Byron Bay to Sydney

During these days I was waiting for another lifter cause Helen wanted to enjoy Byron a bit longer and I had to move on (planed to have around a week to find accommodation in Sydney before starting work on the 2nd October). Finally a "frenchie" named Kevin called me...unfortunately he's been the only one :-/ But at least somebody to chat and share petrol costs ;-)

When we were supposed to leave Byron he had to wait for 1 1/2 hours to get his appraisal/pay slip and I got bored listening to FeeBee's nice audio. He showed up and off we-e-e-e-e...arks! FeeBee refused to start...even after getting pushed by 3 guys.
We parked her again and needed somebody to jump start us (jump starter battery was discharged as well of course). Not so easy in a town. People don't get your point and really do think that your waving at'em. So I took out my little roadbook and and wrote in big letters: "Got starter cables?" with a permanent marker...5 seconds later and one of FeeBee's "brothers" stopped with a nice alternative Hippie kind of guy sitting behind the wheel.

Connect the two batteries aaaaaaand byebye Byron!

Unfortunately I didn't make any notes during the remaining 700?km to Sydney.

Surfer at Woolgoolga

Nambucca Heads

Evens Heads, Yamba (wonder if this town got anything to do with the ring tones *g*) and Seal Rocks (click here for map). We would have just passed by but fortunately we picked up another local hitchhiker and gave him a lift for a few kilometers to Bulahdelah. He told us about the place and highly recommended it.

So we turned around, went off the Buladelah Coolongelolok Freeway/ Pacific highway and drove on a narrow (dirt) road towards it. When you get closer you are welcomed via huge words painted on the street (the picture I took didn't show it that good but I remember something with peace...).

Seal Rocks is a small, sleepy and rather isolated beach town south of Forster-Tuncurry and 310 km from Sydney. Its fame rests largely on its beautiful lighthouse and the sense of isolation it enjoys. The very ordinary dirt road which separates the town from the main road (Lakes Way) has kept development at bay and there is a strong feeling that the locals are very happy with this barrier to excessive development (FeeBee liked it too).
There are some very real attractions: unspoilt surfing beaches, a noted diving spot, the nearby Myall Lakes National Park and, most notably, the spectacularly beautiful Seal Rocks lighthouse - officially known as Sugarloaf Point Lighthouse - which overlooks an unspoilt beach and the group of offshore rocky outcrops which give the area its name.

either those guys were just relaxing or - due to the season - looking for whales, or both...

at least some dolphins showed up close to the beach

after a short thinking period we decided to walk "a few" steps towards the Sugarloaf Point Lighthouse

first "negative" impression ;-)

rocks are softer than water

View lighthouse

The construction of Sugarloaf Lighthouse was completed in 1875, ten years after it was recommended a light be placed to highlight the treacherous Seal Rocks. It was originally intended to place the light on Seal Rocks but landing was difficult the proposition was abandoned.

Sugarloaf Point Lighthouse

I really like these two pictures (Heaven and Hell?!?)

more like heaven with rocks

simply a nice spot to stay around (if you like it relaxt)

Shortly after returning to the highway we drove off again. Stoney Creek Rd weaves its way through the Bulahdelah Forest joining up with The Lakes Way. There is a signpost inviting you to drive the 6 km to the 'Grandis' a huge, 400-year-old flooded gum (Eucalyptus grandis) which, at a height of 76 metres, is said to be the tallest tree in New South Wales. We thought the road to it was even more exiting and demanded a lot from FeeBee...but she made it...again.

Nambucca Heads, Crescent Head.
Crescent Head is quite far off the highway and we thought it might be nice to eat some dirt on the way to Port Macquarie although one of our two maps didn't show this "road"...anyway. The first part went well. But the road got bumpier and bumpier which made me feel like being back on Fraser again. Despite the dips and bumps and muddy water FeeBee did well and we hoped it'd soon be better...

...we got disappointed as the track turned sandy. I remembered that Lena and I got stuck in the NT outback sand ones after going off road to collect some firewood as well as Fraser conditions (and what you need for it). While thinking about it and walking 100m in the sand to sort out its consistency the first car since we started to go "off road" (~35 Minutes) came towards us. I asked them about the further track conditions and they replied that it probably doesn't make any sense to keep on going. Well, we almost made it to Port Macquarie...almost. So all the way back (we even forgot to take a picture of this adventure). That was definitely the hardest track FeeBee ever went on...and she (and the extraordinary driver of course) brought us back safely...pooh, what a relief to get to Port Macquarie! Next stop: Forster (link)

huge Australia flag on the way to Forster

FeeBee after the toughest 4wd track ever. We both enjoyed the quite sleeping spot in Forster


Kevin checking out the surfing conditions

Forster is a twin city with Tuncurry and supposed to have good surf conditions. We parked in a small "No Through" (Sackgasse) road, walked on the nearby dune and decided to stay here. Kevin wanted to put up his tent behind the dunes and so we did...

...go to sleep early in order to catch the sunrise and the morning waves. These sunsets are just always amazing, although you don't see it going down in the ocean - east coast it is...

sunset over my footprints in the dune sand

Therefore sun is rising from the ocean...if you're up early...

We were up early anyway so Kevin gave surfing a go whereas I was looking for a "public bathrrom".

"our" dune for the night (up the left side)

Kevin's board was way too short for me but at least I tried (it's more of a body board for me but who cared?). I felt better when he mentioned that it's a mystery for him as well how the locals could surf these waves. He didn't catch a good one...fun factor high, water temperature loooow...brrrrr...

brrrrr...that woke me up...

Tea Gardens / Hawks Nest, passing Newcastle. From there Sydney is already within spitting distance. We choose the route of the highway and on the coast line (Belmont South to Gosford - look it up via google maps).




Sydney

Harbour Bridge for the first time...and to Sydney's most famous beach: Bondi...nice! Kevin stayed in the YHA and I sneaked into the hostel for two days for having a shower, brush teeth and wash my dirty clothes. I kept on sleeping inside of FeeBee until I needed people again

SYDNEY!

I finally got here...I`m gonna sleep at Bondi Beach tonight and see if I can find a shared accommodation on saturday...cheers!

Surfers Paradise & Nimbin & Byron Bay

Only Kristian (swedish) responded to our ad within the given timeframe so we left to Nimbin and Byron Bay with the three of us (where I drop them off and maybe find another lifter for the last bit).

Before reaching to Nimbin we shortly stopped at Surfers Paradise. It is a suburb on Australia's Gold Coast (still in Queensland). Colloquially known as 'Surfers' the name itself is a bit misleading cause you'd propably exspect a nice quite places full of more or less alternative lifestyle surfers...and this is what you get

the whole beach is covered with skyscrapers...

Kristian taking a shot

Although we weren't really motivated after the terrible first impression we hit the beach (after 30 minutes of cruising around to find a legal parking space) and watched a bit of an ongoing lifeguard competition...and left.

Nimbin is a small village in the Northern Rivers area of the Australian state of New South Wales, approximately 30 km north of Lismore, 33 km southeast of Kyogle, and 70km west of Byron Bay. At the 2001 census, Nimbin had a population of 321. The area is part of what is known as the 'Rainbow Region' and is culturally important to the Bundjalung Aboriginal Australians and has become a haven for Australia's counterculture in recent decades.[2]
It was a sleepy dairy town until 1973, when the Aquarius Festival, a large gathering of university students, alternative lifestylers, 'hippies' and party people was held in the town...anyway...in NSW (yep we crossed the state boarder from Queensland), the cultivation, selling and possession of cannabis is illegal. In Nimbin, however, all three activities continue unabated. It has a high tolerance for cannabis plant (marijuana), with the open buying, selling and consumption of locally grown cannabis on the streets and laneways. To rally for an end to the prohibition of cannabis in Australia, Nimbin holds its annual MardiGrass festival (good thing to listen to - german - "Götz Widmann - Drogen - 15. Nimbin (Ansage).mp3" thanks to my friend Linus who gave this hint)

We got to this "one street town" driving over a twisting little road (for the last kilometers we helped out a hitchhiker)...

When we waited for the other two to come out of the tourist information (the lady must have been overly helpful - maybe she was just happy that somebody was actually interested) we got a first impression about the other side of this place. Two girls were swearing at each other. One with her guy and baby in the car, the other one on the street and it sounded a bit like this:

1:"Ya're a fuxxxxx hore!" 2:"And ya're a fuxxxxx junkie bitch", 1:"U got two kids in the back of ya car. U should care for them, bitch!"

This extract of people's behaviour and another radom faces on the streets have been - as I assume - a long time on other drugs than dope (i.e. acid also known as LSD).

Anyway, Helen, Kristian and I had a couple hours to spend in this unique place where we met Kasper and Jodi again (chilling and waiting for their friends to arrive).


Nimbin is hardly known (or wanted to be known) around the world...therefore it is a MUSTDO for backpackers (I heard about it the first time during my time in Perth). You should definately check out the Nimbin museum and the stores on the main street.

Helen facing the museum

Above the painting you find the sentence "Our Life was Freedom" which is so true!

In this context I got a book recommendation (believe it or not). It's been one of the books I actually finished lately...so it gotta be good: Songlines (Traumpfade) by Bruce Chatwin (wanna know more? link).


After a bit of time and a drink in a bar we decided not to stay but drive to Byron Bay on the same day...

Byron Bay is located 821 km north of Sydney and 200 km south of Brisbane. Cape Byron, a headland adjacent to the town, is the most easterly point of Australia. The Cape Byron lighthouse was opened in 1901, and has the most powerful beacon in Australia (2,200,000 cd, visible to a range of 27 nm).

The town has several beautiful beaches and well known for fantastic surf conditions. It's a resort popular with both domestic and international tourists, including backpackers, who travel along the Australian coast and the magnificent scenery attracts sky divers. The area is also noted for its wildlife, with the whale watching industry a significant contributor to the local economy.
The town is popular with visitors and residents from all socio-economic backgrounds and walks of life. It is famous for its laid back and alternative lifestyle, but also has a higher proportion of Baby Boomers (27%) than any other town in Australia.

...and got there during dusk. Helen and Kristian booked into a hostel whereas I had to look for another spot to stay (cause all of the 5 Byron Bay friends were traveling as well). At quite a few parking lots you'll find signs saying that parking is prohibited between 1am-6am (a nice version of: Fxxx off! we don't want you to sleep here!).

I didn't have anything to do in particular so I figured it might be nice to have a look at the Byron Bay Lighthouse and follow the beacon (lighthouse light) up the hill until I had to stop at a small car park (maybe 8 slots) just underneath the lighthouse. Of course a walked up to get a closer look at night. After I came back I had a look around but couldn't find any signs telling me not to park here. So I went to sleep in my comfortable bed on wheels called FeeBee just there...

...one of the best parking spots in Byron! :-)

Bulli & FeeBee (a classic car club came up late afternoon on my 2nd day up there)

Although I (and almost all people being in town that night) got woken up this night by a huge noisy thunderstorm...spectacular lighnings! zzzzzzzzzzz

I got woken up at around sunrise by some sort of all aged woman jogging class: "Come on girls, you can go slow but don't walk or stop! One more...!" I watched them a bit while having my cereals...and decided to walk up to see the rest of the sunrise...

BOY! The next 2 hours were simply breathtaking and made me feel like being close to heaven! I saw a fantastic - better than postcard - sunrise...have a look.

But that wasn't even the kicker in this case but the view on the most easterly point of Australia onto the ocean...where I saw groups of dolphins/sharks and in some distance...what Byron Bay is famous for...humpback whales!


These majesties of the sea really touch my heart so much that time just passed by. To see them jumping out of the water all the sudden and plunging back in with a huge splash (you could see but not photgraph'em over kilometers)....brilliant!
There were about 20 of them passing this landmark whilst having a lovely chat with a local woman who's coming here every morning for jogging. I turned out to be a lucky day cause she pointed out that this amount of whales is quite rare. Wooohooo! Crikey! (as Steve Irwin would put it).

Picture from the second day walk down the other side of the lighthouse




Julian Rocks

When walking back to FeeBee I felt totaly satisfied and didn't really wanna go into town...and what's that? Looks like a surfing beach...wonder how you get there...

Surfers (click to enlarge)

Too easy! Got to Tallows beach (south of the lighthouse) in 10 minutes (via FeeBee)...Surf maniacs all over the place!

The even come here by bike ;-)

Sitting there I've seen one of the coolest surfboards ever. This Byron Bay bloke and his wife/kid already passed my viewing point on one of the dunes but this board made me jump up and ask him for a picture.


I think I made him a bit proud by saying that he has to be in the picture as well...so he twinkeled and posed "surfer style" what made his wife and boy laugh. Great Thing!

Anyway I spent another 2 hours on that beach and decided afterwards that I gotta do a "learn how to surf" intro and I did. But I anly got this blurred picture for your impression (I scratched the top of my feet badly while getting on my knees on the board so I felt like a Jesus look-alike in the end...ouch! But exhausting and fun!

On the second day I got surprised by friends I met in Darwin...

lovely Nicky

We sticked together for lunch, tried to locate a strange noise their van was doing when running over a speed bump and went to the best Hostel in Byron, the Arts Factory.

It's an amazing place. In the 70’s many hippies, local and international artist's created the ‘Arts
Factory’! In the 80’s it was an internationally recognized rock and roll venue.
The ‘Birthplace’ of much of the fame and spirit of Byron Bay, it still maintains
that original spirit today. Located only 10 minutes walk from the beach we offer a wide range of Groovy
Accommodation or Funky Abodes, ranging from Teepees, Island Bungalows, Dorms,
Doubles and even Jungle Camping. They even got funky workshops including Didgeridoo making/playing and Yoga. We missed the digeridoo workshop but had a beautiful evening watching the "talent show". Unbelievable how many artists- and I mean real srtists - were staying at this place...

This Cuty had her first public appearance on this stage...and had a brilliant voice

...Mic's surf pic's still to come....