Pulling up into Byron Bay was a well needed breath of fresh air. As soon as you drove into the place you couldn't help but feel the cool vibe in the air. What a smashing place, littered with funky shops selling a wide range of retro beach wear for the fashion conscious and bars and restaurants adorning the coast. The closer you stay to the beach the more expensive it was, we checked one place out and they were asking $65 a night so we opted to stay 2km down the road at a great little camp site with good amenities called Byron Bay Tourist Village for the bargain price of $30 a night. As soon as we had found our home for the next few days we trotted down to the beach to check it out. A good 30 minutes walk and we were there in backpacker heaven. The beach was great and we waisted no time getting into our bathers to lap up a bit sun. After a few hours of baking in the sun, the rumblings of our stomachs could not be ignored and like all good Brits at the beach we decided to sniff out some fish 'n' chips. We found a place called Fish Heads just up the road and the cue was coming out of the door, always a good sign. So with mouths watering we looked over the menu and opted for the couples pack. When our order was ready we were surprised at the size of the box as it looked like a hat box. Well I do suppose it had two fish, four king prawns, four scallops, four potato scallops, six calamari, two portions of chips and a tub of tartar sauce in it, all for the bargain price of $27 (£18 for all that, you cant go wrong). So carrying our hat box we found a little spot on the grass overlooking the beach and sat and devoured our feast. Carslberg don't do fish and chips but if they did....

As we had came to Byron Bay to chill out a bit after our time on the cotton farm we decided to spend the next day down the beach again. To avoid being pigs two days in a row we made a little picnic to take with us. The weather once again was lovely and we walked right along Main Beach, Clarkes Beach and The Pass and ended up at Little Wategos Beach. This beach has the best surf so it was great for watching the no fear surfers battling the waves. We got our heads in our books and lapped up the sun only stopping to tuck into the picnic and to build the odd sandcastle, well that was all me in all honesty but it was a good one, it had a draw bridge and everything. A short walk away was Captain Cook Lookout and we ventured from our little spot on the beach to check it out. You climb the stairs that join onto a large rock that takes you to a lookout point giving you a view of the whole bay. Again, the views were spectacular and we could see and point out the distance we had walked that day to get to where we were.

The next day we had planned to do the coastal walk along Byron Bay ending up at the lighthouse, unfortunately the weather wasn't really on our side with the clouds looking as colourful as yesterdays porridge and it was only a matter of time before the cats and dogs came down. Ever the optimists though we plodded on packing a jacket each for our trip. We walked our usual route from our camp site to the beach and then set off on the path stretching along the coast. Once you reach the Cape Byron walking track that takes you to the lighthouse, you are treat to a walk that ribbons around the headland that dips and mostly soars its way up to the 1901 lighthouse that towers over it all. It is also situated on the most easterly point of Australia, just a little fact thrown in for you there. The surrounding ocean is known for its dolphins and migrating humpback whales but none were spotted on this gloomy day. As you follow the track it continues around the north-eastern side of the cape, delving into Cape Byron State Conservation Park where you stumble across bush turkeys by the bucket full. They were running everywhere. Wallabies are know to live there also but we didn't spot a single one. Eventually the lighthouse was in our sights and as we started our last climb up the track the heavens opened and poured its contents right on top of us. We tried to take cover under a tree but we were pretty wet through within minutes. Ashleigh's umbrella gave minimal protection from the rain that seemed to be sideways. So like a couple of drowned rat's we soggerly squidged our way up the road and made it to the lighthouse and rewarded ourselves with a coffee to warm our soggy bones. The rain eventually past and we ventured out of the cafe to take a look around the lighthouse. The views were even better than Captain Cook Lookout. Even though the weather was crap and the walk was long it was worth it and we were pleased we got there. We set off once more back along the track that would eventually lead back to the camp site with the thoughts of changing into dry clothes and a hot cuppa being the only thing on our agendas.

Ash had hunted out some more job prospects and after our three days rest and recuperation we hit the road again and drove north to the little town of Gayndah, which is also the oldest town in Queensland. We had to make our way to a camp site to arrange work picking citrus fruit on one of the many farms spread around Gayndah. We had to be there before 6pm to meet the lady we had spoken to on the phone about the available jobs, the drive took a lot longer than we thought it would and we caught the lady at the camp site reception with only minutes to spare. We filled in a few forms as the receptionist made a phone call to one of the farms and within 30 seconds we had new jobs that we would start the next day at 7am. We were informed that we would be working at Benyenda Farm and that it had its own camp site for its workers. So instead of having to pay for a camp site for the night, the kind receptionist pointed us in the direction of a free over night stay area, gave us a map to find the farm in the morning and sent us on our way. The next morning we were up at 6am and made our way to the farm with time to spare. We met our new boss Averial, a woman with as much charm and personality as a dead rat. I would rather sit down to a cup of tea with Hitler than her. Anyway, we were given our new tools of the trade, picking bags, clippers and sizing rings and were left in the capable hands of the paddock manager, our mate Jeff.

Jeff is spot on and he wasted no time cracking a few jokes as he was showing us the ropes. Jeff looks like the real life Peter Griffin from the TV show Family Guy and it cracks me and Ashleigh up nearly everyday. We were given our own tractor to drive and with a trailer hooked on the back pulling three bins, we made our way down into the paddock to start our careers as fruit pickers. The job as it goes, is alright. It is still hard work and very physically demanding but after working on the cotton farm, shovelling s*** would have seemed a good job. After our first day picking we were both pleased with the job in hand and we were looking forward to getting onto the camp site. We had to see our charming boss Averial so she could show us where we needed to park on the site. She kept us waiting nearly two and a half hours before we eventually said that we were going to go down to the site for a shower as we had been picking fruit all day and were up to our eyeballs in muck and sweat. She then said to us "Well I will be down at the shower block in 30 minutes so you better be waiting there cause I have things to do!" We couldn't believe it. She had kept us waiting all that time and then says that to us. She has more edge than a broken piss pot. So after our showers we waited a further 45 minutes for her to show up and she literally pointed to a spot 50 meters away from where we were "You can park there, there is the kitchen, there is the toilets and the water tank!" and she hopped back in her car and was off. Nearly three and a half hours wait to receive a finger pointed tour lasting less than 30 seconds. Such a charming lady.

The next day more new pickers arrived and we were teamed up with a plucky little Scottish girl called Claire. Ash and Claire hit it off straight away and they have been as thick as thieves ever since. She is good crack and we all have a good laugh together. We spend our days picking fruit whilst making up songs about fruit picking. My favourite so far has to be 'Mandarins in the bin' to the tune of Elton John's 'Candle in the wind'.... "And it seems to me, you lived your life putting mandarins in a bin..." You have to have a laugh and keep your mind occupied as it can get a bit repetitive and boring going up and down the ladders all day in the search of fruit to pick. The bins that we fill with the citrus fruit are approximately 1.5 meters cubed. It doesn't sound very big but when you are trying to fill it with small mandarins it turns into an abyss. A picking bag takes about 100 mandarins to fill and a bin takes about 30 bags to fill. Roughly 3000 mandarins in each bin, sized to make sure they are not too small and colour checked to make sure they are not too green. This takes some time and you only get quicker the more you pick. The price of the bin depends on what and where you are picking. We pick navel oranges, navelina oranges and imperial mandarins. The price per bin ranges from $35 up to $95, the cheaper bins are for the larger oranges as they are quicker to do meaning you can pick more bins, the top end bins are for the smaller mandarins that are a lot harder to fill. Easy way to think of it is, the bigger the fruit the less you get paid, the smaller the fruit the more you get paid. Personally I prefer doing the lower priced bins of oranges as you can do more bins per day making more money than you would by doing one or two bins of the high priced mandarins. The hours are not bad either, the earliest start we have had is 8am and the latest we have worked till is 4.45pm. You are not supposed to knock off before 4pm but Jeff lets you manage your own time as long as you are pulling your weight. We have had a few 3pm finishes thanks to Jeff, what a star.

As I said before, the job is very physically demanding and after a while it takes it out of you and your body aches all over. We plan to leave after working here for a month which isn't too bad considering that we originally planned to stay for a week or two. Overall we like it here. The place is great, with a good camp site and great company. There is such a wide range of characters here and it is really refreshing. It is nice having the chance to mix with other travellers again, exchanging story's of where we have been and what we have done, picking up suggestions of places to visit or things that we must do. Its something that we haven't done for quite some time and it has brought back loads of memories of what we have been up to for the past eight months. You kind of forget the things we have done so far until you think about it and you go "Oh yeah, I've sat on an elephants head and rode it. Iv also trekked through jungles and zip lined across jungle canopies...." and the list goes on and on. With the money we have made from picking fruit we plan to hit the road once more and add more activities to our list of memories. So until then...

Love Peter and Ashleigh x