Not Your Average Easter.

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In the Homeland, Easter is a halfhearted affair. An egg or two is exchange and maybe a family meal to acknowledge the day. Australia, however, takes the holiday far more seriously. We left Brisbane on Thursday after dropping our beloved camper back. We said our goodbyes to Alex (who was off for a weekend with his girlfriend) and boarded a Greyhound bus from Brisbane down to Coffs Harbour, a fun filled 8 hour journey. However, the whole of Australia was flocking to the coast in a frenzied exodus. Thursday was their last day of work before the holiday period and the roads were packed.

10 hours later, we arrived at a small bus stop on the outskirts of Coffs Harbour. It was 1am, there were no taxis and no maps. The bus left us steaming on towards Sydney, as I tried to get my bearings from visual aids on the way in. I knew the see was ahead of us and the hostel was on the beachfront. That's where the clues ended. After asking a strange man, we had a general direction and estimate by foot of 30 minutes. The area seemed run down and slightly rough but we felt safe as a group and found some abandoned shopping trolleys for to transport our bags in. After walking for 5 minutes with the trolleys, a police car crept along side us and wound down the window. The three of us swore under our breaths. 'Do you guys want a lift?' asked the female officer. I quickly declined, a lift by an English cop would mean down to the station. She laughed and told us she would take us to the hostel. So we packed our bags into the boot and were driven to the hostel in the strange taxi. We said our goodbyes and thanked them. I told them the hostel was closed and they may be back to investigate a forced entry to a room. They didn't find the joke as funny as I did. By an amazing stroke of fortune, at 2 am there was a member of staff just about to leave for home. We managed to persuade them to check us in and we found our room before falling asleep.

We woke early in the morning, our sleeping pattern altered by the campervan. It was Good Friday and Coffs Harbour was a ghost town. Not a single person in the street nor on the roads. With the major supermarkets being closed, we became scavengers hunting for a meal. We stumbled across a local shop and managed to find meals for the day, it was a real God-send for us! We went for a walk around the local area which was a complete contrast from our previous beach experience. The coastline was unspoilt by tourists, quiet and tranquil. The day was spent relaxing and enjoying the good weather.

On Saturday, the shops reopened for us and we were back to normal for one day at least. We were up at a reasonable hour and went for a long beach run. When we returned, we got talking to our room mate. He was a 20 year old from Liverpool and we all got on really well. That night, we shared a crate of Tooheys New and trekked into the town centre. The town was even more quiet than Bury but we still had a good night and agreed to go surfing the next day.

Easter Sunday had arrived and we all felt a bit worse for wear. We had bought each other Easter eggs and I managed to annoy Oli and Zach by hiding them around the hostel car park. The weather was pretty poor and rain soon fell. In my anger at the weather, the Greyhound bus to Sydney was booked and so was my ticket to climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge. I returned to the room to find Cameron (our room mate) had hired a surfboard. We had struck gold and within minutes I was in my board shorts and on the beach. Myself and Oli battled the bad weather and the heavy waves in an attempt to surf. After a few failures, I manged to get my feet on the board and hands centimetres off before tumbling into the sea. A minor success in my books and I was confident I could do it the next day. We got in the hot showers and headed down the the local BBQ grills on the beach. Steak and sausages were on the menu for myself and it went down a treat. A very strange Easter experience for us all.

Easter Monday arrived and had clashed with Anzac day (Australia's remembrance day). We we woke up early this morning, desperate to attempt surfing once more. We got down to the beach at around 9am and tried our luck once more. The constant strong currents and huge waves make the sport exhausting and I manged to stand about 3 times before injuring myself and returning to the hostel late for check out. Today, we have another 10 hour bus journey down to Sydney on our hands. I am extremely excited to see what Sydney has to offer and slightly apprehensive and climbing the bridge. I have inherited Dad's minor fear of heights so it will be interesting to stand 134 metres above the harbour water. I hear the weather for Easter Sunday is good and I hope you all enjoy yourselves, whatever you are doing!

Love Jonathon

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