Returning to Nimbin, Byron Bay and finally Sydney

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Brisbane was our next major stop over where we met up with Tony & Joy (another second cousin of Stephen's) for a night. We went out for a lovely meal and drinks in an amazing bar (they don’t have them like this at home) The following morning after sleeping in the TV room at Tony & Joy’s house which is in the Windsor suburb of inner Brisbane we headed south across the border in to New South Wales and on to Nimbin and Byron Bay. We had a little trouble getting the van out of Tony and Joy’s steep yard, it needed the effort of everyone to push the van uphill and with Stephen going heavy on the accelerator but we made it to the edge of the drive way. We had a real oh no our van might pack up moment but she came through for us.

Of all of the places we have been in Australia Nimbin, Byron Bay and Sydney would be the only 3 we re-visited. We loved the relaxed no worries vibe in Nimbin and Byron Bay so our first stop in New South Wales was to Nimbin. We checked in to the YHA here and decided to get away from our van for a couple of nights and camp out in of the Tepees that the YHA have overlooking the NSW countryside. After a wander around town we headed back to our Tepee, cookies in hand. The next three hours were needless to say highly amusing and we don’t think we really need to say any more about that.



The following day we chilled around the hostel, relaxed in hammocks overlooking the countryside, and after our second night we moved on towards Byron Bay. While in Byron we decided to try our luck at surfing (when in Rome...) so we had two lessons over two mornings. To our delight we managed to get the hang of it fairly easily. We loved it and Stephen’s face when I sailed passed him riding a wave was priceless. I rode a wave for a good 50 metres; Stephen didn’t fare so well but got a gold star for effort.

So that was it for our east coast adventure as we headed towards Sydney where we spent our final two weeks. First it was down to business as we had to give our van the once over and sell it, and we did this from our base in Lane Cover River Tourist Park. This was a tense business as we were up against it time wise. We had a few interested parties fall through which made us slightly worried but in the end we had a young Canadian couple view our van and decide that they wanted it, the deal was done.



We were incredibly sad to say goodbye to our van, it had been a great home for a year and we loved the freedom it gave us. We were selling it with everything inside bar our personal belongings which was great for us as we didn’t have to get rid of all the equipment we had amassed over the past year. We booked into the YHA by Bondi Beach and drove over checked in and dropped off our backpacks. And then drove our empty van back to Lane Cove where we met the new buyers and closed the sale. Stephen gave them a quick lesson on driving the van as they had never driven a manual before and then that was it. They drove off and we walked to the underground where we got the train to Bondi.



Our final week in Australia was spent in and around the iconic Bondi Beach. Mel, a friend of mine who I worked with in America joined us for five days. She is Australian and from Melbourne and had been up on the gold coast so stopped in Sydney before heading home and back to work. She stayed in the YHA as well and it was so good to catch up with her again. We had some great nights sampling the very best of Bondi's bars! By day we par-took in some much need retail therapy, minus ste of course which suited us both. We also did a little sightseeing around Sydney, went on the Monorail, and grabbed some great food in Chinatown. It was early spring in Australia so not warm enough to sunbath or go into the sea but we did enjoy the views of Bondi, one afternoon we went along to the iconic Bondi Icebergs pool where we enjoyed a drink in the bar overlooking the bay. It was the perfect end to our year long stay in Australia. We had no worries, no more ties and spent a wonderful few days just taking our time and pottering around Sydney. Just what we needed ahead of New Zealand!

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Photos

Nimbin
Our Tee-Pee at Nimbin

On the Road
Rock and/or Roll

Byron Bay
Us after our Surf Lessons

Nimbin
The morning after the night before

Nimbin
Ste outside our Tee-Pee

Nimbin
Our view of the hills of Nimbin

Brisbane
Meeting up with the relatives in Brisbane

Byron Bay
Long day surfing