Getting a Tan

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Nicky: I should have known in Australia that showery and overcast still means a full day on the beach, temps at 25 degrees plus and a slight hint of rain overnight. The bad weather of the Easter weekend never really materialised and we have spent the last few days gradually growing a lovely shade of brown!! We have passed through so many little seaside towns and alongside so many white sand/blue sea beaches it is a bit difficult to keep up but I will try and sumarise. Port Macquerie - a really interesting town with lots of history and great beaches, we have mastered the art of eating overlooking the beach even if we cant stay there so it was lovely to watch the sun go down over the port. South West Rocks - every now and again we are having to pay a bit more for our accommodation to get some power in our little van so at South West Rocks we stayed at a campsite that had loads of great facilties like tennis courts and a swimming pool, it was a lot like being on a conventional holiday!We wandered into town in the evening because Neil was craving beer and we wanted to call home and after finding a bar ate fish and chips walking home, they were nothing like English fish and chips - really fresh and delicious!!!Yamba - famous for its prawn industry we only stopped here long enough to pick up some ridiculously cheap fresh prawns and eat them overlooking the beach again. The town reminded me a lot of St Ives in Cornwall, it was full of locals but had lots to see and do for tourists. We spent yesterday, Wed, in Byron Bay with hundreds of surfer dudes. It was crammed full of surf shops, cafes offering breakfast/lunch/dinner in between the surf and umm more surf shops. Everyone was so laid back they were almost horizontal, it was brilliant!!!We again watched the sun go down on the beach and as you can see from the pics watched a storm approach and finally break just as we got back to the van - amazing timing!! It has been great to get a real taste of beach life on the coast, this is afterall what this part of Australia is about. But I am also glad we had spent some time in the forests further south because it is a good contrast. We have arrived in Brisbane today, Thurs. It has got the laid back feel of all the surrounding beach towns, which I guess is to be expected. Hope everyone is well, let us know what you have all been up to. Lots of love xxxxxxxxxxxx

Neil (Subtitle:The Luckiest man in the World)

Hello everyone. The sun has finally arrived and we've started doing some beaches! Since our last blog, our journey has taken us from Hunter Valley towards the coast passing through Port Maquarie, Yamba, Southwest Rocks and Coffs Habour, before heading to Byron Bay, Surfers Paradise and Brisbane. Over the last few days, the general structure of our day has been to laze on the beach, picnic for lunch and then park the van as close to the beach as we can - where Nicky whips her gas burner out and puts together such delights as Prawns in Garlic and Salad, Rump steak with potatoes and prawn stirfry to name a few. Last night was my best night yet. We'd spent the day bathing on one of Byron Bay's stunning beaches and then Nicky offered to drive to our campsite if I would like to have a glass of wine or two. So last night I watched the sun set with a glass of Shiraz and Nicky cooked a lovely prawn stirfry to accompany... Amazing.

The van is serving us well - the 2.4 litre EFi rear wheel drive has provided some great hippie power slides in the wet!!

Keep well.
Neil

PS.. I've now seen a real Kangaroo!!

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Comments

[Kaylie]

VERY VERY jealous
ooooo thats just done it, im really jealous now! i want to lay on the beach all day long! im sitting at work at the moment with a scarf on cos its freezing!haha! Looks like your having an amazing time, and looking rather brown! Me and Matt are off to Brandshatch for the touring cars this weekend, not quite Melbourne Grand Prix though! Im glad you've now seen a Kangaroo Neil!! just wouldnt have been the same if you didnt! have you not seen loads on the side of the road?? thats when i remember seeing the most. Glad your both enjoying it, keep the blog and the piccys coming!loas of love x x x x x

[Jenn]

Westlife!
Hey!Thankyou so mch 4 givin me ur ticket. it was really gd. Did u get our fone call cos we couldnrt actually hear u.lol. xxxx