Cruising Down the Pacific Highway.

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From day one of planning, the campervan in Australia was the dream. The idea of having complete freedom in a foreign country full of beautiful beaches was tantalising. However, there were many obstacles in the way of our vision with money and time being at the top of the list. We left booking dangerously close to Easter Weekend and I still believe the beach God's played a part in our fortune! In Australia, Easter is like Christmas. The country is in holiday mode and the all head the the coastline. As you can imagine, the campsite owners hike up the prices and innocent travellers like ourselves suffer. The cost was not a major concern for us, I would have paid any price to say I had cruised down the East Coast!

We picked our Jucy Rentals camper from Brisbane. From what I could work out from the shape, it was a converted Toyota Lucida and it was coloured in bright green and purple. We were shown around the van and signed everythiong as quick as possible to maximise our road time. Thankfully, for $25 a day, we were all insured on the camper with no excess or bond. Alex was first behind the wheel, as we navigated our way out of the complicated one way system and over the beautiful bridge. Our aim for the first day was Byron Bay-100 miles South. The Pacific Highway runs along the coast and connects to all the major settlemnts between Brisbane and Sydney. It was the road we would take for the majority of the week and was stunning. Myself and Zach were relagated to the backseat and were stunned by the views. Mountains eitherside of us and Kangaroos running wild accross the open plains. We arrived their in good time and located a campsite recommended to us by Jucy Rentals. As soon as I heard the name, I was suspicious it may be a nest of hippies. The site was called 'The Arts Factory' and it was infested with jobless 30 year olds who insisted on calling me 'dude'. After 5 minutes, the final nail was put into The Arts Factory's coffin, when they attempted to scam a dollar out of me for 'Carbon Offsetting'. The others laughed my 'Grumpy Old Man' comments off and we headed back to our van to find our pitch. The only positive I was clinging onto was the plush green field I was certain we would pitch in. No such luck, a car park around the back of the hostel. Salt was rubbed in an already sore wound, when I saw a beautiful British Leyland double decker bus had been vandalised with paintings a five year old or possibly even myself could have achieved. I didn't moan for too long when I discovered a hot (luke warm) tub in the sunshine and we spent the afternoon disturbing the tranquility with our aggressive pool games. The day was improved even more, when we managed to make a Chilli Con Carne style dish for dinner. Hippies are also nocturnal creatures and at 7 o'clock the nest came alive. Cheap wine cartons called 'Goon' and Cannabis seems to be their staple diet (along with tofu and letuce I'm sure). It did not take long for the place to reek of drugs and we soon retired to the camper. Myself and Zach slept in 'The Penthouse Suite', while Oli and Alex had the fold up bed downstairs. The penthouse was a fold tent with a plastic roof on the top of the camper and was fairly comfortable.

We left the hippy nest at 10 and got back on the road with Oli behind the wheel. After checking out, we discovered our rear right tyre looked deflated. We limped into the nearest petrol station where I attempted to fill the tyre with air. It was no use and we called Jucy for their advice. We drove to the nearest garage and we were told they were the only local business and couldn't fit us in. After a good talking too, Jucy called the garage and paid for our repairs. We were soon back on the road, feeling blessed by our luck. The weather was overcast and a strong wind hampered our lunch on the river at Ballina. We kept on driving south to Yamba where we decided to pitch for the night. Our main decision was weather to park near the beach for free or head to a campsite where showers and ovens awaited. The rain began to fall had the the costal wind was strong. We soon decided that the relative comfort of a campsite was the best idea for us. We all enjoyed the hot showers, although annoyed anout the poor weather.

Day 3 of the camper started much the same as day 2, overcast. It was my turn behind the wheel and I had a long drive on my hands. I had a 90 miles drive down the Pacific Highway to Coffs Harbour. Soon after we left Yamba, the rain began to fall, so bad I had to pull over as I couldn't see the road ahead. We reached Coffs Harbour safely and headed to Moonee Beach Campsite. The weather was awful and the rain heavy. The surrounding area was stunning and there were a series of sand dunes in the middles of the estuary as it lead to the sea. I was frustrated we couldn't see the beach in the sun as its beauty would have been photo worthy. We sat watching Aussie Rules football drinking tea in the kitchen area until the boredom was too much. In the cold and rain, we took off our tops and sprinted down to the estuary and the sea. The cold was exhilarating and we had a wade down the into the sea until we could bare the cold no longer. We were lucky enough to see and ray on our way back, a sight I would have enjoyed if my cheast weren't purple. We soon ran to the hot showers and spent a good time warming up before enjoying noodles and blackbean sauce for dinner.

By day 4 in the camper, we were soaked through and seriously annoyed when we saw rain again. We made a group decision to head back up. Working on the logic that if good weather came, we didn't want to be driving back up to Brisbane in the sun. Zach drove us up to Byron from Coffs Harbour where we sadly looked to The Arts Factory for accomodation. Thankfully, the Easter buzz meant the nest had swollen to capacity and there was no room for us. We headed to a campsite on the outskirts of Byron. With prices so high, Oli and Alex became invisible for the next 3 days and the tinted glass was protection from extortionate fees. This plan was tested when we arrived at the 'Byron Bay Campersvan and Lodge Site'. The gates were high and opened by an exclusive code and they could monitor our exact movements on their computer...great. We drove in and found a pitch, daunted by warning posters that they randomly check vans occupants. We found aa pitch and rain to the TV room for cover from the relentless rain (not what I had visualised for our campervan experience)! Thankfully, we had bought up a large amount of DVD's and spent the day shopping when their was a small break in the rain or watching DVD's.

We battled through the weather, our frustration levels had peaked and we felt decieved by Australia. When I woke up on our last full day in the camper at around 7:30. The sound of Kookaburas and light through the penthouse had a part to play. When I unzipped the door and peered out expecting rain, I was stunned. Not a cloud in the sky and the morning was crisp. When I returned from my shower, Alex and Oli had risen from their crypt and as thrilled as me. We ate our cereal at double speed and headed straight for the beach. We were deep into a tanning session by about 9:30 and we all went for a wander around the beach to Australia's most easterly point. The views were stunning and it was the best beach we had been too. With spirits high, we spent the whole day soaking up the sun and being battered by the famous surfing waves of Byron. Sadly, Oli came away with a nasty burn but we were all in good spirits and enjoyed a crate of Tooeys beer in the evening.

In the morning, woke up remembering the drive I had on my hands. 100 miles heading North then driving through the worlds most complex roads and finding a needle in a haystack, a petrol station in a city centre. I cursed the stupiud roads uncountable times in my 45 minute city centre drive and I was relieved to have the keys out of my hands with the car in perfect condition!

Our time in the camper was over and although the weather was appalling for most of the week, I will always look fondly upon our time with Julia the Jucy camper. We our highs and a lot of lows but all in all it was a great week for us. We saw a stunning countryside and masses of wildlife (including two possoms). The camper is an experience I would recommend to anyone in Australia. We are now back in Brisbane and catching a Greyhound bus down to Coffs Harbour for the Easter Weekend. An 8 hour coach ride awaits us, hopefully arriving in Coffs Harbour around Midnight. Hope you are all well and the weather is improving for my return.

Love Jonathon

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