Lower levels:
Big Things

Navigation:

And so we rapidly approach Sydney, stopping for a brief walk along Surfers Paradise in an attempt to catch the scantily clad roller-blading 'meter maids' at work... The story behind this is that when parking meters were introduced by the regional government, the mayor of the town hired girls to put money in them for local city workers. Their uniform? A golden bikini and roller boots. How he got away with it I'll never know but I would have voted for him!

However, none of the blade babes are in sight and rhe beach and its environs have been totally engulfed in high rise buildings and the obligatory ice-cream stalls, shoddy gifts shops and kebab vans. Its not our scene - we move on, looking for bigger and better things.

We cross the Queensland border into New South Wales and take a detour to the inland hippy community of Nimbin. This is an alcohol free town (according to the town sign) but this clearly does not bother the locals who are clearly out of their tiny minds on a cocktail of home grown marijuana and/or shamonic tea. You can tell who the tourists are here - they're the ones wearing shoes...

Adjacent to Nimbin is Byron Bay, an ex-backpacker/surfer town that has in recent years begun to establish itself as a trendy and somewhat upmarket seaside resort town. Upmarket bistros and cafes now line a small street behind the beach and there are signs of this expanding rapidly.

Cape Byron, on the outskirts of town, is the most easterly point of Australia. Here we are delighted to spot several Humpback Whales migrating south with their young. We also find a multitude of 'Bluebottles' - Box Jellyfish - on the beach. Swimming season is nearly over for this year...

Leaving Cape Byron park, we test our new found Australian vocabulary by shouting 'hazz it gaain?' at a few bemused passers by - clearly we've mastered it as they look as puzzled and shell-shocked as we did when we first heard this greeting. Let it be know that 'hazz it gaain?' is far, far more frequently used than G'day.

Ever South, we pass through the town of Coffs Harbour and stop for breakfast in the town of Nambucca Heads.

Nambucca is an aboriginal word meaning 'many bends' - in reference to the meandering river which reaches the sea here. And like the Town of Seventeen-Seventy (an english word meaning 'the year Cpt Cook discovered this place'), we find a hilltop lookout onto a simply resplendent view - this time a sandy inlet.

And so we continue south, rapidly eating up the kilometres until, late afternoon, we find ourselves back at the origin point of our Australian adventure - Sydney.

But its not over yet - oh no. There's more Sydney, and soon it will be time to head for New Zealand - see you there... 

Navigation: