Grafton to Brisbane via Fiji!


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Oceania » Australia » New South Wales
April 16th 2015
Published: April 26th 2015
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Tom testing out the water!Tom testing out the water!Tom testing out the water!

Sea was really warm and shallow. Walked out about 150 metres and still only waist deep
Grafton to Brisbane
On Fri 3 Apr we arrived in Grafton as a stopping point on our way to Coolangatta and spent the night in a hotel. The reason for the short journeys was because there was a Blues Festival in Byron Bay and accommodation was almost impossible to find! The transit stop was miles from Grafton so we took a taxi to the hotel. On Sat 4 April it rained heavily but armed with a brolly we set off to explore. We visited the War Memorial which was really well set out and maintained and then sought refuge in Christchurch cathedral where the organist was practising. We then spent the rest if the afternoon in the shopping mall until it was time to leave for Greyhound to Ballina where we had one night in the Comfort Inn. Sun 5 April was Easter Sun and we had the bonus of a free breakfast! Back on the Greyhound to Byron Bay Arts Factory where we spent one night in a 'retreat' ( a large cabin shaped tent out on a boardwalk in bush by a pond, complete with Brush Turkeys and Eastern Water Dragons!) it used to be a commune and still has a hippy feel to it but there is a swimming pool, a cinema and a brewery on site! Once installed, we walked to the seafront and Tom walked out to the to Lighthouse which is the most easterly point of Australia, I decided to find some shade and chill with my book! Back at the Arts Factory we had a drink in the brewery and then decided to call it a day - we were in a 4 share with 2 French girls and thought they might be up partying until the early hours. We weren't wrong!
BULA! On Mon 6 Apr we took the Greyhound to Coolangatta YHA for 1 night before our flight to Nadi, Fiji and 4 nights at the Hilton Fiji Beach Resort! We had a lovely luxury villa with kitchen and laundry facilities situated on the beach. This was my birthday present from Tom and I felt very spoilt! On Tue evening we ate at Maravu, which was an Asian restaurant. I had Siu Mai ( Chinese pork and prawn steamed dumplings with soy and chilli dipping sauce followed by Nasi Goreng ( Indonesian fried rice with prawns, chicken and mixed vegetables) all of which was Divine! Tom had Goi Cuon (Vietnamese prawn rolls ) followed by Laksa Lemak ( a Malaysian spiced coconut curry broth with prawn, chicken and fish). Wed 8 Apr we had a lazy morning sunbathed and swam in the sea. It was a bit difficult to swim as it was so shallow. Tom walked out over 100 metres and was still barely waist deep. That night we ate in Nuku which was not as good as Maravu. I had Salmon Rilettes and Tom had Sizzling Tiger Prawns the service was slow and, to be fair, they were busy but after waiting a significant time for our main course we were offered the dessert menu!! Oops! They had clearly list our order. My main course was Spaghetti with green lipped mussels, which were huge! Tom had steak but it was more medium than medium rare and a bit disappointing. There was a display of Polynesian dancing which was interesting and got the children involved. But, on balance Maravu was much better.
Thu 9th April we ate brunch at L'Epicerie. Tom ordered a BLAT ( bacon, lettuce, avocado and tomato) but they had no avocado! We picked a tour for Fri and booked a massage at the Spa for Sat. In the afternoon we caught the Bula Bus to Denarau Marina. We ate at Bone Fish and had a monster Seafood platter. 800g Lobster, mahimahi, seared tuna prawn lollipops, salt & pepper squid, Tempura fish, fries, salad and 3 dips!! Amazing!
Fri 10 Apr we went in the Seaspray cruise. 8.20 am pick up to the marina and catamaran to Mana Island. We passed lots of islands - there are 333 in Fiji but not all inhabited! We transferred to Seaspray, a 2 masted schooner. There was Fizz, fruit and cookies for morning tea. We moored off Mondriki, the location for Castaway with Tom Hanks. We spent an hour snorkelling; both the coral and fish were amazing! Barbecue was prepared on board for outer return: fish,chicken, sausage, salads, unlimited drinks!! After lunch we visited Yanuya Island, where we were greeted by sons of the chief drank ceremonial Kava. I have to say it tasted like ... dishwater!

We went into a hut and sat in a circle on the floor. Two of our party were "Chiefs" and were first to drink the Kava. Named by Captain Cook, Piper methysticum, 'intoxicating Pepper', it is a drink made from the roots of the Kava plant. It is claimed to have sedative or anaesthetic properties, but has been banned in some countries as it has been linked to liver problems! You had to clap your hands once, and on receiving the cup say Bula! (Hello) drink the Kava, clap 3 times and say Vinaka (thank you). It had the appearance (and taste) of grey dishwater so not sure I'll be swapping it for Gin & Tonic anytime soon! Outside there was a marketplace of women selling jewellery and souvenirs. We were shown the Chief's house, a church, and a community hall. There was a large bell which used to be rung to summon all islanders to meetings. Now they have mobile phones and satellite tv! There was also school which had approximately 150 students, including boarders from other islands who arrived on Monday and went home on Friday. When we arrived a large group of boys were playing rugby, showing no mercy to even the smallest, when tackling on baked ground. We rejoined boat and sailed back to Denarau and the Hilton Resort, where had a long soak in the roll top Bath! On Saturday we had to check out so to make the most of our last morning we headed to the spa, in a buggy for our Fijian massage, or pummelling! We took a taxi back to Nadi for our flight to 'Cooly' on the Gold Coast. Loved the small part of Fiji we saw! The country is beautiful and the people are really welcoming The areas outside of the 'resorts' appear poor in comparison which does make you feel a little humbled. The taxi driver told us people cutting sugar cane generally earn $2 Fijian an hour, which is approx 70p!, and that tourism is now their major income. Would definitely go back some time. Sun 11 April we took the Greyhound to Surfers Paradise. We had a 4 hour wait for the next bus so sat in the sun outside Mc Donald's on the seafront. We then got the greyhound to Brisbane where we stayed at Meriton Serviced Apartments, Adelaide St. Tom priced the YHA but for only a few dollars extra we had a one bedroom apartment with full kitchen, dishwasher, washing machine and dryer and a 34th floor view of Melbourne and Mount Coot-tha. I shopped at Woolies and made Chilli for dinner. On Mon 12 Apr we walked along the river, passing lots of waterside qrestaurants and being passed by a procession of joggers, down to the Botanic Gardens. We found MooMoo, a restaurant where Tom had found a Groupon deal which he had booked for Tuesday evening. We walked through the gardens, which had people relaxing, entertaining their children and doing serious workouts on the grass. We walked past Parliament House and on to the Old Parliament which is now a museum. From there we crossed Goodwill Bridge and walked past Street Beach - Brisbane's urban beach with swimming pools of various depths, a boating pool and tons of beautiful white sand. We took a ride on the Brisbane Wheel for some panoramic views of the city and then headed back to apartment, having walked about 6 miles, for a Chicken Salad for dinner. On Tue 13 April we walked along Ann St. and saw the Cathedral, which is the only stone vaulted cathedral in Australia. We passed All Saints Church, the Lutheran Church and had a picnic lunch in the Anzac Memorial Gardens. We visited Central Station. Which was built in 1889. Then back to the apartment to get ready for dinner at MooMoo, steak restaurant. We had cocktails to start followed by a charcuterie platter Bresaola, Pate, and ham. I had Rump carrots which was lovely but it came with really salty potatoes. Tom had a massive T Bone steak. Not that we needed it, we chocolate dessert with chocolate sauce and vanilla ice-cream. On Wed 14th we met Amelia, a friend who is working in Brisbane with her friend Becky. They lent us their car for the day, so we drove out to Mt Coot-tha. Tom got some very strange looks in the girly Rav 4! We had coffee at the Mount Coot-tha lookout with view of Brisbane and then went to the the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary which was brilliant. Queensland is the only state where you can cuddle a koala so we had a photo with Matt, who was very cute. We also had a reptile encounter with a black headed Python! In the evening we returned the car to Amelia and Becky and took them out for dinner at Pony. It was a lovely evening and it was sad to say goodbye to the girls and to Brisbane. Time to pack for the 7.30 am Greyhound to Hervey Bay and our next adventure!


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Meet Matt from Lone Pine Meet Matt from Lone Pine
Meet Matt from Lone Pine

Hadn't realised how heavy a koala is!


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