Byron Bay hostel, Weds 30th Mar, 11am. I am almost three weeks behind in writing this. I don’t know if I’ll catch up by the end of the actual trip!
So we got the ferry from Keppel Island (so long ago!). We paid back Karen, and met her two kids waiting for her, which was a sweet little scene of grandmother, pregnant woman and kids. We then got the shuttle back to the hostel, and jumped straight onto the other shuttle to Rockhampton. Rockhampton is not a touristy place. It is so spread out, it gives the impression of a bigger town than it is in practice.
We checked into the YHA, and met Kelly, Holly, Sally (sisters) and Kerry, boyfriend to one of them, though it was hard to remember which name was attached to which girl. They reminded us that there was a rodeo that night in Rockie, and we were just in time for the bus into town. So we jumped on that after dumping our stuff, and went the rodeo. It occurred to us that a rodeo was not one of the experiences we had anticipated in Australia, of all places, but it was free, and the backpacker mentality compelled us to go.
It was free entry because it was only a practise session, not a competition, but some of the town residents were there too. There was a cheap BBQ, so we got some dinner, and sat at one of the tables by the ring (or whatever you call it). After about half an hour the commentator started up. He told us about each rider as they came up. Jolly fat man with a microphone so close to his mouth you could only understand every third word.
We were astonished to find that the first set of riders were aged between only 4 and 8. They only rode calves of course, but still it was galling to watch a tiny child being bucked on the back of an animal. There were rodeo clowns, so they made sure the child didn’t stay on too long, and whisked them away the second they started to slip. The 4 year old actually had the clowns anchored on each end of the calf, so it wasn’t that violent.
Then the ages and sizes of bull got bigger, into the teens and young men (one young man got a nasty kick to the chest), and finally a few massive bulls with actual men on them. It was very impressive, once the anxiety of watching the children had passed. It seemed to be a real culture in the town – the area with the bulls was awash with boys and men of all ages in chaps and cowboy hats, and there were groups of girls around. I got the impression that these girls all intended to marry one of the boys on the bulls someday, in that small town way.
We walked back to the hostel, which was an opportunity to chat to the sisters, and then we retired to bed, for an early morning. I was harrowed when I woke to find the room bustling, and my alarm hadn’t gone off. Plus it was raining, to add to my despair.
It was a 6.15 shuttle for a 6.45 bus to Agnes Water/1770. When the driver, Coach Captain Mark, turned up, it seemed we weren’t on the manifesto, but we pleaded that it must be an old copy, because we had booked late the night before. Luckily we managed to get on (with our McMuffins and my coffee). The journey was passed with the help of ‘Shrek Forever After’.
We arrived at Cool Bananas, our hostel for a long five nights (two on our Base pass, as they were affiliates) in Agnes Water. This was an extra day in the small town that we hadn’t anticipated until we booked Emu Park and they could only take us a day earlier than originally planned. But in hindsight, it was nice to have the extra days in 1770. It would certainly been boring in Rockhampton.
Cool Bananas was a hostel that really suited us. Good kitchen facilities (though sadly no oven) with free tea and coffee, nice big 8-share room, and no bar. This meant there was no loud music at all hours of the day and night. The best part was the massive lounge area, with six sofas, 3 bean bags, a TV at one end, and table with board games galore at the other end.
We got an orientation tour that morning, which wasn’t very long. The two towns are tiny, so much so that they operate essentially like one town. There isn’t much in them, just one bunch of shops near the petrol station, a pub, and tourist elements on the water.
We bought what we thought would be enough food for our stay there at the shop, and had some lunch. We ran into Charlie and Max (from the boat) in the lounge, which was nice. The TV generally had a film on, either TV or DVD, and at this time we watched ‘Honey’ with Jessica Alba (Max was particularly appreciative of the lead actress).
I then did something I later regretted. Earlier, this couple had come in, and greeted the owner, Greg, merrily. They had then gone around the hostel telling how she was doing cheap massages and he was doing free clay facials. The Clay King, he called himself. I ignored them for the most part, but then Aiden went the Global Gossip across the road, and I thought to myself ‘it’s free, I should take it’ so I went over for the facial.
At first it was fine; I wet my face with water he poured from a wine bottle, then he painted my face with this wet clay. I had to then wait there, in the eating area outside the kitchen, until it dried. He told me all about the properties of this wonder-clay (which of course I took with a pinch of salt), but then he got scary. Mister Clay King was a passionate conspiracy theorist, probably to do with the hippy background that was so obvious, and he told me all about how the 2012 Olympics were actually a satanic ritual that would open up a black hole in the sun and the Catholic Church would greet the space gods and so the new world order would come to power……
I was FREAKED OUT. I kept my mouth shut, hoping he would be quiet if he didn’t get any response, but he kept going. I had to sit listening to the weirdo until that damn clay dried. You can imagine how fast I moved once it had.
I joined Aiden at Global Gossip, and manage to calm down. We had pasta for dinner (surprise surprise), and we went down to the pub, but quickly came back. We met up with a group of lads in our room for a night, Tom (Irish), Jack (Australian), and Ben (New Zealand), all about 23. We sat with them and their new German friends Lara, Kria, and Sophie. They were pretty ordinary young guys, with that same arrogant immaturity that most have, but fun.
They were a tad inebriated, so they went down the pub, and we were having a good time, so we joined them, and this time was successful. There was more alcohol, and quite a bit of dancing. The live band was middle aged, but that meant they played good music rather than the rubbish in the charts that we’ve heard a lot of at pubs and hostels, so we let loose with the unselfconscious waggling that counts for dancing at the time.
We returned and sat around, but I was tired so I turned in. The next morning I was up for church; I had arranged a lift from the hostel shuttle, free of charge, because I had seen the sign for a church nearby, though it be Baptist. I mentioned it to a girl in our room, Sandra (English), on my way out, and she asked to come too. It was nice to have company. It was an evangelical family sermon, but I got something out of it, even though it wasn’t anywhere near my cup of tea.
Talking of which, I did get a nice cup of tea afterwards; there was tea and cakes out the back after the service, and we talked to several women, which was enjoyable. Mostly it was talk of travelling and culture differences. The passion fruit cake was exquisite, and Sandra actually wrote down the recipe, and we got given two pieces of it to take away with us, as well as some other delights that were thrust into our hands.
Sandra mentioned the market on the way back, so we took a detour and caught it as it was closing up. She and come of the staff in the car got some fruit and veg. Aiden and I ate lunch with Sandra. It was raining so I took a book to the lounge area, until Aiden and Sandra came to me during a break in the weather, and we went down to the beach.
We walked and talked about a moral conundrum of Sandra’s. Then they decided to go in the water. I stayed with the stuff and read my book, which I finished. When they came out, they were talking about an incident in the water. Apparently Sandra had stepped on something, and though the lifeguard had said it looked fine, Sandra was worried.
Dinner was poached eggs for me, which I overcooked, and Sandra was still worried about her foot. I watched ‘Pineapple Express’ in lounge, then I was watching ‘Kick Ass’, when Sandra called a paramedic. There was nothing wrong with her! This was hours later, and it looked like a splinter. She complained that her calf was numb, but only when the hostel’s first aider had asked her earlier if that was a symptom. The paramedic dismissed it, but Sandra kept worrying. She actually asked us if we would walk down to the shop and buy her some ice. As if she couldn’t walk!
Being nice people, we did it. Then we all went to bed. But apparently, at 3am, Sandra woke Aiden up, complaining of a rash, and saying she’d called an ambulance. He stayed up with her for moral support, and helped her load her bags into the vehicle (because the hospital was in Bundaberg, her next destination). Aiden later railed the night guy on reception, because he told Sandra in a horrible manner that she was a hypochondriac and an attention seeker. I may agree with him, but she was feeling vulnerable, and he just wasn’t nice. I reckon her rash was stress related, because she worked herself into a right tiz.
The next day was the 14th, and I got up for my Monday morning Skype call. I had looked at the opening hours of Boab’s internet café, which boasted an hour internet with coffee and a cake. The plan was turn up when it opened, order breakfast, then talk to the rents. However, half an hour after its advertised opening time, I was still waiting outside the closed doors to a dark café, and Global Gossip was not open until much later, and then I found that the hostel didn’t have the right equipment. I had to give up the attempt. Aiden helped me form a new plan of action for the next morning.
So the day did not start well. I spent the rest of time until Aiden woke up blogging, and we had breakfast together. He went over to Global Gossip again, and I watched ‘I Love You Man’ in the lounge. I know it sounds like I watched a lot of films, but these first few days we had nothing booked, and there was nothing else to do in that little town. We had exhausted its resources very quickly.
Lunch was a ham and cheese sandwich (oh wow, we were extravagant back then; I miss ham), and we played cards. Thank goodness for cards, they have helped in some very boring situations. That afternoon was our first booked activity in 1770. Simon picked us up half an hour earlier than we’d been told, but it was fine. I did forget the voucher, but I just left it at reception for him when I got back.
The group was 8 strong, so there were four kayaks, nice and small. We got given a brief on the beach, then we were off. I went in the front, so Aiden was steering. It was very tiring on the arms, especially once Aiden realised he could get away with not paddling, as I couldn’t see him. I was not happy about that, I can tell you. It was nice to have a rest at a small, secluded beach near the bay mouth.
We went out into the waves, and Simon stopped when he spotted three dolphins! We only saw their fins, and when we moved closer, they went out to the sea, but it was still thrilling! We also saw the head of a loggerhead turtle! It was so big, I thought it was a light-coloured rock until he pointed it out, and then it dived.
The best part of the day was trying to catch the waves, and surf them! We got a few medium ones, and it was really exhilarating. We then got a massive one, and after a few seconds scream-filled excitement, we turned over. We had to remember what Simon had said – watch where your head is, your paddle is, and then where the kayak is. We had trouble that first time we fell out, because even though we had life jackets, it was hard to turn the boat back over.
The second time we turned over, we were near a sandbank, which made it easier, but it was surreal to be surrounded by the deep sea and only in waist high water. A highlight of the afternoon was while we were making our way out into the waves, facing the bay entrance. I saw one of the dolphins jump! It was a black silhouette on a cloudy sunset over the white crests ahead of us.
After surfing, we went back to the small beach and had another break, with goon (boxed wine that the French would spit on. The word goon is aboriginal for pillow of air, like an animal skin, and the silver bags in the boxes can be used as pillows when blown up after being emptied. Or so I’ve been told) and fruitcake, and crisps, which was well received. We took photos, then got back in the boats for the tiring paddle back.
Back at Cool Bananas we caught the end of ‘Finding Nemo’, which brought back reef memories. Seriously, that film is so accurate. We then watched ‘Catch Me If You Can’, and ‘The Simpsons’ on the netbook.
The next morning I got my Skype call. I sat outside Global Gossip and used their wifi on the netbook. And when I say outside, I really mean sitting on the pavement. There were people, cars, and birds passing by as I talked. Afterwards, breakfast time, and Aiden was still asleep. I got some blogging done in the lounge. Once he was up, we went over to Boab’s and I finally got my cake, coffee and internet. It was bloody good cake too. The coffee was a bit slow, but I think it was worth it.
After lunch we played Connect 4 (seriously, there is NOTHING in 1770), and Jenga, AND Dominoes. Then we were picked up for Scooteroo. This is one of the few attractions in the town, and it was a lot of fun. It was a massive group, about 50. We all got big leather jackets, and transfer tattoos, and helmets, and then we got on the bikes. We got a brief, and then they started them one at a time and sent us round a short practice run. It took a good while to get everyone away, and some people who fell off went on the back of the bikes of the staff.
So a long line of new bikers made its at first slow way out of the Scooteroo base and onto the roads around 1770/Agnes Water. Mine was a blue bike, and I was a bit wobbly at first but by the end I was giving it all it had! I was overtaking and shrieking into the wind “POWER!” as I managed 60kmh…. It was great! I loved it. Aiden
We rode for a good few hours, with a stop to look over the bay at sunset with lovely potato wedges, scrummy. Because we didn’t go to a certain bit if road, we got some free photos and internet coupons. Back at CB we watched ‘The Hangover’, ate some packet carbonara, and booked our next Greyhound.
The next day was surfing. Luke picked us up, with his dog, gave us rashies (wetsuit tops) and a massive foam surfboard each. We took these down to a quiet beach, and got taught about surfing. We practised the pop up on the sand, and I found out I’m ‘goofy’ apparently. We were quickly into the waves, and it was obvious that Aiden and I were the slow pokes. The guy with the accent was straight into the big waves because he had some experience.
Unsurprisingly the New Zealand girl was determined and quite good. Aiden and I had quite a few waves with the instructor pushing us, and we only stood up once each. We gave up relatively quickly. We were glad we did it, and standing up felt awesome, but once was enough. I don’t really like the sea, or sport, so surfing was never going to be my thing. I managed to slip on some rocks while we waited for the others, and cut my ankle up a bit.
When we got back, we got coffee and internet at Boab’s, then played Scrabble in the CB lounge, and watched ‘Gangs of New York’ which was a bit gruelling. We attempted to put on some laundry, but we found there was no dryer, so we put it off until we got to our next hostel. We fried some fish fingers for sandwiches, then watched ‘Hitch’. I didn’t finish the next film (something with Johnny Depp as a drug dealer) and got an early night, though Aiden stayed up much later. He had found a USB, and the guy was so grateful he gave him a pack of beer.
The next day we left 1770 after such a long time there, and got the 6.30am bus to Rainbow Beach. It was a 5am start, so I caught the cleaner in the kitchen, and had a small conversation with him – I mentioned going to drama school, and found out his daughter was an actress. Our Coach Captain was JD, and he was nice. We watched ‘Kung Fu Panda’ and chatted to JD at the stop at Bundaberg.
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