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Published: April 23rd 2008
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Oh my goodness we were out of Asia. I had my doubts to how much we would enjoy Oz, after experiencing such diversity and contrasting cultures in Asia. Travelling to westernised countries didn’t have any appeal and certainly wasn’t on the original agenda, but we thought why not pop to OZ while we’re out and about around the world!
I loved the less developed lands of Asia, the rickety buses but polite people of the Philippines, the laid back attitude of beautiful Laos, the paradise islands of Thailand, the hard hitting history of Cambodia and the ever flowing Mekong Delta of Vietnam, just to name a few. Our experiences in Asia could never compare to that of the Western world.
So what did Oz give us with such attitudes? Well, we simply loved it. Never did we think the Gold Coast would be so magnificently beautiful. Our first sighting of these talked about beaches was Surfers Paradise. It swept north and south as far as the eye could see. Surf was up and people were enjoying the waves. Many beaches had Surf patrols stationed watching constantly over the surfers and swimmers. Displayed were the current
Home on wheels.
Our Wicked Van. sea conditions, showing temperature and sea current directions. This was so seriously organised and good to see.
Happy Campers! A camper van was definitely the way to travel in Oz. So after a bit of researching, we found an interesting company to rent a van from - Wicked Vans. Now they have this name for a very good reason! Each van they rent out has been aerosol painted in some form of theme - some more decent than others and the word Wicked splayed across the bonnet. Our van, Old Man River, Jim Morrison, painted on the doors, carried us safely from
Brisbane to Sydney in a week.
We had such a free spirited feeling travelled where we wanted from town to town. No buses or trains to negotiate. Evenings we found either a campsite (hey they have showers!) or a rest stop (a large lay by, probably meant for truckers). Which meant some nights we stopped over for free - just what we needed! Have you seen the price of bread here?!
One of our main visits was to
Byron Bay. A lovely seaside town with a laid back attitude. There was quite a
young feel here, with many stereotypical beach babes and surfer dudes wondering the beach. I really wanted to buy a flouncy dress and a straw hat, it looked so cool! My backpack was heavy enough though!
On from Byron Bay, we went to
Nimbin , noted for it’s alternative lifestyles, so we couldn’t resist a look. Well it had a very strange feeling, I actually couldn’t wait to leave. I don’t think it was threatening in any way, just too different in the attitudes towards smoking drugs. This was evident absolutely everywhere. Sitting have a cup a coffee in a café, I observed the locals. Men sporting long hair and long beards sat about chatting. Hippy clothes worn through out, I felt so clean and ordinary. We were offered weed on the streets twice and half the town must have a cannabis symbol in its window. It felt very much like we had walked into someone else’s land and community. It was so different.
While on the road, we decided it was a must to visit the Vineyards of the Hunter valley and sample some of the local wines. First stop was the town of
Denman , well
how could I not go here! We found ourselves in the 2 Rivers vineyard and bought 2 bottles to accompany our evening dinners. They were delicious.
Continuing down the coast the next stop was Palm Beach, known to us as the location of
Home and Away. It was a lovely golden beach in a reasonably quiet area. We watched some of the filming and tried to name the actors and actresses, but didn’t recognise anyone, but we’ll be watching the soap when we return! I took a photo of summer Bay Surf club, how funny it that!!
While in this area we headed to the Blue Mountains. We stopped at Echo Point and saw the 3 Sisters, very important to the Aborigines.
Returning the van, we stayed in
Sydney for a night, but 2 days to enjoy. Sydney was an organised city. Sydney Opera house was an amazing sight, and we were lucky to have blue skies to complement it. From Sydney we flew to……Hawaii.
So despite having very fond memories of Asia, Australia was thoroughly enjoyed. So clean, organised with beautiful landscapes. It was a shame we couldn’t stop over for longer. It wasn’t as
cheap as we’d hoped but we’d highly recommend it. But you must do it in style in Wicked Van!
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Mum Dad
non-member comment
down under
what super pics stylish van Oz does not look too bad not the paradise you left behind but had to be done.hows the spanish going are you both fluent take care xx