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Grace's Adventures!
The day after we came back from Moreton Island we hired a little car fro 3 weeks to explore NSW and Queensland. After loading our car up with what looked like enough stuff for a family of 5 we headed for the hills - literally! Only about 100km out of Brisbane was out first stop - Springbrook National Park (N.P.). It was a really steep and windy drive up into the mountains through forest. We stopped at a lookout and had amazing views of the Gold Coast with nothing but forest in between in a big valley - beautiful! We drove through the small and quaint village of Springbrook, and found our little campsite which was gorgeous, and free (due to the fact that there are no showers and it's unmanned!). It was grassy and full of tropical plants and wildlife! During our time there we saw enormous goanna lizards and possums, and heard god knows how many different types of birds! We had a BBQ then drove down to the Gold coast for a few hours to visit a relative of mine and her son which was bizarre as I have only met her once when I was about 10! Was nice though. Then back up the windy hill to our tent!
The next day we saw lots of waterfalls and lookouts as you will see from the photos of Springbrook! They were all spectacular and the walk was so peaceful in the rainforest we hardly saw a soul even though it's a really touristy area! The rainforest was so lush and tropical, the views were awesome over the forested valley and hillsides, and the walking fun through caves and next to steep cliffs. We visited a lookout and on the way saw really ancient beech trees that are remnants of the type of forest present when Australia was once connected to Antarctica and other landmasses when it was much further south - we were impressed anyway! We had a really nice picnic in one of the many picnic areas, complete with BBQ's of course! Luckily you can drink the water from the random campsite taps here, which was good as we didn't buy a stove! Had another BBQ that night and sat by torchlight at a picnic table as it got dark around 6.30pm!
The next day when I went to have a wash at the sink outside the toilets (which is also the toilets for the car park and picnic area) a Japanese tour bus arrived all wanting to use the toilets! Their expression when they saw me in my nightie and then on seeing the pit toilets was priceless! They really didn't know what to make of it! I would love to have known what they said. That day we found a really nice river, then had a walk in a very touristy spot (due to the fact the walk is only about 1km long!). It was really good though, and we saw a very interesting feature called Natural Bridge. It's where a waterfall with a cave underneath it eroded from above and below so collapsed, making what looks like a natural bridge! Very cool! There were bats in the cave too! We then had a beautiful drive through the rest of the N.P. and into NSW were the countryside was so green with rolling hills and nice little villages with lots of random stalls along the way selling bananas, passionfruit, melons, honey....you name it! Bit different to at home eh?! We stopped and bought some really yummy stuff including a frozen chocolate banana! We were going to go to a place called 'Tropical fruit world' on the way but it was over $30 to get in so we thought maybe not! So arrived in Byron Bay a little earlier than planned which I certainly wasn't complaining about as I love it so much! We had a look round the shops then went back to the wonderful 'Arts Factory' hostel and campsite where we camped in the jungle (again for me!) During the time we put our tent up we must have acquired at least 10 mossie bites between us! Considering I had around 50 by the time I left Byron last time it didn't seem too bad! The campsite is right next to a swamp which explains a few things! We made some food and sat on the balcony in the hostel area and watched the talent show which was just as good as last time! Then we went to the funky cinema they have there which has comfy sofas throughout with cow print designs - how groovy! We watched Syriana, which I had heard was good, but I think only for people that aren't blonde like me when it comes to complex plots (to my 'blonde'friends - you know who you are, don't try watching this film!) I bugged the hell out of Andy asking what was going on every 5 minutes, so we both really enjoyed it!
The next day we had a didgeridoo lesson in 'the sandpit' with a very spaced out and seriously chilled out hippie dude called Che with long dreads! He cracked me up, but had us playing the didge in no time! Not properly of course, but there was sounds vaguely didge -like coming out! We looked round some more shops, found a sushi train place to eat in for lunch which was fun if not a little confusing and expensive! You just took food off the carriages having no idea what you were eating or how much it would cost - won't be doing that again in a hurry! Then I couldn't keep away from the surf of course so hired a board for a couple of hours whilst Andy relaxed on the beach. I managed to catch a few waves despite the surf not being that great. Then we headed back to camp and enjoyed a really nice meal in the Buddha bar and were entertained by Cockatoo Paul (the guy with the one-man-band) and the fire twirlers (again for me!) Cockatoo was so funny and ended up singing a song about Andy - so glad he didn't choose me when picking people in the audience! We saw Martin, a guy I met last time I was in Byron - he hadn't left yet!
Before heading off from Byron the next day we went up the lighthouse, which is up on Cape Byron. The views of Byron Bay and the mountains beyond were spectacular and the sea was so blue! As we walked from the lighthouse to the most easterly point of oz (cool huh?!) we saw a pod of about 20 dolphins in the sea below diving swimming at the foot of the cliffs. Then when we reached the most easterly point and were admiring the view we saw a manta ray in the sea below and someone reckons they saw a shark! We then drove south and came off the main road to try and visit Yurigir N.P. but you could only access it with a 4x4 and we weren't taking any risks so instead we drove through a lovely village and walked a little way by a lake which was nice until we started getting eaten alive by mossies so we headed back onto the highway and headed south to a very small little town called Bellingen. One of the most unlikely backpacker stops ever - about 15km from the east coast highway and nowhere in particular, was the loveliest little YHA hostel with only about 15 people staying there! They run lots of tours on the river and into the rainforest about 70km away so I guess that's why it was there! And I think Andy would have stayed there just for the hostel - it was so homely, clean and had a great verandah with views of the mountains. We camped again (so cheap!) and cooked up some great food. Was very bizarre though, the guy called Rob who I met at the Arts Factory in Byron before Andy got here was staying there too! Small world. The weirder thing is, that Andy saw a guy called Kev that we met in Bellingen on his way back to the UK when his plane was refueling in Dubai! And it turned out they were on the same flight and he had the seat in front of him - madness!! We ended up sat with the random crew of about 8 people in the end and they were very random indeed (odd is a better word really!)
The next day was Easter Friday and as we looked around the town we found just 2 shops open! Had a little look and a look down at the river which was really nice, great views, calm river, picnic areas with families and kayaks - we couldn't find anywhere that we could walk along it though so we headed off. We totally came off the highway again to the coast, and off road to visit Crowdy Bay N.P.! We weren't meant to use unsealed roads (i.e. tracks) in our hire car but they weren't too awful, although there weren't really any parts of the track that didn't have big potholes! The fact that most of the vehicles coming out of the N.P. were 4x4 didn't deter us and were continued for the approx 7km to the car park and campsite! Luckily we weren't planning to stay in the campsite, as it lived up to its' name of being crowdy - it was jammed! So many kids everywhere, and all the camps where on top of each other, looked crazy! There was even a manned office there, as well as proper toilets and showers (cold though!) We parked and had a look at the extremely tame campsite roos that let us get about 1 metre away from them! We also saw another big goanna lizard, as well as a rather tame kookaburra! We went and explored the beach which of course was gorgeous (when aren't they in oz!) and had a look around the rockpools which were full of life! Then we had a nice walk across the cliff top and through bush land, and ended up going the wrong way coz we followed a path made by roos instead of people!! Then we traveled down to these twin towns called Forster-Tuncurry, separated only by a river estuary and connected only with a bridge! After driving around for about an hour trying to find a campsite and finding out they were all full (not surprising as it was Easter weekend!) we checked into a really nice motel, which wasn't that pricey but was so nice! Complete luxury after camping anyway! We had a walkabout the town, which was a bit dead, and ended up in a cheap and cheerful Chinese restaurant with a true Aussie waitress which I found quite strange!
The next day we walked by the estuary and down to the beach, which was so clear and blue, and saw tons of black and white fish swimming about! On our way to Myall Lakes N.P. (our next stop for the night) we had a brief stop at Booti Booti N.P. (yes, we like our N.P.'s - National Parks in case you had forgotten!) where there was a beautiful deserted beach. We only stopped for about 10 mins so didn't pay the $7 for a ticket and there was a ranger there when we got back! We thought we were in trouble but he didn't say anything! We then had a really nice drive through trees with lake views, then grabbed tons of leaflets and had a fab picnic and got our snags for the evening (sausages - he he, how Aussie am I?!) in a nice little town, then drove to Myall Lakes N.P. via a town called Tea Gardens which I thought was rather bizarre! No unsealed roads into this N.P. - possibly the most developed N.P. we had ever seen though! No houses, but just campsite after campsite - the environmental impact can't be good! Bit different to our N.P.s! It's good that the Aussies enjoy the outdoor life so much though, and don't mind roughing it! Although most of there camps look like they took most of their house with them, including the kitchen sink! When we were on Moreton Island this family had the most enormous tents with camp beds in, full on stoves, cool boxes, and even a TV!! The first campsite we found was full, but the next one was fine! They were really nice, right by the lake with loads of trees. We found a nice spot, then went over the other side of the road and found some big sand dunes to climb on a very windy beach with massive waves! Wanted to have a swim but soon changed my mind when I saw the sea! We saw a brilliant sunset over the lake and the hills then it got rather cold so we went back to cook our snags! We were so knackered we went to bed at 9pm!!
We had a really nice walk the next day through really tropical rainforest full of cabbage palms - looked so exotic! We also saw some fruit bats! Then we walked really far along a flat track with lots more cabbage palms to what we thought was going to be an old historic village, but we didn't look at our map properly and the village was actually on the other side of the river we ended up at! It didn't look particularly historic or interesting anyway so we didn't feel like we missed out! We had a walk along a boardwalk over a sort of swamp and through pine trees, then sat in the sun for ages by the river and saw some sea eagles fighting/mating in the sky!! Then we drove to a little town called Hawks nest, had coffees, then sat by the river there and saw another fab sunset and watched the boats and fishermen! We then drove right round to the other side of the river estuary/inlet we were on one which was so much further than we thought! Found our really nice wooden, elevated hostel where we camped, but it was really cold that night even sat in the hostel lounge with 2 jumpers on! After having survived the winter in the UK, Andy wasn't cold but after a summer in oz I was freezing!!
We had such fun the next day, and it was a bargain! The hostel ran really cheap trips up to the nearby Port Stephens sand dunes in their 4x4 trucks so we went on one! We drove a few km over the dunes and they drove like maniacs and we were bumping around all over the place - felt a bit sick when we stopped! Was fun though! They had really good sand boards, and we had quite a few goes at launching ourselves down the dunes. We had a go together as well which ended up in me letting go too soon so us landing in a heap at the bottom of the dune! The dunes were amazing - the largest in the southern hemisphere, they stretched as far as the eye can see! We could see the sea on one side with crashing waves, and mountains and forest on the other; it was amazing. We had another very bumpy journey to the beach where we ended up getting very wet coz there were random massive waves! We searched for 'pipis' with our feet (like clams) and when we all had one we had a race with them, coz as soon as they are exposed on the sand they bury themselves back down in the sand, but that game was called short by another random bug wave! Before leaving the hostel we spotted a koala in a eucalyptus tree - yay! Then drove down to the beach on the sheltered side in the inlet and had a swim and sat on the beach, despite it still being rather windy! We then had to drive all the way to Sydney, which was rather far! I was very impressed, I managed to get us to our hostel (the same one I stayed in when I was there before) without getting lost! It was exactly how I left it, and I saw a guy I met there before as he was working in the city. We had a great Lebanese meal just up the road.
Our first day in Sydney together was spent mostly around the harbour, taking in the sights, getting the token photos of us in front of the opera house and the harbour bridge, and watching the various street entertainers/buskers, which were really good. We also got a bargain cruise around the harbour for an hour at sunset which was really lovely. Can't get over how big the harbour is! Saw lots of nice houses and little beaches and got great pics of the bridge etc! We were going to eat with views of the oprah house and bridge that night but decided it wasn't worth the extra money just for the view but had a great meal anyway!
We went to the museum of Sydney the next day, which neither of us was impressed with unfortunately! Was a lot about nothing really, although there was a really good temporary art exhibition all done by a convict artist! We had a little look round the botanic gardens but not for long as it was getting dark! Was a good time to go though as we were lucky to see hundreds of fruit bats leaving their day roosts in the trees there - quite an amazing sight! Then we walked round to 'The Rocks'- the historic part of the city and harbour where there are narrow, cobbled pedestrianised streets. We had a look in the oldest building there that used to be someones house, looked in a gallery, then had a drink and a pretzel in a German themed pub with proper German beer and food! All the staff were in traditional Bavarian dress, and there were 2 guys on the accordion and singing! It was really good. Thought we had better eat in that night!
The next day we headed off for the Blue Mountains - will write about that soon, that's quite enough for now!!
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