Day 6 Part 2 Coffs Harbour, Byron Bay & Surfers Paradise

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We headed up the coast after our big banana tour. The motel owner in Hunter Valley had told me that the best beaches are located at a town called Surfers Paradise. I was excited at the prospect of visiting beaches that were superior to Bondi Beach in Sydney. I couldn’t imagine what we would have in store for us at Surfers Paradise.

Along the way we decided to break up the drive and stop at Byron Bay. It was later described to us by a native Australian where millionaires and hippies converge at one location. It was a small beach side town with amazing views of the coast line and surrounding costal mountains. The mountains were more like big rolling hills similar to Southern California, yet the vegetation here was lush and plentiful. These laid close to the sea and made a horse shoe shape around the bay. This made for a more intimate feel to the town. The bluff that stretched East into the Pacific is the furthest most Eastern Point on mainland Australia.

We parked on one of the community’s main thorough fairs near the town center. We had lunch at a small café where we ate sandwiches and salads. Elyse and I spilt a small potato salad. Salads aren’t really offered in China; on one occasion we were presented with a bowl of hot lettuce slathered in oil. After lunch we walked down towards the beach. Along the way passed some boutique stores, art galleries, and some real estate offices. No matter how small the town rest assured there will be at least one real estate office that displays a multitude of small printouts of all the properties available in the area.

Elyse’s mom, Peggy is what you may refer to as a shopoholic. She said that there isn’t really a town in which she can’t find some stores to occupy her time. It was clear that the temptation to stop by every store to take a look at the merchandise was at all time highs. Too bad for her on this trip she was with three other non-shoppers.

The beach had a descent crowd since it was a pretty hot day. We decided to split up and meet back near the entrance of the beach after 30 minutes. Elyse and I strolled down the beach on the wet sand by the water. At this point we had yet to arrive at a beach in actual beach attire. I wanted to jump in and splash around. I was getting anxious to spend part of the day at Surfers Paradise lounging around and swimming, which is more in line with my typical beach outing.

We all meet near the street, climbed into the car and drove towards the eastern most point of Australia. The drive was about ten minutes as the road wound through an expensive looking neighborhood situated in the middle of a rainforest that ended high upon an outcrop which protruded into the Pacific like a finger. Atop of the 300’ or so bluff was an old light house and hiking trails that led down to the rocky shores below. We opted to walk the ¼ of a mile down the path to a perfect vantage point that had amazing views.

Before too long we were back in the car headed North up the coast. It was only 60 miles before we go to our final destination for the day. As we rounded a bend in the highway which sat higher in the mountain side the skyscrapers were visible a good thirty minutes before we reached the city. The book we had even referenced how it was a smorgasbord of high rise condos that lined the coast. After entering the city it seemed like it was anything but a paradise. The town was the epitome of overdevelopment. The streets were lined with seedy motels, fast food joints, and convenience stores. Everywhere else was littered with older looking mid-rise complexes in which the ocean views had been obstructed by the younger high-rise complexes, which in turn had its views obstructed by the newer modern and even higher rise residences; many of which were still under construction.

Fortunately we had a Garmin that John and Peggy brought from home. We plugged in an address for accommodations referenced in the book. Unfortunately for us it was Australia day weekend and most of the good affordable places had long since been booked. We decided to cruise down the street and try to see what we could find. It wasn’t long until we saw it; the surfers motel.

John parked in a public lot on the side of the five story motel. Across the street from the motel was another parking lot that contained a hodgepodge of overpriced attractions including; bungee jumping; a type of swing that lifted riders 15 stories in the air and released them launching them into a pendulum swing at a fast velocity; some other ride that looked like two enormous fan blades with caged chairs attached at each end, riders got on and did high speed flips that took them roughly 18 stories in the air. This would have looked much more intimidating if it were not for the multitude of thirty story buildings that loomed in the background. There were also other standard rides that you may be more familiar with such as bumper cars and go-karts. Crappy music rang out from an a old sound system that didn’t seem had the capabilities to play music at that levels. The entire thing had the illusion that it may have been a temporary thing being set up in a parking lot and all, yet the permanent construction of the fencing along the perimeter indicated that this was here to stay. If only I were 16 again; this would have been paradise for me.

I entered the lobby and inquired as to the room rates. With broken English spoken with a Slovak accent the receptionist told me that rooms were available. The price was fair but we had to get two rooms since there were no rooms able to accommodate four people. We entered the room to get a blast from the past; the room décor had not been updated since the 60’s or later. Orange shagged carpet burned your retinas as you entered the room. Dilapidated furniture and beds rested against the painted CMU brick walls. There were probably 30 different communicable diseases in the drapes alone. The owners realized that the carpet was hideous. Instead of tearing them out their solution was to place a less unattractive area rug that concealed 50% of the area where the beds sat. Elyse didn’t look pleased; even less so after we discovered there was no AC.

Our room had one double bed and one single bed. I noticed a bunch of roll-away beds in the maid closet as we came out of the elevator. I decided I would have John and Peggy check out of their room and stay with us. I took it upon myself to grab a roll-away and sheets for the room. I went down to the lobby where I tried to communicate to the delightful woman behind the desk that we only wanted the one room. The message was lost on her and she kept saying “room good, yes room very good, cheap”. I asked to be refunded for the one room. Her response was “refund, oh, no no no. I can not. Sorry.” After some time I realized that she was just the housekeeper and the manager would be back then.

I went back to the room to wait for the manager to return. About thirty minutes later the woman from behind the desk knocked on our door to let us know the manager was in. In the lobby Peggy and spoke with the manager. The original lady behind the desk mumbled something in her native tongue. The manager questioned us about the bed. She gave us a new price for a new room that had two queen beds. It was a terrible rate for the conditions of the motel, yet I’ve stayed in worse and we were all tired.

Later in the evening the carnival got more annoying with its bright flashing lights. Unlike Sydney which shut down around 9 pm, the fair ragged long into the night well past midnight. The building was shaped in the form of an L. Our balcony was a few feet from the other balcony. I struck up a conversation with a few guys that used to live in Brisbane. Later that night I ventured out to grab a beer with on of them. It looked like the city was pretty dead, for the exception of the carnival outside our motel. The guy explained to me that most people had to work on Monday but would get off on Tuesday for Australia Day. My guide got lost and we had to backtrack a few blocks before we found the bar. We sat at the bar and he bought the first round of beers. I said that I would get the next round. Cheers. We sat at the bar and drank our beers while we listened to the band play their music. After finishing the guy proceeded to order a tall, not a regular sized, Vodka and Red Bull. This drink was four times as expensive as the beer that we had just finished. The guy says to me “this rounds on you mate”. Uhh, not really I replied. In no other way to accurately explain it he threw an adult temper tantrum. “What ever I’m going to go out a grab a smoke.” That was my que to leave.

The next morning we awoke and headed down to the famous Surfers Paradise Beach. I was hardly impressed. All of this hype for nothing, the beach was comparable to the ones found in San Diego. Elyse and I splashed in the water while Peggy collected sea shells on the shoreline. We were there for a few hours grabbed some lunch and headed up the coast towards Brisbane

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Photos

Surfers Paradise
reminds me of Daytona or Miami Beach

Comments

[Ethan Hunt]

baron bay
nice beaches for the surfers...dont worry about the accomodotions there...alot of exciting places are there for that.... http://www.thevillasofbyron.com.au/