Day 3 Byron Bay

3.9.08 Byron Day 3
Back to the beach today and meet up with Steve to go surfin. He surf's off the shipwreck...Old boat stickin up outta the sea...danger...

another beautiful day of sun and fun...we hand swim and he surf's...waves are too big for me today...but I have fun watching and playing in the waves...We meet up with some of his other friends and stay at the beach a while and then head over to The Beach Hotel..or Beachie as the locals call it...4 to 8 a band...GREAT reggae band...best in Australia according to the rastas I met at the bar who are transplants from Jamaica...Firefall...they were so fun


After Beachie when the band ends, everyone moves to Railz...tonight is Krishna Jones playing...another rockin band...this town is sooo cool, I would never work tho..cause there is so much to do. I guess Jack Johnson just bought property down the road from here and Steve saw him on the beach one night and he played 2 songs, just hangin....guess he comes around a bit...I was askin cause I knew he has shows coming up this month around Oz...I was trying to make the the one in Brisbane on the 16th but I will be on boat sailing the Whitsunday Islands..bummer..

Anyway it would be so much more fun just to bump into him....

Steve and I get along really well, he is a sweet soul and we talk like we have been friends for a long time..strange how some people are just drawn to each other... We leave Railz when the band is done and head to the park and hang out and talk..good night..

day 2 Byron Bay

3-8-08
Byron Bay
I got up this morning and headed out to explore the funky little town of Byron Bay...The main street is busy with people, shops, cafes and surfers heading to the beach...me too...

Byron Bay's main street leads up to the beach...a little park and then the lovely beach, going on forever in both directions. Mt Warning is a left over volcano plug at one end of the beach and the highest point in New South Wales, the Aussie state we are in at the moment. I pick my spot on the soft sand and settle in for some people watching..lots of people...tons of surfer's and boogie boarders...a yoga class on the grass..heaven!! It is gorgeous and sunny, bright blue skies...apparently it has been overcast and raining alot this summer..but we have lucked out as the weather has been fabulous everywhere we have been!!!

I hop in the ocean for a swim and some fun in the waves and surf...yay!!

I finally leave the beach and head back thru town, stopping at all the little shops..suddenly there is a parade of bikes outside..with nudie riders cruisin thru town, with a little body paint here and there the rest all skin!!! too funny...about 20 nudes just cruisin around town on their bikes..not sure why but who cares...They swing by a few more times as I make my way back to see if Russell s awake yet...

Tonight we cruise back over to Railz for some dinner cause we know there will be live music...the food and the band are great...and once again the place is hoppin...tonight the band is the soul shakers...they are good and everyone is dancing...A very cool surfer boy is in my seat when I get back from the bar...Steve is an Aussie boy, living and surfin in Byron.

Surf Camp to Byron Bay

Surf Camp to Byron Bay
3.7.08
Cuddles picked us up at surf camp, for about a 4 hour cruise up to Byron Bay.

One notable from today's ride..random big thing #2!!!! in Ballina, the giant prawn...yup, big and pink...again, no picture, use the old imagination...

Pulled into Byron around 2pm, sweet little town on the beach, really cool and hip...described as not knowing if it is a yuppie town, a hippie town or a surfer's town...all of the above are ok with me and I immediately love the vibe here..and hence call up Oz and extend our stay from 2 nights to 4!!!

We check in and suss out the plans for further up the coast...it takes a bit of planning to get the Fraser Island and Whitsunday's Islands and sailing boats sorted...but it is done...barring no bad weather...they are up north at the moment having 100 year floods and such, some of the buses have been stuck for days..hoping all that will clear out as we make our way north....

Took a cruise around town, down to the beach for some sunset photos and a drum circle...such a lively little town with so much going on!!! Ate at a yummy cafe on the main drag with some live music, which initially scared Russell away...I made him go back...Puddles had pointed out the local hang out, the Rail station and on the way back from dinner it was going off...tons of people so we stopped by...The band was The Blue Hulas...they were GREAT!!! Really fun and lively and everyone was dancing!!! Really great live show, unfortunately it ended around 9ish...bummer. Stopped back at Cheeky Monkey's the bar we have been hearing about...walked in to chicks on stage in bras and panties and them coming off...then lots of dancing on tables...and that was about all I could take...I am a bit over the high school, college scene...Russ however is not...So I am here writing this up and will be up early for a good day...he will sleep all day tomorrow...we keep different schedules...
Can't wait for morning and time to explore...night

Sydney to Surf Camp

Sydney to Surf Camp
3.6.08
So today we set off from Sydney on the big bus...not that big but bigger than our previous Oz bus. Our driver is Binks and she will shuttle us 9 hours to surf camp, to be fair the drive is only 7 hours up the coast, but we stop for meals and dunnies.

Not too much was memorable, did go through Coff's Harbour, home to Russell Crowe, who plays at the local pub with his band when he is in town. Also the home of the 1st BIG random thing, the banana....Australia has this thing with big shit and some people actually tour the country looking for these big random things, really they are just giant sculptures...weird but true, and they knew of this phenomenon in New Zealand cause when we saw this big display of fruit roadside, Smiley made mention of the random big things in Aussie and it is all coming together now....Anyway, big banana...no picture..use your imagination!! and a banana cause there are plantations along the coast here...

Pulled into surf camp and unloaded the bus and got settled in our trailer...10 beds down a narrow hall, not the norm for accomodations but it is surf camp and this is how everyone lives..including residents and owners...We take a cruise to the beautiful beach, and then around the grounds...groovy little place. We get our little briefing as to how our next 18 hours are gonna be and then chill before our cookout meal. All 100+ people come together for a big feed and party, at 8:30 the party picks up, tiki torches, fire in a wheel barrow and tunes in a huge rubbish bin, rigged with speakers all wheeled down the beach for out beach party. The sky was AMAZING!!!!! stars..stars...and so many more stars..and galaxies and fluff, and shooting stars, I counted 8, and I really wasn't watching...just caught them while talking with people...Such an incredible night with the surf crashing and stars and sand...couldn't be better!!

Everyone had fun...but the 6am wakeup and surf loomed...and then it came, as promised...a chick standing in the room telling us to get up, breakie was on!!! Food and then on to surf briefing,wet suiting up and grabbing boards...down to the beach by 7am!!!! A brief lesson and in the water we went...a perfect day, great waves, blue skies...fun times riding waves..and wiping out too!!!

We rode for about 3 hours, no dolphins..they have been around the last couple days , but not today...maybe cause we had so many, thursday's are the big days with loads in camp!!! Sad to go, the surf was great, water was warm and people were sweet!! 11am...back on the bus, off we go again..bye bye mojo surf!!!!

Bondi Beach

5 march Bondi Beach
Walked the city a bit this am...big, quite nice city, tons of shopping...it's very hard not shopping... I am not even looking, especially since I mailed home close to 6 kg today and it cost me $118!!! So I won't be loading my bag back up!!!

Bondi Beach is a very cool place!!! A huge and beautiful beach flanked by rocks at each end. Tons of surfers , boogey boarders and swimmers...and lots of gorgeous sand. The boardwalk is full of activity..loved it. Really cute neighborhoods on the way there and great little shops and stores, got me a new aussie bathing suit or swimmers as they call them.

Took the bus back into Sydney and went to dinner down at Darling Harbour looking out on the harbour. Nice last day in Sydney!!!On up the coast now!!!

Katoomba Blue Mountains

Katoomba
Hopped a train out of central station in Sydney for a 2 hour ride to the Blue Mountains. The Blue Mountains are a vast and amazing wilderness area and National Park sooo close to Australia's largest city. Some of the areas here are so remote it is possible noone has been there before. In 1994 they found about 40 ancient trees thought to be extinct millions of years ago. Rock climbing and canyoning are huge in the area. We went to an Imax film today shot in the Blue Mountains, taking you by helicopter to places you could not other wise see..it was pretty cool.
Another chill day in the Blue Mountains.

Oz Day 3

Day 3
Slept in a dorm room last night with the 5 chicks from the bus.woke to a concert of cell phone alarms and a freezing cold room!! The heat is off and the bathroom window open cause it is supposedly summer...who cares if it is only like 4 degrees c!!! The sunrise over Lake Jindabyne was beautiful off our porch! Today we are heading to Sydney via the capital city of Australia Canberra.

Canberra is a pretty new city with a population of 250,000. The first settlers came to Aussie in 1788 and Australia was united as a nation in 1901. The 1st Parliament house is now a museum, the new and current one was finished in 1988 and designed by an American design firm who won a worldwide competition for the design. It is built into the hill and faces a long stretch out the front looking on the old Parliament and then the War Memorial on to Mt Anslie. The city is designed in a triangle with specific points and the top being the new Parliament Building.


Inside all the finishes are from around Australia. The house of Representatives is done in a green to mimic the color of Eucalyptus trees. The Senate is done in a rose, the color of the flowers of the Eucaluyptus. After our tour we grabbed lunch and headed up to Mt Anslie for a beautiful panoramic view of Canberra and Parliament.

Back on the road for another 4 hours to Sydney!! Tonight is the Mardi Gras Parade. I was confused as Mardi Gras should be over...well this is the HUGE gay and lesbian parade and festivities that occur each year in Sydney...and due to Mardi Gras we are unable to stay in Sydney..everything is booked!! Soooo we get off our bus and onto a train and head out to the Blue Mountains and the town of Katoomba. Katoomba is a small mountain town with one main street and lots of mountain activities, loads of rock climbing and hiking. We grab some Thai food and head to bed after a long day.