Day Twelve: July 18th, 2013
Byron Bay to Kirra Beach
We found a bar showing Origin last night so grabbed some food and settled in. NSW fought well but Queensland clinched it 12-10 to make it eight years running. Not the outcome Elly was hoping for.
Woke up this morning and followed our now familiar pattern of packing up. I sort the inside of the tent, rolling up sleeping bags and folding blankets, while Elliot deals with the organisation of the car. We're pretty good at folding up the tent now, so we had some brekie and hit the road.
We knew we weren't going to be on the road for long as we were only aiming for Kirra Beach, a Mecca for surfers and our first stop in Queensland. We're finally out of NSW! I keep up to date with my family via a group message on whatsapp. It includeds my Mum (in California), my Auntie (in Sydney) and my sister (in London). With all the different time zones, there's always someone awake to chat to. Everyone travels A LOT, so it's great that we can send free messages and touch base at least once a day - I'd be lost without it. I let them know where we were headed, and my Mum sent me a picture of her, my dad and my sister at Avocadoland (now known as Tropical Fruit World) in Duranbah in 1987. Hopefully we will get to visit the big avocado!
We took a drive around the beaches, but decided Kirra looked to be the least touristy and settled into our campsite. $67 for two nights but we might extend the stay as we like the campsite and there seems to be a lot to do in the area. There is only one shower at our end and two loos which aren't that new, but definitely manageable.
We'd passed some nice restaurants on our drive so took the quick walk into town for some sushi. We got chatting to our waitress, a French girl who arrived here 5 years ago on the same visa of us, met her husband and never left. I get the feeling Elliot is wishing I was an Aussie right about now.
After lunch we had a little relax; well, I read in the tent while Elliot amused himself by putting up the tent we acquired when we bought the car. Most of the things in the Landy were brand spanking new, and the tent was no exception. At least it kept Elly entertained for all of 10 minutes so I could have a bit of a lie down. We need a dog - then they can be energetic together.
Not being able to keep him still for much longer, we set off for Currumbin so he could release some energy in the surf. When we pulled up in the car park, he saw the World Champ, Joel Parkinson. I had no idea who he was but it was cool for Elly. I went for a run while he headed out, and we met back on the beach an hour later.
After a quick shower, we headed off to Woolys to get some dinner, and cooked our pasta in the camp kitchen. We have a very strange couple on the site next to us (the park is pretty much empty, but we get plonked right next to these bogans). I'm certainly learning to get along with strangers these days. We found the rec room with a TV YAY! We're now settled in for a night in front of the Footy Show (all about Rugby League which Elly has got right into since we've been here and has therefore lead to me picking up an extraordinary amount of knowledge about the sport). Many of the players came to eat at the restaurant we worked in in Manly so it helped sparked my interest. Glad to be in the warm with some light past sunset - definitely a novelty!