most people did their fair share, and with Sam it was hard to stop her doing more; she had a tendency to take on a mother hen role.
Kiwi Experience bus Christchurch to Kaikoura, 17th, 4.30pm. So we made it to New Zealand! At the moment getting the feel for the setup of our trip here, and how it’s all going to work.
So continuing with group D. The Germans did engage with the rest of us, but they spent at least half the time chatting in German. The girls Anna and Jana were the most insular, and Kolja was more a participant with the English speakers. Jana was really tall, Anna really short with eyes of two different colours, and Kolja was a muscular, handsome young man an inch short of six foot. He had a cheeky grin, and an attitude to match it.
The weather Sunday morning hadn’t looked great, but as our four 4X4s mounted the barge, the sun came out. Lots of people, myself included, had not thought to bother with sun cream, so I had to seek some from Paul, as did several others. It was only ten minutes to the southern shore of the island, and we all clambered about the deck looking across the straight to the tree-clad beach waiting for us.
We got back in the cars, and Dave drove off. We were followed onto the sand and enjoyed a long, bumpy ride along the beach and through the jungle. Our first stop was Lake McKenzie, a lake formed of rain water collecting in a large depression on the island. We all stripped off and waded into the water, glad to be out of the bumpy car, where the seating meant a forced intimacy that did not ring with the level we knew each other at this point.
The fresh water cooled us off, and we got to know each other a little more. After a few photo sessions with our waterproof cameras, we dried off and went back to the car to unpack our food boxes from the trailer. We had a fun time collaborating on making lunch, using the menu as a guide as to what to use for that meal. It was sandwiches, and as we munched gratefully down, we were visited by a very large lizard, what to our eyes looked like a small Kimodo dragon. Most of the girls got up on the benches, worried silly by it. I must admit to lifting my feet up as it investigated under the table. But despite the excitement it raised, it left soon after it arrived, and we were able to finish lunch in peace.
After packing up and driving our bumpy way to our campsite, we had reached our final destination for the day. Through the pouring rain, that had everyone soaked, we used the last of the sunlight to put up a very large tarp for our communal cooking area, and our group put up two tarps to cover three tents. We opened two of the tent sacks to find busted tents, which made our job a bit harder, as the people who had opened them had to ask help from others in our group.
We were really rather miserable once the job was complete, as the rain was rather hard. Luckily it was already dinner time. We set up our little camping stove in the communal area, thankfully dry.
Wait, I have forgotten something crucial to the Fraser Island experience. SAND! The island is not made of good old rock and soil; it’s a sand island. So it’s not just the beaches where the yellow stuff lurks! We learnt pretty quickly that there was no getting away from it, and we just had to deal with it. It was in our hair, covered our skin, got in our mouths, our tents, our car was full of it, and it was impossible to wash our dishes in the sea without some sand getting on them, and so on our food. It wasn’t a pleasant way to live really, but part of the experience of camping behind the dunes on a sand island.
Most of our group were huddled round the stove, as many as could fit on the small table to preparations and a couple of people on the cooking itself. There was a big light under the tarp (by this point it was dark) but I used Aiden’s torch to give better light and clarity to the table and stove. Aiden and Ari sat chatting in the car.
It was steak, potato salad and salad, and considering the rough conditions it was cooked in, it wasn’t too shabby. Soon the goon came out, and A and I had some coke. Everyone sat under the tarp, chatting, leaving the washing up until the morning light. I retired to bed at about 10.40, with Will in my tent. I fell asleep assuming A would join us at some point, but apparently he forsook the tent for the front seat of the car. During the night, I woke to the sound of dingoes howling around us. We had seem a couple hanging around just outside the lamplight, and we did as we were told and ignored them.
KE bus Kaikoura to Nelson, 19th. I was up at 6am. It was a rough night in the tent, with only my clothes as a pillow, and once I was up and it was light, I got up. I went through the silent camp down to the sea, and watched end of a beautiful sunrise. It was nice being all alone in the morning cool, hearing only the sea and seeing the camp empty of signs of life. I returned and got dressed, retreating back to the beach to read my bible and write my diary, as I found there were less bloody bugs down there.
This was second core part of our Fraser experience. The March flies. Double the size of a normal fly, they loved to bite and suck. They landed constantly, and if you stood in one place, you ended up doing a little dance, as you felt them land on you so you jerked that spot, eventually just flapping your arms and walking on the spot. I woke up with a good few bites from the first day.
People started waking up, the dishes got done, and it started to rain. Breakfast was fried eggs and bread, then we washed that up, and packed everything into the trailer. We had attached the tarp over our tents to the trailer, so we had to untie it, and rearrange the tents, as they were only waterproof to a certain extent. Our first stop was to dump our rubbish (as anything left around would attract dingoes) and then we spent an hour at Eli Creek, bracingly cold fresh water. This was also a loo stop, and everyone was very grateful, because the only option at the camp was pee in the sea (which no one would do except under cover of darkness) or go 50m from camp into the bush, dig a hole, and…well, you get it.
There as a huge spider on a web in the tree outside the loos, but apparently this monster the size of my palm is the smallest, common spider in Australia. (It’s weird to talk about Australia now we’re in New Zealand. That chapter is closed in my mind, except through chronicling it here, from my notes).
The bugs were still biting and the sand was getting into even more places. As we drove away from Eli Creek, we actually saw a plane land further down the beach from us, which was a bonus to watch. Lunch was at a picnic spot; Aiden bought nuggets and chips from the nearby shop (having decided he did not like camping and living it rough, and was therefore going to go for the luxury option as much as possible) whilst the rest of us dug into our eskies and made corned beef and salad wraps.
The next enjoyment was the Champagne Pools. We had to climb about half a kilometre away from the beach. I realised quickly that my broken glasses were much needed but obviously useless. Paul saw me struggling and kindly lent me his. The pools are named after the phenomenon that happens at certain tide levels - the waves bursting over the edges from the sea into the pools look like the bubbles of champagne. And these aren’t the rock pools we’re used to on the English coast. They were two pools a good four hot tubs around each, and in some places more than two metres deep. There were big fish as well!
Once everyone had had a dip, Dave called us back to the cars. But Ari and Lily held everyone up by at least half and hour – they apparently needed VTT. This did not go down well with most of the group, and they had a chilly reception when they finally got back to the beach.
From bathing on the rocks to climbing them. We went up Indian Head, a headland that had a great view down the coast either side, and over the ocean. At other times of the year, it was a good lookout for whales. On the descent, I somehow became the leader, which was a strain on my memory as to which forks on the track to take.
We went back to Eli Creek for a rinse. Some of us walked the boardwalk a short way inland to wade back down the creek itself to the beach. Then it was back to camp. Dinner was a stir fry – some our veggies had got damp, and were pretty rotten, but we managed with the ones we had. We were the first to eat, and some of the group used some left over wraps from lunch. After the food was consumed, we started talking as a big group, then I ended up having a one on one conversation with Kolja, including topics like politics and education I seem to recall (though
I don’t recall why), and then he went to talk in German, and Sam, Will and I conversed. I said my goodnights at eleven.
I was up early again, just before six. I was the first up. I opened the car and got some things out my bag (not in my tent to save from any rain) and as I got out, I looked up to find I was not the only one in the camp. A dingo was sniffing around the food prep area, and I froze. He didn’t even notice me. I quietly went to the beach and breathed a sigh of relief. Not known for attacking humans, dingoes were still wild animals.
We had egg sandwiches then packed up the camp, as this was to be our last day on the island. It was a short drive to a long walk. We parked at the entrance to a walk through the jungle to Lake Wabby. Kolja and I took the lead, and we chatted during the 40 minute trek. When we reached the opening to an expanse of dune, it was only as guess that we went left. Luckily (seeing as everyone was following us) we reached the top of a rise and saw the lake below us. It was lovely fresh water at the bottom of the slope, with catfish in the shallows around us.
We spent about an hour and a half chatting, Aiden, the two Sams, and Angela, then made the walk back. We did have supplies for lunch in the eskie, but we stopped in a small town, so Aiden and I bought lunch from the bakery. A wonderful pizza bread, and an apple turnover. Australians really like their bakeries. Seriously, they are everywhere, and always very well stocked with good quality stuff.
KE bus Nelson to Westport, 20th, 8.30am. This was our last stop on Fraser Island. We drove along the beach to the barge landing, and as we waited, Dave suddenly cried out and pointed some cresting fins. Dolphins! Very exciting. The barge trip back was much the same, and once on the mainland, we stopped for some fuel, then parked in the company garage. We commenced a great clean up; getting the sand and rubbish out of the car, throwing out left over food, cleaning the eskies, whacking as much sand out of the tents as possible, and cleaning the dishes properly. Once it was done, we were dropped off by Dave, to whom we said goodbye, and thanks.
The best part of the day, in some ways, was the next bit. Once checked in, first Aiden, then I, had a shower. Oh my word, best shower of our lives so far! To feel the hot water splashing onto our dirty, sweaty bodies, purifying our skin of goddamn sand, and the blessed sensation of shampoo ridding our hair and scalps of both sand and three days accumulated sweat and grease…delicious.
Once I stepped out of the bathroom, one of our roommates went in and shrieked that there was blood all over the bathmat. I looked down to find that in my thorough scrubbing, I had opened one of the worst March fly bites and it was bleeding profusely round my heel. I grabbed the bathmat, and took it to reception, and after explaining the situation, they were happy to give the room a clean one.
We went back to the chippy for another round of fish and chips that night. We used the computers to do the greyhound tickets, and add all our new Fraser friends on Facebook, then Angela, Paul, Aiden, the two Sams, a new Canadian friend called Miles, and I sat down to cards in the bar. We stayed up chatting until late, though Aiden retired before me, and Kolja asked to use the netbook to swap some photos with Jana.
Oh the joy of sleeping on a mattress and pillow, with a duvet.
We were up early enough for pancakes, and we sat with the Fraser group. We packed, then sat with Sam, Angela, Miles, Kolja and Jana to wait for the bus that the Germans and we were getting. Miles entertained us by trying to get lemon slices out of his water bottle. When the bus arrived (late), we realised we had lost our greyhound tickets, having left them next to the computer when we booked the night before. We had a bit of difficulty finding ourselves on the manifest then proving we were who we said we were, but we eventually got on the bus.
The journey was as any other. We stopped at Matilda Coach Terminal for a break, and got some drinks. We also admired the towering plastic kangaroo, called Matilda, that apparently featured in the opening ceremony of an Olympic games in Oz. We got off at Noosa Heads, saying a sad farewell to Kolja, who was carrying on through to Byron Bay. A shuttle to the hostel, and we checked into the room. These rooms weren’t numbered, they were named; we were in ‘Endeavour’, which we know very well (at least, I do; I doubt Aiden remembers) was the ship of Cpt. James Cook in 1770.
We only did one thing in Noosa, but boy, was it awesome. JET SKI! We had been recommended by Paul and Sam to go round the corner from the hostel to the river, and hire a boat. But when we got to the hut, we saw the jet skis, and all thoughts of boats flew from our heads. We were given a briefing in the shallows, and I noticed a little fish swimming around our feet. As the young, handsome guy was talking, I suddenly felt the fish bite my toe! I gave a yelp and jumped to the dry sand. At finding out what had happened, Handsome was astonished; he called to the other guy in the hut – “Hey, [name], the puffer bit her!” “No way,” came the response, with a laugh, “how strange!” the puffer fish had left a red, circular bite mark on my toe.
Anyway, we got the jet ski for three quarters of an hour, and we had such a brilliant time. I didn’t have the courage to try to drive it, but that was fine, Aiden enjoyed driving and I still had a thrilling ride clinging to the back of him. It was amazing, we were both screaming most of the time, especially when Aiden took a corner a bit hard and fast, and we felt as if we were going to topple into the water. After we returned to shore and walked back to the hostel, it took about 20 minutes to recover from the exhilaration.
‘Lunch’ was at 5pm, and we did laundry. As we sat in the dorm, Aiden gave a shriek, and jumped down from the top bunk. There was a small gecko on his mattress! He caught it in a cup and released. We spent some time on the internet, and then I rang Bill. That was fun, because we had only texted thus far. We arranged the pickup and a dentist appointment in Brisbane for Aiden.
Aiden went for a swim, and for a while I sat on the side of the pool and read, until he convinced me to join him. It was nice to have a night swim. It was technically closed, so we were eventually told to get out. We showered then had a late dinner, then read in bed until going to sleep at 11.
1.00pm. The 24th dawned and we welcomed it with an egg and bacon sandwich. We printed new greyhound tickets, and then boarded a shuttle to the bus stop. After short wait, it was obvious which bus to Australia Zoo was ours – the massive bright yellow one with a picture of a crocodile on the side. Our ‘Steering Wheel Attendant’ (what’s wrong with ‘bus driver’?!) was David, and he put on a DVD of clips from the late Steve Irwin’s Crocodile Diaries.
On arriving at the zoo two hours later, David was kind enough to point out where we were to go for lockers and the greyhound, as we were the only two who weren’t getting the bus back to Noosa, but travelling on the Brissie. So we got through the entrance with our pre-paid Peterpans voucher, and stored our bags in lockers for the day. We were in time for the otter feeding, which was very cute, and informative.
The next feeding was the elephants, which was more exciting. We hopped on the zoo bus, and went round to the Asia section. The great thing about the elephant feeding was that you could do it yourself! I fed one of the three elephants a piece of melon. You got a hand covered in brown snot for your trouble, which the keepers told us was good for the skin!
We got back on the bus to be in time for the animal show in the Crocseum (so named for the play on ‘museum’ and Irwin’s delight in pointing out that there were crocs there, and you went to see ‘em…). First were the snakes, that didn’t do anything, but the keeper told us over the microphone all about Australia’s snakes, and they came up close in the arms of keepers coming into the stands. Next were the birds, big ones, little ones and brightly coloured ones, who gave great flying displays. Lastly was the crocodile Graham, who showed us his hunting skills; the snap of his jaws echoed around the Crocoseum.
We then did the khaki and orange zones (yay for coloured coded), which were lots of Australian animals. Aiden got a picture with an owl, and then we had lunch. Next was a koala lecture from the keeper walking around their enclosure. At the end, she took one down from the trees and brought it round for us to feel it’s very thick coat.
We then paid for a picture with a python draped around us, which was cool, then we made our way to Roo Heaven. This was an enclosed park-like area where kangeroos wandered free. We bought a bag of feed (just like any feed in children’s pet zoos) and were able to feed them. They let us pat them, and one stood up to eat out of our hands, and used its paws to hold onto our fingers, which was pretty cool.
Then we did the red zone, and went back to the picture place to pay for one with a koala. Aiden had said he wanted to be the one holding it, but when we arrived the keeper assumed that I, the girl of the pair, would hold it, so just gave it to me without question. Aiden didn’t raise too much fuss, but since then, whenever he’s wanted something, he uses that fact that I got to cuddle a koala as blackmail. It was about 3kg, so after a while it got quite heavy in my arms, and I stank afterwards.
We had a look through one of the shops, and I got an XL t-shirt with a croc on it, to sleep in. we then went to feed the elephants again, because it was just that fun, and then we had a look at the tigers. That was our last animal encounter, as the zoo was starting to empty, and we had a bus to catch. We had a last look through another shop (Aiden forbade me from getting a wide-brim Aussie outback hat), collected our rucksacks, and went to the bus stop.
We got into Brisbane early, but Bill was there, and it was great to finally meet him. It was so luxurious to ride in a car again, and we talked jovially as he took us through Brisbane to his apartment. Once there, we talked a great deal about the family, and I heard some fun stories about Dad. He was nice enough to make us spaghetti Bolognese, which was so good after so many weeks of our poorly nutritious, budget diet. The evening was spent watching TV, and using the internet.
Bill’s kindness seemed to know no bounds. He gave free run, and often scheduled himself around our needs. It was really nice to have a home base, where we could leave our stuff lying around, and have fridge and cupboards of food. Bill was gone to work by the time we woke that Friday. I had my first cafetière coffee in what felt like forever. Aiden had to go to the dentist (directions for which Bill had given us), so we waited by watching some of Austin Powers.
We walked to the dentist, and I sat in the reception while Aiden had his work done. The plan had been to then go into town, but when he came out, he was a bit goofy from the anaesthetic, so I decided to spend the day being lazy at the apartment. We went back and finished Austin Powers, and I made lunch. We then watched Ocean’s Eleven. Once it was finished, we wandered down to the nearby shops, and bought some chocolate and postcards. We spent the afternoon in the apartment – Aiden was on the computer, and I caught up on my scrapbooking.
Bill got back, and he took us to a good curry place. We talked more about the family, and somehow got onto quite a serious conversation about education. He left us in the flat for the night, and we organised where we were going to stay for the rest of our time in Oz. it was really weird to start talking about our last days in the country.
I have to just mention that on this bus in NZ, I occasionally look up from the netbook to look out the window at rolling mountains and hills, and sometimes the guide goes on the microphone and tells us some history and info about the areas we’re going through.
The next morning I skyped the rents from Bill’s balcony, which was nice. Bill then gave us a lift to the Botanic Gardens (goodness, we’ve seen a lot of botanic gardens in our time out here. The joys of budget travel) and after having a wander, we went shopping in the Queen St mall. Got some more boardshorts (loving the boardshorts), visited a tourist shop for knickknacks, and watched an amusing street magician perform. We met Bill for a quick drink at a pub near central station, then he gave us a lift to the main entertainment of the day, the XXXX Brewery tour.
It was an hour long, and quite interesting. We learnt about what happens today as well as the history of the brewery, and I liked the display with all the labels from years back. It was astonishing to find out that all the technicians in the brewery have at least one, mostly two PhDs each, in biochemistry and similar. We got Bill a gift glass from the gift shop, then left before the beer tasting.
We stopped into a massive Staples-like shop, then walked to the Parkland. This took us past the Suncrop stadium, where we heard the unmistakable sounds of a crowd during a game. The Parkland was pretty, with a large pond with fountain, and a small windy path through some flower gardens, as well as some hedge sculptures.
From here we went back into town and went to the Big W (the clothes branch of the food shop Woolworths) for Aiden to get some more clothes essentially. A short walk back to the pub, where we briefly met Bill’s friends Steve, Bruce, and another traveller staying with Steve called Marcus, but we begged exhaustion, so Bill took us back on the train. That evening we relaxed. We watched Doc Martin, Bill made us pork chops (with vegetables! Side note: Australians spell veggies ‘vegies’ and the kiwis call them ‘veges’!) and then I watched Taming of the Shrew with Rickard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, who’s death I had only learnt of the day before.
The morning heralded a cooked brekkie, and morning TV. Bill had found a nearby Anglican church, so he dropped me off at 9.30 for the Sunday service. It was called St Marks. Two of the congregation put on a short play about the life of the saint, and we took communion. Afterwards we had morning tea, and I chatted to some of them, then Bill picked me up and took us both to Southbank. We visited the cultural centre, and explored the museum, the library and the Queensland Performing Arts Centre. (Oh my goodness, the word count in the left hand corner says I’m at 19,370! I do go on, don’t I?) We then met Bill, Steve and Marcus, and Bill’s son Ben at the The Fox pub and got $2 steak lunches.
Ben then showed us the Clem Jones Promenade (not sure I’m reading my writing clearly on that one) where we saw the markets, and got some ice cream, followed by going to the Boundary Hotel for a drink and to see Ben’s blues teacher Mojo perform, which was pretty good. I tried to construct a family tree with Ben’s help. He led us to the bus stop and went on his way. We worked out that, counter to a slightly tipsy Ben’s calculation, that our next bus was in 45 minutes. So we made our way down to the river bank and hopped on a CityCat ferry boat. It was a half hour journey down the dark waters of the rivers, past the twinkling night-time Brissie, to be met by Bill.
He took us to a burger joint, and we hashed out some more of the family tree; Bill even rang his brother Richard in Newcastle for some help. Once back at the apartment, I watched some of my favourite shows, and started writing out my many postcards.
I repeated my morning TV with coffee, and made some sandwiches for lunch later. We packed up, and Bill came back from work to pick us and our luggage up. He dropped us in town for an hour’s shopping in the Myer centre (which was huge!) then picked us up again to drop us a final time at the transit centre. We said a sad farewell. I really enjoyed my time getting to know this distance reli, and his son. They were both really nice, and really generous.
Waiting for the bus, we bought some hot-out-the-oven doughnuts, and bumped into Greg, the owner of Cool Bananas, our hostel in 1770. Our bus was late, but we got on it, and I wrote out some more postcards. Even though the bus was late, we arrived 40 mins earlier than our original ETA, which was bizarre, but we had arrived Byron Bay. We got a shuttle to the hostel Aquarius, and got a quick orientation of the town on the way. On checking in, we were surprised to be given a massive storage box with plates, bowls, mugs, cutlery and a tea towel, which I suppose is one way of doing it.
When we got the room, we couldn’t work out which were the free beds for a while. Once we had, it was the first time we had slept in beds far apart. We’re normally in the top and bottom of the same bunk, or in bottom bunks opposite each other. This time, Aiden was actually upstairs; weird two-storey room. We had to put our clocks forward, because we had entered a new state, New South Wales, which uses DLS. On exploration, we found the hostel had a massive walk-in fridge and a nice lounge area, but a loud bar. We watched TV, then went out to Woolworths to get food. We ate dinner, watched TV, then went to bed.
The next day was a Peterpans pre-bookedday tour. We got up, dressed, breakfasted with morning TV, and then picked up by the groovy multi-coloured bus. Our first stop was a pub to buy alcohol for lunch later, that the driver put in an eskie. Then when we were just outside the town, we stopped for a briefing. He told us a bit of history, and then all about the marijuana culture that the town was renowned for. The main street was a load of hippy tourist shops, and the buildings were highly painted; it was all very bohemian. And within minutes of stepping off the bus, we were offered weed or cookies. We declined, but others in the group had had indulging on their agenda since booking the visit. We went into the legitimate visitor’s centre, and the man recommended walking out of town a bit to the candle factory. I was glad to leave the main street.
It was a really nice place to visit, that factory. The woman gave us a min lecture on how they make the candles, and showed us the dipping vats. The place was full of colourful candles, including the rainbow dying racks, and the pyramid room. I bought a jasmine scented candle for my birthday, and the woman gave me a free magnet for my scrapbook.
We then went the power centre, but that wasn’t very interesting. We were quite disappointed, after the success of the factory. Heading back into the strip, we found two Canadians from the bus in the pub and stuck to them until the time to get on the bus. The countryside we travelled through that afternoon reminded me of England a little bit. We arrived at a picnic area, and the driver started on a BBQ whilst we sorted the salad.
I was very hungry. There were sausages, burgers, and bread. After eating, it was a short drive, and a short walk to a waterfall. About half the group swam across the pool and climbed to the top of the fall. And that was the end of our tour. I was so tired when we got back. We ate dinner and played on the xbox (lego Indiana Jones, which was surprised to find that I quite enjoyed). At one point we went over to the bar to watch a few people sing karaoke, but it wasn’t that great.
The next morning we were up bright and late. It was raining, and there isn’t a lot to don Byron, so we felt we deserved it. The rest of the morning was taken up with blogging and Aiden went on the xbox. We made sandwiches then started out on a long walk to Cape Byron. Luckily it didn’t rain. It was an uphill walking track, and it was very tiring.
To be continued...
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