You hear so much about Byron Bay so I decided I had to check it out on my way up the coast...When you arrive the first thing that strikes you (apart from how busy it is!) is that everything is so low rise and sooo chilled out - hippy heaven. The local residents have been successful in keeping out all th big food chains, so you won't find a MacDonalds or a KFC in sight no matter how hard you look,. It's very much a place for local businesses and local peop...

So it was time to leave the big city behind and experience my first greyhound bus as I headed up the east coast. First stop was Coffs Harbour, a beautiful little town 10 hours north of Sydney. I was surprised how quickly the bus ride went. Luckily I had two seats to myself to spread out all my stuff and made getting a few winks of sleep that bit easier...they even played a movie to pass a few hours.The hostel was just a five minute hop from the beach, so perfect ...

Well a visit to Tasmania wasn't in my original itinerary, but after meeting a great group of people from there while I was in Cambodia, they convinced me to take a short trip over. So no more Sydney and hello to the delights of Tassie...Well I was pleased to leave Sydney behind on the morning of my departure. It was throwing it down with rain, pretty chilly and not much excitement there. So no thanks to the airport shuttle bus which forgot to come and pick me...

Getting back to Sydney was like arriving back in my second home. Even touching down on the plane I was excited so imagine what I was like when I saw the opera house and the harbour bridge again!I spent my first day walking around pretty much most of the city, going back to all the places I remember from before, seeing if they'd changed and taking all the same pictures again, so I can compare them when I get home! Not sure how far I walked but managed to take ...

After my trip to the north of Western Australia I decided to have a few days relaxing on the beach. So instead of staying in Perth city I headed for Cottesloe beach, just a short train ride away. Well at least the train journey is short but the trek from the station to the hostel seemed like a couple of marathons, lugging my huge expanding rucksack and everything else that's now attached to the outside cos I can't fit it in! But puffing and blowing I made...