Going local - Muwillumbah
Hannah got up toasty warm after a much better night's sleep in her budget jim jams. Nik's first words were "you were right, I should have got pyjamas" as he was frozen. Ha.
Walked down to the bus station with the big bags, no mean feat. Nik got angry as he wanted there to be a nice coffee shop there and there wasn't. However, we had a McDonalds breakfast - Hannah keeps forgetting to go on a diet.
Hopped on the Byron Bay bus to get to Murwillumbah, certain that when we got off, everyone would be wondering why the hell we were going there. The drive down was really good, as it went through Surfers Paradise and all the lovely beach towns along the gold coast - it was a nice change of scenery from sugar fields.
Stepped off the bus at Murwillumbah into real Australia. There was one other person at the transit station and he was a man in overalls with a mullet smoking a cigarette. Amazing.
Matt, who lives with Randy, came to pick us up and we drove to 'A Slice of Heaven' - formerly a lesbian retreat, which they now rent out and live at. The area is a beautiful slice of countryside, which in some ways looks very much like home - its very quiet and tranquil after Brisbane, heaven! The plot has three self contained units to live in, plus lots of green space, a pool, a hot tub, a pond and tennis courts - not bad for a rental property eh!
We spent the afternoon chilling out and drinking hot beverages and taking a look at the place, before heading to the pub where Matt works for dinner ($10 steak night, yum) and some drinks. There was some excellent local wildlife there, and Nik got fully involved with the playing (and losing) of pool, and the playing (and losing) of a shooting game. We also both were made to drink jagerbombs, which after a couple of beers didn't seem like a bad idea at all! We then went on to a different pub, and played on the pokies with Randy - we managed to win about $60 which is pretty damn good we think - Nik had the lucky finger.
Murwillumbah is a really cute town, full of little shops and cafes and pubs. We like it a lot.
Next day
After travelling so much the last few days, we decided on a rest day. Hannah managed to not get dressed til 3.30pm. We even did all our laundry, which is an amazing treat while travelling. Nik played Randy at tennis out on the courts. He got very competitive and hit the ball very hard, but ultimately failed to win - again. Randy also spoilt us with dinner out the slow cooker of beef and vegetables - real country food.
Lamentably, Hannah got a shocking headache, and had to go to bed at about 7.30 and Randy (who so obviously has daughters) was super kind and provided drugs, Gatorade and chocolate to try and help. Nik and Randy stayed up watching films and chatting til later, and then Nik came to bed and watched Ultimate Fighter.
Saturday
Hannah's headache came back a bit this morning, but subsided a bit after some porridge and drugs. Around lunchtime, Randy's tour for the day commenced.
First off, we stopped for gas at an amazing petrol station that also sold everything and was a café despite being tiny - the person even came out and pumped the gas for us - that's rural. We then went into a cute little town beginning with B and went to a mans garage to look around as he made it into a crystal shop - brilliant.
We drove through the countryside, which again looked a lot like home, but with banana trees every now and then, to a place called the Macadamia Castle. This was a building with a faux castle frontage, apparently home to King Macca, where they sell everything to do with macadamia nuts but then, you go out the back and it is an animal petting zoo. We saw kangaroos, wallabies, emus, possums, alpacas, bunnies, chicks and loads more animals. There were some really colourful birds, and Hannah even went in the flying about bird bit - that's bravery. Her favourite animals were however the little goats, and she got to feed one and one jumped up on her and left little hoof marks. Getting a pet goat for sure. We also saw some Australian snakes which were beautiful, and some blue tongued lizards, which actually have the bluest tongues EVER.
We also got to play crazy golf. After a close run game, Randy was by far the victor, meaning technically that Nik had once again lost at something. Hannah came third but not by much, so she maintains that as she sucks a lot less at this than most sports, it is HER GAME.
After the Macadamia Castle, we drove to the cutest town called Bangalow for a cup of coffee. It was full of very arty crafty little shops and amazing old style buildings. Also a lot of people with cute pet dogs.
We then drove down to the legendary Byron Bay, where we didn't find ourselves, but we did see a beautiful sunset on the gorgeous beach, and see hippies playing music and dancing as the sun went down. Byron is a really lovely place, great looking architecture and cool shops, bars and eateries. Dress code is floaty skirts. We went for a walk through town and went for a drink in a pub in a tiny railway station - it was a good people watching spot. Afterwards, we drove to a venue called the arts lodge, that you would never know was there, but was the coolest spot. It has a big outdoor bar with a huge tree in it, plus a cool indoor bar with their own beer brewed on site (kegs visible) and a little cinema out the back. Certainly a place to see and be seen.
Drove back to Murwillumbah after our day out and relaxed out the front of the house drinking hot beverages and talking flip flops. We both have our toe jams now so that we can spread the word of the worlds comfiest flip flops - even Hannah could get them on and not be in pain or fall down.
Spent the evening on the sofa watching Midsomer Murders again (terrible but amazing all at the same time) and having takeaway pizzas and cokes for dinner - a wonderful end to a brilliant day. Randy really is the perfect host. (NB. Hannah has still not remembered to go on a diet).
Sunday
Enjoyed a lovely leisurely morning - the sun even came out today. Then in the afternoon, Randy drove us on an amazing drive through some incredible countryside to Nimbin - the alternative culture capital of Australia. Nimbin is a small town, but every year they have a Mardi Grass festival - so you can guess what the main pastime there is! The car kind of died when we got there, but that didn't stop us going for a fantastic wander around.
It's a great looking place, everything is so creative. The school is painted like a rainbow, and even every flower pot has a painting on it. There are lots of shops selling crystals, hemp clothing, colourful hats and incense, and even more selling marijuana paraphernalia - including the cleverly named Bringabong shop (in which Hannah saw a recruitment advert: Are you a bong babe? Are you a young female, bubbly and outgoing who likes bongs? Genius)
We also went to the Nimbin museum, which started life as a room full of junk, and is now a journey through Australian history via installations of random stuff and incredible mural paintings. There were lots of decorated chopped up VW campers inside, and even a paper mache cave. It was one of those funny little places that has to be seen to be believed.
Went and had a coffee on the main street to watch the world go by. Learned that two things you don't need in Nimbin are shoes and teeth!
Managed to get the car going again and drove back through the sticks - a kangaroo even ran out in front of the car for an authentic experience. Stopped in Uki (where the mountains meet the sky apparently) on the way back for a drink at a proper local pub, and not before time as due to the twisty turny mountain roads we were both nauseous. From their events board, we observed that Thursday night is clearly curry night in every pub around the world.
Got back to the house and chatted to Hannah's biggest sis and family on the Skype - finally someone has been there for us to call (anyone else, feel free to send your details so we can talk!!). It was lovely and good to see people from home.
We watched some tv, and our new favourite advert is the one for crimsafe screens - if its not crimsafe, its not crim safe - what a slogan! Later on, Hannah cooked up spaghetti and sauce, after which, we were all ready for an early night.
Monday
The men folk got up at 4 in the morning to watch the world cup, which apparently was very disappointing - highlight being blackberry pie and ice cream as a snack. Hannah stayed in bed! All had a rather lethargic and lazy morning, esp as we were both feeling a bit homesick today.
Matt drove us into town to do some food shopping so that we could cook a lovely dinner for our hosts, and we also stopped for a quick coffee.
The best part of today however, was that when we got back, while we were outside drinking our teas and coffees and chatting away, a big carpet python came to visit us. It was wrapped up around the roof and moving across and down. Hannah was telling a story at the time, and stopped to point and say 'snake' to Randy and Nik. It must be stressed that this was not in a terrified way I.e. "SNAKE!!!" but was more a matter of fact "oh look, a snake" type affair. The men folk however both shouted out and were rather uncomfortable about it all - Randy's words were along the lines of: "Jesus Christ! Get me a gun and I'll shoot that animal". It was rather funny. It was a lovely snake though, really pretty with a lump of lunch in its belly, and much bigger than we at first thought. Hannah named him Jake. He has now slithered off though and we haven't seen him since so we are all being careful about where we step!
Nik made arrangements with his friend in Brisbane for us to go and stay with him, and booked our bus which was very organised - we are going on Thursday. In the meantime, Hannah dyed her hair and was high on the fumes it took so long! In a bid to combat the disgusting black roots/white hair combo, Hannah now has a full head of bright red hair. It is interesting to say the least, but will do for now!
For dinner, we cooked a huge pot of chilli to have with spicy wedges, tortilla chips, tacos, salad, cheese and dips. It was a good dinner and we even all sat round the table to have it like civilised human beings. We then continued the civilised tone of the evening, with a game of monopoly. Matt gave up. Nik did not lose, but came third. Hannah came second and went down fighting. Randy was a total shark and won everything.