well here i am back in byron......

i left sydney and on the bus met 2 german guy and french guys called michael and baptiste. we all ended up going to the same hostel together (called the arts factory is the coolest place ive stayed so far!!). i had only intended on staying a couple of nights but ended up there for three weeks. the area is beautiful, and most days i would get up and go relax on the beach, watch the sunset then we'd all relax in the hostel for the evening. the hostel itself is set of the border of the rainforest, and theres always lizard, bush turkeys, snakes and spiders hanging around!! the place has a really good energy.... theres always art and music going on. each evening we'll sit out and people will start jamming (guitars, drums, singing, saxaphone), and it people from all over the world so im learning lots about other countries music! baptiste is an amazing singer and guitarist (supported ben harper!!), i have some videos of him and others playing on my camera but its is broken so i cant upload at the moment :(

one of the best things i did was a skydive!! made all the more special through the circumstances in which i did it as well. i was sat with pietro (friend from italy) and we were both saying that we'd love to do a skydive but neither of us could afford it. that nigth we played on a team together on a trivia night. he one a skydive and insisted that i book one and he give me half the money so that we can share it!! so sweet!! we did it over byron at 14000ft, was amazing, 70 seconds of freefall then maybe a couple of minutes once the parachute is open. it was the most intense feeling ive ever felt jumping from the plane and im still buzzing when i think about it!!

after exactly 3 weeks i left byron to go to surfers paradise, which i wasnt a fan of so only stayed one night before i went to nimbin for 3 nights!! nimbin is set inland NSW, nr to mount warning. there area is so beautiful and the town itself very interesting. since 1973 when the aquarius festival was held here, it has been a haven for hippies and the leading force in australia for cannabis legalisation. though it is still illegal there are several cafes in nimbin which you can smoke in, a hemp museum and 'the hemp embassy' the whole town is colourful and beautiful with loads of great characters. the 2nd day that i was there, they were holding a poetry competition in one of the cafes. so standard was really good so i went and watching, it was a gorgeous day and was really good fun, sitting and drinking coffee and chatting to the locals. also is the first place ive been where i was the only backpacker there - crazy!! it was great to go somewhere that evryone is so concerned about the enviroment, there is a huge emphasis on recycling and the building in the surrounding area are mostly made of recycled materials. there is also the hemp embassy which is about educating people on the positive enviromental impact that embarcing hemp would have (for those of you that dont know google it - its so versatile, can be made it fabric, paper, house building materials, bio fuel to name a few!). reall heartening to see!!