ByronBay, New South Wales - 29th July

Had a short trip to ByronBay (in NSW) and enjoyed some beautiful scenery along the coastal road.As soon as we arrived we had a good feel for the place as it seems to have a laid back bohemian vibe.So far the hostels have been OK with some better than others, but then we are choosing the double en suite's for most of the time!Generally clean with some really friendly, helpful staff and at least they have some life there rather than a soul-less hotel. We also go two free pizza vouchers for booking three nights - brill! Hired some bikes out from the hostel and rode up to the lighthouse which sits out at the furthest point east on the Oz mainland.A bit of a struggle as there were no gears on the bikes!Looking out over the ocean, which is a variety of shades of blue, we spotted a school of dolphins, and a whale and her calf splashing about.Stood there for a while just taking in the beautiful scene.In the evening, we went out to a bar called Cheeky Monkey's party pub where they serve big meals for $5 AUD (equivalent to £2.50) so it was full of like-minded backpackers looking for a bargain!It was a good bar with a quiz; giant Genga, Michael Jackson dancing competitions and the 'fastest one to feed a ball up the inside leg of a row of men's trouser legs and back down again'. (Top-level cultural entertainment doesn't get any better than this…!) They had asked Suzanne to go up on the stage but after seeing those who had to dance like MJ for 20 seconds she chickened out.There were also lots of give-aways, prizes and everyone ended up dancing on the tables.We should have done this 20 years ago while we were a lot younger - ah but we still think we are!!

30th July

Thought we would make the most of the sunshine so went to the beach for the day.Had a stroll along and saw lots of carvings in the rock and you can see part of a ship wreck out to sea.Lots of people around and I guess it's a great holiday destination for those further south to come up to in the winter months.A quiet evening, enjoying our free 'Eagle Boys' pizza and wine from the local bottle shop and watching DVD's in our deluxe room.

31st July

Went on 'Jim's Alternative Tour' to Nimbin, a small hippy town!The tour-guide was very laid back and had some quirky bits of information to pass on.He had put together a CD of hippy or drug-inspired music and played it bursting out of the speakers.We stopped off at a pub to fill up the eskie with beers and cider and to crack a few of the local macadamia nuts.We arrived in Nimbin and of course the stereotype dreadlocked, bearded and bare-footed 'travellers' were everywhere to be seen.The shop-fronts are brightly coloured and despite the rumour that happy smokes are easy to obtain, that's not really the reality, much to our (Suzanne's) disappointment!!The tour guide had said that it is usually more accessible when there is a festival going on.We did get offered some (weed?) by some old washed-out hippy on the street, but she wanted us to buy a truck load for more cash than we were happy to part with. However, we did manage to get some 'special tea', which apparently tastes very nice with honey. (We're just soooooo crazy)

After lunch went, we off into the hills were we met a bloke named Paul who came out to Australia from New York to avoid being drafted for the Vietnam war and ended up setting up 'home' in the forest.He was about 4 foot tall with lots of hair and has apparently been living in his shack by the swamp for 30+ years. (Hmm, not sure that these dates match-up, since the Vietnam War ended in 1975 - but hey you weren't there man!!) During this time he has planted lots of seeds and is now surrounded by lots of different types of trees.His place was a tip but he did offer us some sweet limes and other exotic fruits out of his dirty hands.We weren't sure if the gormless look on his face was just for effect or if he really was stoned!He took us for a walk through his forest and it was a bit alarming to see dolls heads and arms scattered around the place and huge piles of junk where there were food mixers, old boots, strange mechanical looking things and more plastic dolls!He still didn't really say a word so it was all a bit strange.To finish off the trip we stopped at MynonFalls, where you look out over the deep gorge below.In the evening we went out to watch a live local band and it made a change not to hear cover songs all night.