Day 1: Sydney to Port Macquarie
By the time we'd left Sydney, we thought that we had ample time to get to Port Macquarie, however we didn't count how much time it would take to sort out two issues: paying for the use of Sydney's toll roads and changing mobile phone providers.
Many of Sydney's roads, including the bridge, are not free to use; you have to pay a toll to use them. However, it was not a simple case of paying a person at the toll gate, oh no. Apparently, 90% of NSW residents prefer to pay their tolls electronically. Most drivers have a device in their vehicle which is scanned whenever they drive on a toll road, and their account is automatically charged. This is OK for residents, but for tourists? We used the toll roads a few times, and we had to ring a number within 48 hours to pay and avoid them sending a bil to a registered address. We tried calling them on Saturday and Sunday, but the call centre was shut. Was this part of the 48 hours we had to pay in? Oh yes it was! Poor Thomas was on hold for at least 20 mins trying to get this bloody tolls paid for! I can't see how 90% of NSW people prefer this system. Surely it's easier just to pay the toll there and then in cash?
Hiiiii, you've reached Virgin Mobile! To top up your credit only to lose it in 2 days because of our extortionate rates, press 1. Well sorry Virgin Man, we couldn't handle your extortionate rates any longer, so we switched to Vodafone. Somehow their automated voice, Lara, doesn't have the same subtle tones as the Virgin Man, but at least the system is better and the rates are cheaper! It took us ages to register our new sims and transfer our numbers over!
So, after about 2 hours of sitting in a Hungry Jack's carpark talking to robotic voices, we could finally keep going. We stopped at Port Stephens just north of Newcastle, and walked up to the headland, which was part of the Tomaree National Park. The walk to the top was pretty exhausting, especially in the soaring heat, but it was worth it for the fantastic views we had: hills, beaches and blue sea as far as the eye could see. For some reason my Bible (Lonely Planet) didn't mention this place. Maybe it was because of the giant spiders which we there (they were the size of my palm!).
We then continued north, looking for the Lakes Way; a scenic drive through parts of the Myall Lakes NP. We turned into the park far too early, and could only drive a certain way until we came to a river where you needed to cross in a ferry, which had stopped running for the day. This meant we had a massive detour back to the Pacific Highway. We did however see the most breathtaking sunset over the lake.
We were now hard pushed to make it to our hostel before reception closed at 11pm. We certainly had underestimated how long it would it take to get to Port M. The roadworks we had for the last part of the trek did not help. We did make it to the Ozzie Pozzie Backpackers at about 11, so there was no problem there. Tired and hungry from the journey (we really shouldn't have travelled that far that day) we attempted to find somewhere serving food that was still open. Luckily a bakery opened its doors for us when we went past! The hostel f'ed up our beds, so we ended up sharing a double bed, which meant I didn't have a very comfortable night!
Day 2: Port Macquarie to Coffs Harbour
Once again administrative stuff set us back this day. It took ages to get our laundry done, and we spent a long time trying to get a hostel for Byron Bay for the day after, but we had no luck, so we decided to go to Nimbin instead.
Port Macquarie had a good vibe about it. It was another stereotypical Aussie seaside town. Everyone was wearing flip-flops and most people had a surfboard with them. The breakwall was very interesting, as each rock had been painted. There was a mix of road trippers who'd left their marks, poems, artwork, birthday messages and the like. The beaches were also pristine. We drove down to the lighthouse were we had yet another incredible beach view.
Along the way to Coffs, we went on a slight detour to have a drink at the interestingly named Pub With No Beer. The story goes that at one point this rural pub screwed up an order, which meant it didn't have any beer for a short while. Local country singer Slim Dusty wrote a song about it called 'The Pub With No Beer', and the pub became so famous that it changed its name to the song's name. They did sell beer, and even had their own brewery on site! We also stopped for food at Fredo's Pies, where they had 50 different types of pie, and two random lifesize Marilyn Monroe statues.
We arrived at Coffs mid evening, and at midnight I turned 21! We celebrated with a cake (well a custard tart with a candle in it) and beer! Thanks to everyone who sent birthday wishes!
Day 3 and 4: Coffs Harbour, Ballina and Nimbin
In the morning we explored Coffs Harbour. Like Port M, Newcastle, Apollo Bay, etc it was another Aussie surfer town, however for some reason it wasn't as good as Port M. It was lacking something; despite being a bigger town it didn't seem to be as lively. We walked to Muttonbird Island; a nesting ground for these rare birds, but like the platypussies in Tassie, we were there at the wrong time of year/day to see any!
On the way out of Coffs, we went to the Big Banana. This giant banana is a random tourist attraction. The shop accompanying sold a horde of banana related items, such as banana shaped water bottles, banana earrings, and anything else you could imagine.
It wasn't long before we came across another random giant thing. This time it was a giant prawn, situated on the main road into Ballina. It made complete sense for it to be there: the shop "underneath the prawn" (:P) sold nothing prawn related, and as far as we could tell Ballina wasn't noted for its prawns. At least Coffs is a major area for banana growing! Australia seems to have an obsession with random giant things (giant lobster, banana, prawn, rocking horse, etc). It's almost as if the Aussies feel that their country's outstanding natural beauty is not attractive enough to make people visit, so they have to erect giant structures everywhere.
We then went to Nimbin. In the middle of f'ing nowhere, Nimbin is a small town with a very unique culture and attitude. The town looks like it's in a time warp; stuck in the 60s and 70s. Every inch of wall has been treated like an artist's canvas, therefore weird and wonderful art covers every shop face. The locals are in their own world most of the time and glady invite you to join it! It is a mecca for hippies and open minded people yearning to expand their minds and look at things from a different perspective.
The next day was spent in the town and at our great hostel in the locals' world. Situated about a 30 min walk from the main street, up a dirt track and across a river, Nimbin Rox YHA felt like an oasis. You could truly relax in the shade surrounded by palm trees and the beautiful countryside. It was a really good hostel, and deserved it's title as NSW's best YHA!
By the time we'd left Sydney, we thought that we had ample time to get to Port Macquarie, however we didn't count how much time it would take to sort out two issues: paying for the use of Sydney's toll roads and changing mobile phone providers.
Many of Sydney's roads, including the bridge, are not free to use; you have to pay a toll to use them. However, it was not a simple case of paying a person at the toll gate, oh no. Apparently, 90% of NSW residents prefer to pay their tolls electronically. Most drivers have a device in their vehicle which is scanned whenever they drive on a toll road, and their account is automatically charged. This is OK for residents, but for tourists? We used the toll roads a few times, and we had to ring a number within 48 hours to pay and avoid them sending a bil to a registered address. We tried calling them on Saturday and Sunday, but the call centre was shut. Was this part of the 48 hours we had to pay in? Oh yes it was! Poor Thomas was on hold for at least 20 mins trying to get this bloody tolls paid for! I can't see how 90% of NSW people prefer this system. Surely it's easier just to pay the toll there and then in cash?
Hiiiii, you've reached Virgin Mobile! To top up your credit only to lose it in 2 days because of our extortionate rates, press 1. Well sorry Virgin Man, we couldn't handle your extortionate rates any longer, so we switched to Vodafone. Somehow their automated voice, Lara, doesn't have the same subtle tones as the Virgin Man, but at least the system is better and the rates are cheaper! It took us ages to register our new sims and transfer our numbers over!
So, after about 2 hours of sitting in a Hungry Jack's carpark talking to robotic voices, we could finally keep going. We stopped at Port Stephens just north of Newcastle, and walked up to the headland, which was part of the Tomaree National Park. The walk to the top was pretty exhausting, especially in the soaring heat, but it was worth it for the fantastic views we had: hills, beaches and blue sea as far as the eye could see. For some reason my Bible (Lonely Planet) didn't mention this place. Maybe it was because of the giant spiders which we there (they were the size of my palm!).
We then continued north, looking for the Lakes Way; a scenic drive through parts of the Myall Lakes NP. We turned into the park far too early, and could only drive a certain way until we came to a river where you needed to cross in a ferry, which had stopped running for the day. This meant we had a massive detour back to the Pacific Highway. We did however see the most breathtaking sunset over the lake.We were now hard pushed to make it to our hostel before reception closed at 11pm. We certainly had underestimated how long it would it take to get to Port M. The roadworks we had for the last part of the trek did not help. We did make it to the Ozzie Pozzie Backpackers at about 11, so there was no problem there. Tired and hungry from the journey (we really shouldn't have travelled that far that day) we attempted to find somewhere serving food that was still open. Luckily a bakery opened its doors for us when we went past! The hostel f'ed up our beds, so we ended up sharing a double bed, which meant I didn't have a very comfortable night!
Day 2: Port Macquarie to Coffs Harbour
Once again administrative stuff set us back this day. It took ages to get our laundry done, and we spent a long time trying to get a hostel for Byron Bay for the day after, but we had no luck, so we decided to go to Nimbin instead.
Port Macquarie had a good vibe about it. It was another stereotypical Aussie seaside town. Everyone was wearing flip-flops and most people had a surfboard with them. The breakwall was very interesting, as each rock had been painted. There was a mix of road trippers who'd left their marks, poems, artwork, birthday messages and the like. The beaches were also pristine. We drove down to the lighthouse were we had yet another incredible beach view.
Along the way to Coffs, we went on a slight detour to have a drink at the interestingly named Pub With No Beer. The story goes that at one point this rural pub screwed up an order, which meant it didn't have any beer for a short while. Local country singer Slim Dusty wrote a song about it called 'The Pub With No Beer', and the pub became so famous that it changed its name to the song's name. They did sell beer, and even had their own brewery on site! We also stopped for food at Fredo's Pies, where they had 50 different types of pie, and two random lifesize Marilyn Monroe statues.
We arrived at Coffs mid evening, and at midnight I turned 21! We celebrated with a cake (well a custard tart with a candle in it) and beer! Thanks to everyone who sent birthday wishes!Day 3 and 4: Coffs Harbour, Ballina and Nimbin
In the morning we explored Coffs Harbour. Like Port M, Newcastle, Apollo Bay, etc it was another Aussie surfer town, however for some reason it wasn't as good as Port M. It was lacking something; despite being a bigger town it didn't seem to be as lively. We walked to Muttonbird Island; a nesting ground for these rare birds, but like the platypussies in Tassie, we were there at the wrong time of year/day to see any!
On the way out of Coffs, we went to the Big Banana. This giant banana is a random tourist attraction. The shop accompanying sold a horde of banana related items, such as banana shaped water bottles, banana earrings, and anything else you could imagine.
It wasn't long before we came across another random giant thing. This time it was a giant prawn, situated on the main road into Ballina. It made complete sense for it to be there: the shop "underneath the prawn" (:P) sold nothing prawn related, and as far as we could tell Ballina wasn't noted for its prawns. At least Coffs is a major area for banana growing! Australia seems to have an obsession with random giant things (giant lobster, banana, prawn, rocking horse, etc). It's almost as if the Aussies feel that their country's outstanding natural beauty is not attractive enough to make people visit, so they have to erect giant structures everywhere.
We then went to Nimbin. In the middle of f'ing nowhere, Nimbin is a small town with a very unique culture and attitude. The town looks like it's in a time warp; stuck in the 60s and 70s. Every inch of wall has been treated like an artist's canvas, therefore weird and wonderful art covers every shop face. The locals are in their own world most of the time and glady invite you to join it! It is a mecca for hippies and open minded people yearning to expand their minds and look at things from a different perspective.The next day was spent in the town and at our great hostel in the locals' world. Situated about a 30 min walk from the main street, up a dirt track and across a river, Nimbin Rox YHA felt like an oasis. You could truly relax in the shade surrounded by palm trees and the beautiful countryside. It was a really good hostel, and deserved it's title as NSW's best YHA!
Day 5, 6 and 7: Byron Bay
We finally managed to get a hostel for Byron Bay and headed back to modern civilisation on 16th. Byron really lived up to all the hype. It was a surfer's/backpacker's hotspot. It really was a town where everything was done in the sea. Everyone was walking around in beach gear, and there were dozens of surf style shops and cafes. Byron had the classic laid back, friendly Aussie atmosphere we'd grown to love.
Our hostel, Belongil Beachouse, was situated across the road from one of the great beaches. Yet again we were surrounded by lucious palm trees, and the place had a great feel to it. After checking in we hit the beach and chilled.
The next day was the first rainy day we'd had since...well, since before Melbourne at least! So we did little and just relaxed at the hostel. The following day we visited Cape Byron: the most easterly point on the Australian mainland. Past the lighthouse, we sat on the rocky outcrop for what seemed like ages and just watched the sea hitting the shore.
The following we day we left Byron and went north towards Brisbane. It was good to have a few days off from the sometimes hectic travelling in Nimbin and Byron.
Day 8: Byron Bay to Brisbane
It wasn't a long trip to Brisbane. On the way we of course went across the NSW-Queensland border, and it was the most unimpressive border we'd seen so far in Australia. We stopped along the Gold Coast, which is worshipped (like everywhere else north of Sydney) for its great beaches and surf.
Surfers Paradise, the main town on the Gold Coast, felt out of place in Australia. I felt like I was in somewhere like Miami. Ugly high-rise hotel blocks ran along the coastline and backed on to the beach, which was heavily crowded with tanners, swimmers, surfers and bossy lifeguards. I don't think it lived up to its name, as there were so many people surfing, you were more likely to crash into another surfer than actually do some decent surfing. It was a little dissappointing, and our friend Ben told us it was like this. He only spent 40 mins there, but we were determined to beat this, and actually ended up staying for about 2 hours!
At a cafe in Surfers, we had to ask the waiter for the time. Queensland, like Britain with the Euro, likes to be different from its fellow Aussie states. For example, they don't follow daylight savings time, so it's an hour behind NSW which is in the same timezone as Queensland. Also, if travelling via train, at the border the train needs to be altered to fit on the tracks, which are a different width in Queensland than in all the other states!
We then travelled the short distance to Brisbane, the capital of Queensland. Our hostel is friendly and comfy, with free parking, which was a welcome change to the terribly expensive parking fees in Sydney (we once paid $51 for one night in a car park!), and there were no sodding toll roads!
We finally managed to get a hostel for Byron Bay and headed back to modern civilisation on 16th. Byron really lived up to all the hype. It was a surfer's/backpacker's hotspot. It really was a town where everything was done in the sea. Everyone was walking around in beach gear, and there were dozens of surf style shops and cafes. Byron had the classic laid back, friendly Aussie atmosphere we'd grown to love.
Our hostel, Belongil Beachouse, was situated across the road from one of the great beaches. Yet again we were surrounded by lucious palm trees, and the place had a great feel to it. After checking in we hit the beach and chilled.
The next day was the first rainy day we'd had since...well, since before Melbourne at least! So we did little and just relaxed at the hostel. The following day we visited Cape Byron: the most easterly point on the Australian mainland. Past the lighthouse, we sat on the rocky outcrop for what seemed like ages and just watched the sea hitting the shore.
The following we day we left Byron and went north towards Brisbane. It was good to have a few days off from the sometimes hectic travelling in Nimbin and Byron.
Day 8: Byron Bay to Brisbane
It wasn't a long trip to Brisbane. On the way we of course went across the NSW-Queensland border, and it was the most unimpressive border we'd seen so far in Australia. We stopped along the Gold Coast, which is worshipped (like everywhere else north of Sydney) for its great beaches and surf.
Surfers Paradise, the main town on the Gold Coast, felt out of place in Australia. I felt like I was in somewhere like Miami. Ugly high-rise hotel blocks ran along the coastline and backed on to the beach, which was heavily crowded with tanners, swimmers, surfers and bossy lifeguards. I don't think it lived up to its name, as there were so many people surfing, you were more likely to crash into another surfer than actually do some decent surfing. It was a little dissappointing, and our friend Ben told us it was like this. He only spent 40 mins there, but we were determined to beat this, and actually ended up staying for about 2 hours!
At a cafe in Surfers, we had to ask the waiter for the time. Queensland, like Britain with the Euro, likes to be different from its fellow Aussie states. For example, they don't follow daylight savings time, so it's an hour behind NSW which is in the same timezone as Queensland. Also, if travelling via train, at the border the train needs to be altered to fit on the tracks, which are a different width in Queensland than in all the other states!
We then travelled the short distance to Brisbane, the capital of Queensland. Our hostel is friendly and comfy, with free parking, which was a welcome change to the terribly expensive parking fees in Sydney (we once paid $51 for one night in a car park!), and there were no sodding toll roads!
No comments:
Post a Comment