Watch out Thelma & Louise!

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So my road trip began yesterday when I dropped Niamh and Mark at Brisbane airport & headed in the direction of the Gold Coast. I contemplated going back to Byron but the weather wasn't great & I was conscious that I needed to do at least 250 kilometres a day. So I drove on to Ballina which was like a retirement village - but after the past 2 weeks it was a welcome break! The hostel owner was full of chat as I checked in & he invited me out for drinks, I'd say he was anticipating just how quiet an evening lay ahead of me & perhaps that I was the youngest thing Ballina had seen in an age. I declined & took a ramble around the town, then I made it back to the hostel at dusk because the owner told me that fruit bats fly overhead every evening. Oh my god they were huge, they just looked like really big birds! Then I took it easy for the rest of the evening, chatting with a girl from Western Australia & catching up with my journals which have been severly neglected. I then drove to see the Big Prawn (which is a landmark in Ballina), it's just that a huge prawn on top of a retaurant, so exciting! At one point last night the rain pelted down, I've not seen rain like that since home, it was unreal, I kind of thought it was a little funny to see and Irish person looking at the rain in amazement!

This morning I got up and went to the lookout, it was a little dull so I took it easy & hit the road at about 1pm - I was heading to Coffs Harbour. I arrived here at around 3.30pm & strolled around a shopping mall & went to see The Big Banana, which is a famous landmark in Coffs Harbour & all over Australia, I took the obligatory photo & left. To the back of the Big Banana is a snow slope & ice rink - which considering I've come from the tropics feels a little wierd. It feels so much colder down here - every day it seems to get colder & colder, can't wait to see what it's like in Sydney! I checked into my hostel about 5, I climbed into bed and slept for 2 hours & I've no doubt I'd have stayed there all night. It's really quiet here & to be honest it's kind of suiting me because I'm exhausted from the past 2 weeks & the driving is taking its toll.

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