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Published: April 28th 2008
Hello All- 2nd attempt at this after losing it somehow!!
So after a relaxing Monday night in we had the aim of getting up on Tuesday morning and heading to Byron Bay but hopefully squeezing in a Koala visit first- sadly we realised that with the bus longer than expected something had to give so with Lynette's kind offer of another night we decided to head to Byron Bay first thing wednesday and go cuddle Koala's!! Upon arriving at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctury where u can watch Koala's and various other animals to your hearts content as well as getting the opportunity (for money of course) to cuddle one of them!! Having been completely besotted with them when visiting Australia as a child i jumped at the chance to have a close up photo with one of them, although was infinetly more aware of their long sharp claws this time round!! We took turns in holding the Koala, as the keeper told me to relax, while someone took photos! They were so baby like i started bouncing it up and down straight away before realising it probably wasn't best to upset it!! Before this amazing experience we shocked ourselves
with our braveness- having being confronted with snakes all over the world so far i totally gobsmacked libby today by turning and stating today we would stroke the little snake! So off we went staying away from the head (aka teeth) and both gave it a quick stroke pretending to enjoy it (i just wanted to squeeze it!) and leaving quickly!! We wondered around for a while, including seeing a Kangaroo which i realised had a Joey's arm sticking out of it so we stalked it for a while until we got view of half a head and ear!!! We came back to pack and have a final supper- for real this time!!
Wednesday we awoke finished up packing and said goodbye to comfort and luxury before getting a bus down to Byron Bay- we'd read/heard about The Arts Factory a complete hippy place where some dorms had the twist of being in a Teepee so this is where we headed! It reminded me of the beach the film which was slightly scary! However upon arrival after a very easy Greyhound journey with a very helpful bus journey we were saddened to discover the TeePee doe with a difference
was full so we decided to splash out 6dollars for our own teepee aka tent with bed although little room to do anything else!! By the time we'd done all this it was late afternoon so went for lunch and then to the supermarket to buy all those essentials we'd had stolen and dinner etc before returning to rest and cook (as well as making a groundbreaking decision to give up chocolate for the rest of the trip!) Cooking dinner was not exactly to plan as it tasted like oil due to the kitchen being immensely busy as in CAHOS, so we reluctantly ate up and saved some for the next night- budget traveling and all that!!We went to the onsite bar to hear cockatoo paul play some 'interesting' music before heading in through the secret free entrance to hear some much better Jazz which was relaxing so we then headed to our tent for bed- layering up due to the coldness although like all tents it got too hot very quickly!!
Thursday morning we had a nice lie in (and for the first time in 3months libby woke up before me) before heading down to the beach, which
was incredibly pretty and not too crowded although a bit cold when it clouded over! We've definitely adjusted to life in a hotter south east asian climate as the idea of swimming in the cold not warm sea had us both running away! We headed back to the Arts Factory to make lunch which was a lot more pleasurable due to a quieter kitchen and then went on a looooong walk to the lighthouse which around sunset kind of time. It's the furtherest eastern point in Australia. We watched surfer's try and stand up which obviously gave us a lot of amusement! Headed back in time to shower in the gross showers complete with mossies and cockroaches walking past before catching a 2dollar glass of wine at happy hour and going to attempt a second chaotic dinner scene which was luckily a lot nicer although we like to blame the home brand goods for the lack of flavor in general! We watched but did not participate in Trivia Night before bedtime.
Friday morning was an early wake due to checking out and sadly the weather wasnt too great as we headed for a wonder along the beach we were
immediately caught in the rain, so retreated into a cafe (any excuse!) and then decided that since the arts factory has a famous cinema with sofas and cushions etc for only a couple of pounds we might as well watch a film in the afternoon as we killed time before our overnight bus. The film wasn't exactly oscar worthy and i didn't need more than the title to guess the plot but it amused us nonetheless! Had the same salad, chicken, cheese pesto bread lunch we'd had the day before and prawns and garlic for dinner as we desperately tried to get rid of the kilo of rice! Before dinner we did our now regular (as in twice) walk down to the beach which was lovely! Hopped aboard the greyhound- the driver's are seriously the best bit so chatty and friendly! Message in a Bottle turned out to be the longest film in the world although better than blades of glory! Although in south east asian and not what we expected in Oz style we stopped 3times for 45 minutes a time which i cant help but feel adds a lot of time onto the already loooong journey!!
Saturday
morning we arrived at central station after little sleep and tried to negotiate the trains to the blue mountains but in typical big city fashion this weekend track repairs were going on so we had to get a bus and then a train- no real complaints as i think it ended up cheaper!! Upon arriving Katoomba we were greeted by steep hills so off we went to find somewhere to stay but treking with the 17kilos on our back plus the food bag we went from hostel to hostel, hill to hill to no avail until eventually the woman at the YHA called another place on the other side of town. So we decided the sensible thing to do, since we hadn't eaten since dinner, would be to pop into the busy saturday supermarket and do our shopping while carrying the world with us- needless to say there were some odd looks our way! We climbed up the final hill after 2hours of walking around to be greeted with a clean and new-ish hostel although sadly full of old people or religous youth groups- not so much a social aspect!! After a nutrious lunch of beans on toast we walked
down to ecco point to see the 3 sisters and stunning views over the blue mountains which was lovely, although the round trip took over an hour. For dinner we really branched out and cooked bolognaise but with our limited budget and room to carry stuff around we had it with rice, aka the leftovers!! It was nice though and we saved half for tomorrow night as well. Used the internet since it's free here and contacted people in Melbourne to check we could stay there which sounds all good!
Sunday was meant to bring a lie in to catch up on sleep but unfortunatley the people in our dorm seemed not to understand that, talking loudly to each other and making a lot of noise so i was up at 8 reading until libby woke up hours later. After breakfast we did a 2hour walk on the cliff view path to see the Katoomba waterfalls which were lovely, the path was completely waterlogged though- leading to mud all over me!! We started to head back into town for a cup of tea when the heavens opened and torrential rain started so we found refuge in a bus shelter
before climbing one more immense hill to the cafes!! Yet another trip to the supermarket beckoned ( I swear we actually live there) after inspiration from people's lovely looking lunches! Down time of more reading before dinner cooking again- totally getting the hang of it now! I got very fustrated with the Crazy Jane character in our dorm as she insisted on watching a film at 11, i was shattered, libby was too scared to say no to her! So while i tried to sleep aka tossed and turned the lights were bright above me, the film blaring out next to my ear aka hell. Then at 2am she decided to pack up all her stuff into boxes, not impressed!!
This morning we checked out then headed down to the vintage clothes shops and 2nd hand book stores to try and swap a few books as i run out all the time! Managed to pick up a top, bag and some books so successful trip all around. However the more shocking news is that the temperature is 3degrees and they're expecting snow today and tomorrow!! We were out there in our flip flops before realising how cold it was
and running into a shop to buy hats!! Luckily we're leaving as we have no appropriate clothes for snow!! A last lunch before we head to the station to get a train to Sydney to pick up another night bus, arriving in Melbourne at 8am hopefully. We're planning to spend the day in the city before Barb and Keith pick us up back at the bus station on their way home from work! Hoping to book the tour of neighbours for Thursday- cultural things and all that!!
Lots of love xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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liznorton
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God Sophie that dorm life looks hard do you always have the top bunk. Snow in OSmind you spect they are just going into their winter. How much longer are you away for.? Love your last chapter keep them coming Liz Rob France xxxx