I'm in Newcastle! No, not that Newcastle... Newcastle NSW!
Firstly, my apologies for the gap since the last blog. Geographically I have travelled nearly 1000km since I lasted posted, which makes me feel very bad. My only excuses are that the internet here in super-expensive and I have been having a bit too much fun to be sitting inside typing away... but here it is! My Australian update has finally arrived...
BRISBANE - When I last wrote I had just arrived and I quickly made some international friends at the hostel. Ended up speaking a lot of spanish to french people (?!). Sampled Brissie's extensive nightlife and even met up with a friend from last time I was in Aus. I was enjoying the Southbank 'beach' area of Brisbane and roaming about the CBD when the unthinkable happened. Yes. It rained. It poured. Suffered some severly British weather and I was unimpressed I can tell you. Especially since I stubbornly refuse not to wear shorts, vests and flipflops wherever I go. Consequentially I spent alot of time in the hostel watching films and reading. This wasn't so bad, because I'd already spent alot of time in Brisbane before and enjoyed abit of 'me' time. Left Brisvegas on a rainy sunday morning southbound for...
SURFER'S PARADISE - It's paradise. For surfers. When it's not tipping it down. Which it did for the first 4/5 days. The thing about a lot of Aus is that there isn't that much to do when the weather is bad... but the hostel was good and I made friends with a lovely group of glaswegians and we played cards and went out. And I slept. Lots. Again. Australia has such a different pace to Asia, the adjustment period made me feel a little sedated to be honest. A sensation I have now mercifully overcome. Then an exciting day arrived... My Dad was to fly in from Melbourne where he had been on business. He had booked us a plush hotel but didn't arrive til the evening so I checked in and spent a BLISSFUL day in our huge, clean, cosy room overlooking the gold coast. Had a much needed bath for the first time since leaving home, in the olympic sized bathroom. 3 months of accumulated dirt. Nice! Havn't felt that clean in a long time... and probably won't again for longer! I was SO excited to see my dad and a truely familiar face. We caught up over a lovely meal and bottle of wine and were blessed by gorgeous blue skies in the morning after a massive storm the night before. Absolutely anihilated the breakfast buffet (you have to eat when you can when you backpack you know...) and then it was time to say goodbye again, which wasn't easy - I won't see him again until next summer. Finished up the week soaking up the sun on the beach and then it was on to...
BYRON BAY - Oh Byron... How can I possibly do you justice with mere words? I felt an immediate affinity with this little hippie beach town, and I knew I was going to fall in love with like so many before me. It's pretty much ever backpacker's dream to live in Byron. It's got it all; exquisite beaches, awesome surf, friendly locals and travellers, amazing nightlife, piles of independent shops and cafes, pubs, art and music scenes... I could go on, but I think you get the picture. The Backpacker's Inn where I stayed was a great hostel and I made loads of friends . We called each other by our hometowns, so I became "Sheffield!" for a few days. Took a road trip Nimbin - it's not your typical aussie country town. It is (if you can fathom it) even stranger than that. It's Byron's eccentric little sister - a bit of a hippie commune where the law concerning a certain substance has been stretched... to say the least. As tourists we took a lot of silly photos.. but nothing else! It's a crazy little bubble of a place. Other events from Byron included; working up a mean tan on the beach, showing Kelly Slater a thing or two on a surfboard (HA!), bonding with a fellow yorkshire lass over pie, watching the rugby league 4 nations (oh dear England), swimming out to the wreck, walking up to the lighthouse for spectacular views and appreciating many a golden sunset. Ah, I miss it already! Alas I had to push on, so it was with a long backwards glance that I moved south to...
COFFS HARBOUR - Well after the above, Coffs was abit of a let down. A quiet little harbour town, which I'm sure is lovely... if you're retired. But a little bit too quiet for my tastes. I walked up to Muttonbird Island ans spotted Whales migrating south and Dolphins which was a treat. I've actually done well with the wildlife spotting so far; wallabies, snakes, sea eagles, a giantatic spider on the dorm wall (ARGHH!), numerous crazy birds - one of which had made an impressive collection of plastic blue things (!?), and lots of lizards too. Also visited the botantic gardens in Coffs. Lovely. But there's really nothing else to do here unless you have heaps of money for diving. I also started feeling quite ill... tonsilitis style. So I hastily knocked back some Pencillin I had lying around (cheers Nai!) and soon felt lots better. Alexander Fleming - You are my Hero. Not at all sad to leave I caught my next train down to...
NEWCASTLE - Where I currently reside. Staying in a really cool YHA which used to be a Gentleman's Club. It's full of old leather sofas and antiques. I feel like I should be sporting a smoking jacket and a cravat half the time... Forgotten how much I love Newcastle - I came here before a couple of years ago. It's a great place; gorgeous beaches, great surf (if not a little rough for my skills - sandburn = ouch), pubs, lovely walks and a nice chilled out vibe. In fact we were interviewed by the Newcastle Hearld because Lonely Planet has just voted it the no.9 city... in the WORLD. Hmm.
Been to Blackbutt nature reserve to see Koalas and other aussie animals (got lost in a bat forest... scary!) And enjoyed two free dinners and pub quizzes. Yes! Having such a good time I decided to extend my stay by a few nights before nipping down to Sydney and flying to NZ to meet my mum and her fiance. Yep - Congrats Mum and Neil! Last night we went to a free outdoor cinema. So cool. Took a picnic and lots of blankets and lay out under the stars watching the film... I got all euphoric about it.
Can't believe that my first month in Aus is almost done. Pretty much destroyed my budget; things here are so expensive. Been living off the 'free food shelves' of hostels and basically super cheap carbs and drink. Australia is turning me to mush - mentally and physically! My train pass is awesome though so I'm saving alot of transport money at least.
It has been 100 days since I left home... wow.
Over and out for now, sorry it's been such an epic!
Much love
ElsBells