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Coffs harbour is advertised as the action capital of the NSW coast, you can watch dolphins and whales, dive, rock climb, sky dive, walk through the rain forest and the beaches offer great surf too. But while i was there none of these were really an option due to the weather, it was raining hard non stop. So i just stayed here for the one night, checking into the YHA which was a modern purpose built hostel. I was joined by another English guy who i met at the hostel in Bellingen. So due to the bad weather we thought that there was nothing else to do other than going out for a drink. A dutch guy also came along with us.The nightlife here consisted of just two bars that were in hotels and one club, we only went to the bars as the club wanted 15 bucks to get in. There were a lot of locals out as well as backpackers so it made for a good night. The next day the rain continued but i caught a bus that afternoon to Byron Bay and the rain had passed here. The town is small but it was very much geared up for the backpacker. I stayed at the YHA here also which had a pool and a nice seated area up stairs with hammocks over looking the pool area. There were a lot of other backpacker staying here that i had met at other locations on the way up, so it had a nice friendly atmosphere to it.The next day Four of us took some bikes out from the hostel and rode them to a small lighthouse, which is the most easterly point on mainland Australia. It is also a great place to spot humpback whales and dolphins. After a steep climb up to the lighthouse we was lucky and see both of these at very close range. The weather turned bad again whilst we were there so made a quick retreat back to the hostel. That night many of us went to a bar called cheeky monkeys which give free food and cheap bear for backpackers. It was another late night and another sore head in the morning. Weather was bad again the next day also, but i walked along the beach and watched the surfers for an hour or so before joining others back at the bar for the free food again and some games of pool. The next day a small group of us caught the happy bus to the small hippie town called Nimbin. It is an hour and half in land from Byron Bay, and it it well known for its open use of weed. The town was tiny and we walked the length of it within three minuets. There are a few shops that sell hemp clothing, a hemp cafe, and a Nimbin Museum, which was just a small shop that had pieces of town memorabilia donated to it over the last few years, It also seemed to double up as a places where the dealers would hang around and try to push there drugs. I think that at one time the town was all hippies that promoted free love and peace and harmony and all that. But i think that era has long gone. Although there were some hippie types around the town, There was mainly just bums and drunks and the freedom was not there either due to the constant flow of police patrols . Th e town i think is strange but i think not for the hippies that were meant to be there, but for the amount of travelers that want to go here, for no real reason as what you get there you can get almost anywhere! The town is well over hyped. We stayed at a hostel called Rainbow retreat just out of the town, there were very basic dorms here and some were open aired, this was an alright hostel but could do with a clean. Only stayed here the one night before heading back to Byron Bay for a bus to Brisbane.Brisbane
I arrived in Brisbane at 21.30 joined by two other English guys, we headed 10 minuets north from the bus depot to the cheapest hostel that we could find, called cloud 9. It was in the backpacker area just on upper Roma st. It isa modern building with dorms that range from singles up to a 18 bed dorm. We were booked into a 10 bed, that was cramped and at the time of checking in full of Japanese students that were over in Australia to get jobs fruit picking. The hostel was in my opinion very poorly run as i had food with me that i needed to place in the fridge, However when i asked to be let in to the kitchen i was told that the kitchen was locked at 22.00 and that the key was in the safe that no one had a key for. Also one of the English guys also had a hard time checking in. He had lost his passport the week before, and was in Brisbane to get a new one. But the hostel insisted that he produce it! After a while they saw sense and permitted him to check in with a police report. I explored the area around the hostel just for a short while that night, then had an early one.
Next morningi was up around 09.00 andwalked to the city center. There Was a nice walk on the river that flows through the city. As it was in Sydney, the water front was well kept and the design was very modern. There was art gallery's and theaters on the south bank. Also there was a man made beach with a large saltwater pool. On the north bank you have the city center with the high rise buildings and shopping malls, cafes and bars. For the size of it, there were very few people around. I walked through and met the river once again at an area called the water front palace. Here is the most expensive area for drinking and dinning and also used for many backdrops in wedding photos, due to its stunning view of the waterfront and the city behind. That night we headed out with the first stop being a well known backpacker bar called tin billys. Here we met other travelers and and played pool, before catching a taxi to an area of the city called the valley. This is the best place for bars and night clubs in the area. There is plenty of choice from karaoke bars to cocktail lounges, but we went straight to a club that had five floors and four dance areas and one included an ice bar. The club played all types of music, and there was a great vibe there too, with no trouble that i see. This maybe down to the strict door policy, where everyone has to show id no matter what their age, i think this give the doormen a chance to assess the clients. Anyway this was another late and good night in OZ.
The next day was spent recovering, with a short walk back into the city center and for a little shopping in one of the many malls. Then it was back to tin Billys, where i watched the all blacks stuff England again. Joined by Ben who i met back in Newcastle, and a French girl, and a girl from Jersey we headed back over to the valley for a bad night of karaoke.
The next day i left Brisbane and caught the greyhound bus for Noosa which is a wealthy area of Queensland, with many luxury houses and apartments spread along the waterfront. Because of this everything there is expensive. from the bars to the restaurants. The hostel was also pricey, but i had paid for a package at the beginning of the trip so i saved quit a bit here. I was only staying here for the one night so i just had a short walk around the town with Ben that night and then back to the hostel for a couple of beers. The hostel was very nice and of a high standard. It was set in an area surrounded by trees, where there were parrots singing, and also wild turkeys walked the grassland below. The building was open at the front and with a balcony wrapping around the top level. On the inside there was a small courtyard and a small bar that led onto the grass area below.
I left the next day on the greyhound for Rainbow beach, which is the main gateway to Fraser island. The bus took a few hours and i arrived early in the afternoon, checking into Dingos hostel. From here we were split into groups of 10 or 11, and this was to be our group for the 3 day 4x4 trip to Fraser island. We were given a brief about the island and told what to expect, and how to stay Dingo safe. After this short brief in our group we had a few beers and got to know each other a little, but then it was an early night so we could be up at 06.00 am to start our trip.
The next day after a small free breakfast of pancakes, we packed our small bags with just enough clothes for the next two days. Once this was done we were met by Merv, who was the owner of the company renting the 4x4 out to each group. He spent around an hour showing us all the vehicles and telling us in detail about the island and the best way to drive the 4x4 on the only form of a road on the island (which was the beach). The drivers were given a extended brief on how best to free the vehicle if and when it gets stuck. With done it was time to load the equipment onto the roof. We were given tents, gas stove, cool boxes, and plenty of food for the trip, and we had brought plenty of goon (cheap wine) and beer to get us through the nights. Merv then led the convoy out of the hostel and off to the mainland beach, where there was a small drive on ferry waiting us. The boat looked like one used by the armed forces when they invaded the beaches of France during D day, with a ramp that lowers down onto the sand, and you just drive straight on. Saying goodbye to Merv the ferry pulled away and we sailed the short distance over to Fraser island. In my vehicle was the 2 lad i met back in Bellingen, 2 lads from SE London, 2 girls from Coventry, 3 nurses from London and a girl from the Netherlands. We were team B. There were 3 other teams on the ferry with us. Once on the island we drove off for our first stop which was a giant inland lake called lake Garawongera. On route we had to watch out for washouts which are streams that flow onto the beach from the hills, and when they do this they cause gully's in the beach that can be very deep and if hit at speed will damage the vehicles. The drive was all on hard sand as the tide had just gone out, so this meant that our driver could reach the speed limit of 80kmh with ease. We arrived at the lake after about an hour of beach driving. We pulled into the small car park which was set in the rainforest, we unloaded the roof and had lunch. Then headed to the lake which has great white sandy beach surrounding it. We took the plunge and discovered that it was freezing. After this we changed driver and headed for a small shop to buy ice and then it was off to a camping area that Merv had told us about early that day. The site is run buy the aborigines who charge 8 bucks each to camp there. But it is the only place you can camp on the island with toilet and shower facilities and the only place that fires are aloud on the island. We arrived just in time to set up the tents and start dinner before the sun downed. After a steak dinner we built our camp fire and cracked open the booze. The campsite was full with different groups each with their own area in the forest, later in the night one of the aborigines came over and invited us to a birthday party at the main area, we headed over there later on and joined the other groups around a big fire, we had our faces painted in true aborigine style, i stayed there until around 03.00 am and then hit the tent. It was a restless night as we pitched the tent on some very uncomfortable roots, and i also spotted a hole in the tent that concerned me with the amount of red backs i had seen that night. But i woke up and had a good breakfast, before we packed up and headed back out onto the beach road. We drove north to the end of the beach to a area called Indian head, here you can climb a cliff and look down into the ocean below for whales and dolphins. We see neither though, and the weather changed to rain so we drove back south along the same beach for our next camping area. I took over the driving at this point, which turned out to be the toughest part. Our chosen camping area was behind the sand dunes, this meant i had to switch into low 4x4 gear and everyone had to climb out as i charged the vehicle over the top of the sandbank, it was great fun though. We set up camp again just before dark and feasted on a stir fry. That night we played several drinking games that were great fun. Later we moved back over the dunes and sat on the beach chatting and watching the waves break onto the moonlit sand. We had a dingo circle us at one point looking for free food, he was very brave and came extremely close at times. I slept better that night on the soft sand that the tent was set on. The next day we drove first for the shipwreck of Maheno which was a clipper caught up in a storm years ago. Once this was done we found a quiet spot on the beach and had a game of cricket then a hostile game of girls v the boys rounders. I think we won, but there defiantly cheating on both sides. Whilst we were there two planes flew over our heads and landed a short distance away on the beach, (road). After our games we headed for another lake called Allom, this lake is a 30 minuet walk from the beach, first through the rainforest then over giant sand dunes. But it was well worth the hike in the sun as the waters were very clear and i could see large fish swimming close to the bank. This lake was just as cold. After a quick cool down dip, we had to drive back for our ferry to the mainland. Once there we unloaded the 4x4 and i took a well needed shower to rid me of the sand.That night the team had a BBQ at one of the many free areas along the cliff at Rainbow beach. It was one of the girls birthday and it was also a goodbye, as we all headed our ways the next day.
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