Skinks & Hippies

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2/14/10

Happy Valentine’s Day! Although all you guys back in the states won’t be celebrating for another day but it’s Valentine’s Day here! I’ve been busy soaking up the summer sun so again I apologize for my blogging absence! Here is a summary of the last week or so!

Coffs Harbour was fantastic! The hostel was a million times better than the one we had just come from and the area was gorgeous as well. I kept forgetting to take my camera to the beach but there was a historic Jetty that was so long that when you walked to the end you literally felt like you were in the middle of the ocean! We also walked (well it felt like hiking) up Muttonbird Island which is this small island with nothing but a steep path through the middle and a bench at the other end but it goes so high up you can see for miles and can no longer hear the waves crashing that you see below! It’s a nature reserve with holes everywhere where there are either birds laying eggs, snakes OR what I saw….this will excite one of my sisters….a blue tongued skink!!! I saw him poke his head out of a hole and couldn’t figure out if it was a snake or not but then saw his stubby little legs as he turned to go back down! Now he may have been a pink tongued skink, they do have them here as well, but the little guy seemed to be a little shy about showing me the color of his tongue so I’m sorry I can’t say with full confidence that he did indeed have a blue tongue. But he looked just like Drew!

You’re supposed to have great views for whale watching once on the other side of the island but we didn’t know until we saw the plaque on the other side that this is only between May and September…oh well! There are some pictures of the beaches and harbor from the top of the island but I’m not sure you’d truly be able to grasp how beautiful it really was!

We walked through a bit of the botanical gardens there as well, but we had just been on a long sweaty walk to and from town to get my Australian Bank Card so we were a bit too tired to walk through the whole thing!

Next stop was Byron Bay, we had to wait all day to get our 4pm train but at least we got to stay at the hostel and not wait at the station like last time. There were these boys on the train blasting music from some electronic device which was driving me crazy…especially since I had a headache and was laying down on 2 seats trying to sleep…I waited hoping they would stop or someone else would say something but when no one did I got very fed up, sat up, spun around and before I could actually say my very American words they must have sensed I what was coming because they immediately turned the music off. I said, “Seriously?! Can you please turn your music down, I have the worst headache ever, thank you!” They were just saying yes and nodding the entire time so I may have scared them lol. Charlotte and Ryan thought this was pretty hilarious.

We arrived to our hostel around 9pm and the guy who picked us up at the bus station (we had to take an hour coach ride from the nearest train station) was not pleased to have to get us because this meant he was missing all you can drink $5 Sangria night at the hostel. He mentioned it a few times and then when we arrived he said “Reception is that way!” got out of the van and left us locked inside with al our bags. We just sat there looking at eachother and said, “is he joking.” When his boss saw him walk in without the people he picked up I guess she was concerned because he shortly came back out and opened the door. We managed to get our bags out and get to our room but missed Sangria night!

This hostel is where I am now and it feels like I’m on Spring Break which I never went on so I guess I can check that off my list now! I’ll have to take some pictures or movies because it is really an awesome place. The rooms all overlook a huge courtyard with a pool, volleyball court, hammocks, picnic tables and lawn. The kitchen is also right in the center as well. There is also a path through the woods that goes right onto the beach! That night we went onto the beach and never have I seen so many stars! The beach is huge with soft white sand so it was great laying down and looking up at the millions of stars. I even got to see 3 shooting stars! So, we all went to bed satisfied.

Our 4th roommate here is an older man, John, who surprise , surprise, is from England! He’s lived here for years now but was just visiting Byron, which by the way is considered a Shire just like in Lord of the Rings! Anyway, he’s very nice and works at a hostel on Bondi Beach.

We went into town the following night I believe which is a great little beach town with tons of little shops, bars, cafes, etc. We checked out a couple of the well known bars, one of which has these $4 Jam Jars which taste like delicious fruit juice and nothing else! We must’ve come early though because we were the absolute only ones there lol. We also got a very classy dominoes pizza, so funny how dominoes is everywhere!

The next night John brought us to this place called The Rails, which has great live music. I had the most delicious fish burger and fries and the band playing was this awesome blues band! On the way back we got gelato which was soooo good and the only ice cream I’ve had since I’ve been here..mmmmmm
We went back to the beach again but it was much cooler that night so didn’t stay too long.

Yesterday John drove us all to Nimbin, a little hippy town Corrie would love! There was a music festival there in the 70s and I guess it just stayed hippy forever just like Bethel. It was weird because while we were there eating at this bar, on the TV was the opening ceremony of the winter Olympics. So as we were drenched in sweat all these people are freezing in Canada or freezing at home watching the althletes freeze in Canada! Also, on the drive there we saw a little kangaroo coming out of the woods. He was so cute! Weird how they just hop around everywhere! On the way back John thought he would find a waterfall for us…well we ended up driving for what seemed like forever never finding anything and then just heading back. Me and Charlotte started going a little stir crazy in the back of the car!

When we finally returned it was almost ready for the BBQ and live music happening at the hostel. So we got ready and began the most fun night I’ve had since I’ve been here! I met this guy from California who is the one of the 3 Americans I’ve met since being out here, a bunch of Canadian girls (tons of Canadians around here) and an Australian guy, one of the few I’ve actually met because the hostels are full of foreigners! The man playing the live music was a guy originally from Long Island who came here for 3 weeks and never left, 15 years ago! It was strange though because he had an Australian accent lol weird how people just get new accents!

We then all went to this place called the beach bar which is this huge venue that has great music. The main band that played that night was UNREAL! We had an awesome time dancing the night away! I even got up on a chair lol. After that we headed to Cocomongas to get some jam jars! The place actually had people in it this time! We danced around to music that was popular in American 10 years ago and then headed back to the hostel along the abandoned rail road tracks. Went to the beach for bit and when the guys decided to go swimming I went to bed! It was a fantastically cool evening so I think they probably froze in the ocean although what feels cool to me now is probably 80 degrees!

I got some great photos of last night so I’ll get them up asap for you guys. I just went to the beach and am not really sure what I’m going to do for the rest of my day but tomorrow we’re going on a seak kayaking tour with dolphins! We even get free afternoon tea and tim tams which are these delicious cookies you can suck tea through…I’m so English, it’s all rubbing off on me!

We’re heading to Brisbane in a couple days and that’s where me, Charlotte and Ryan will part because I’m going back to live in Sydney for a month so I can work for Tiffany & Company! I’ll be getting paid $25 an hour to do exactly what I did in America for $15 an hour….the pay rates here are crazy, fruit pickers get like $17 an hour! Hope you’re all staying nice and warm in your wintery wonderland!

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