Because i got high!

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So a few hours down the great bumpy Australian highway and we arrive in Byron Bay and at our hostel the aptly named Arts Factory - it wasn't till after we left that we discovered Alex Parkes of Fame Academy fame worked here - though we didn't see her!! Anyway, yes we are staying in the Arts Factory and yes it is arty, we are staying in a Tepee - yes what native american indians live in, only this is in Byron Bay Australia!!! And living in a tepee would be fine if it weren't so god damn freezing on the night!

So first things first in Byron Bay, i book myself in for a skydive! Wake up at 8am to be told they'll be back to pick me up at 12 when the cloud clears! 12 o'clock and we're taken to Byron Bay skydive centre, i pay a ridiculous amount of money and get kitted up, only to be told that it won't be going ahead due to all the cloud - denied again, now i'm probably not the only one thinking perhaps me and skydivings just not meant to be - we shall see!!!
So we spend a lazy afternoon meandering around Byron Bay - its a really nice place and not commercialised - the council here but a ban on all branded chains, so its no maccy d's or hungry jacks or red rooster..... the list goes on and on!!

We head into a travel agents and book ourselves onto the Nimbin day tour for the next day. Now Nimbin is famous for marijuana and people smoking the stuff, so from the outset we knew it was going to be an interesting day!! We get up early, again, and wait for our pickup - the 'Happy bus', unsurprisingly its 45 minutes late! When it finally arrives we are greeted by a dreadlocked, shoeless weirdo who climbs all over the happy bus and tells us unfunny jokes - o dear what have we let ourselves in for!!
On the way we make a stop off at Minyon waterfalls, only they seem to be lacking one important thing - water!! Before we get back on the bus we decide to make a toilet stop - what an even bigger mistake that turned out to be!! Now we've experienced rainforest toliets before, hell we've experienced toilets in India before but nothing absolutely nothing could prepare us for the stench of these toilets! It bought tears to my eyes!! Anyway somehow we managed to get through it and back on the coach for the hour long drive to Nimbin!

Nimbin - hmmmmmm now what can i say, perhaps the strangest place we've ever visited!! Its literally just one street with a couple of eateries, a museum, a hemp bar and numerous shops selling marijuana paraphenalia!! And full of weirdos, hippies and people trying to sell us weed! While it is amusing its also a bit scary so after a couple of hours we're glad to be back on the happy bus heading back to the tepee!

That night we head out into Byron Bay and bear witness to the Miss Backpacker 2007 contest - not wanting to make it an unfair fight me and Michelle decided not to enter - we didn't want to disadvantage the others!! After an uneventful contest - it was rubbish! We headed back to the tepee as we had an extremely early wake up call, 4:30am to be precise - we'd signed up to go and see the sunrise at Byron point by the lighthouse.

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Comments

[The Sage]

Miss Backpacker
Why did you not enter, I'm sure you would have given them all a run for their money if your photo on the blog is anything to go by ?? Never mind you still might come on another one further into your travels. Gung Ho

[The great wise one]

Tents to hemp
Well, I also am amazed to read that you slept in a native American Teepee, well at least its different--it also seems to go well with dread locks and mind bending drugs. Ah well O to be young-----take care

[White Whale]

Skydiver
Keep at it, if you don't do it you will always regret that you missed the opportunity, rather you than me though

[mother number 2]

The smoke trail
Shame you didn't get to do your skydive at the first attempt. I like the idea of the teepee but strange to find one in Australia. Glad you made it safely back on the happy bus - weird or what? Another toilet for your collection!!!