Byron Bay and Brisbane

We arrived in Byron Bay late on Tuesday night and checked into Nomads hostel which was amazing. There were only 4 beds in the room, one was a double, there was a balcony and air con. They also had a really cool common area where you can drink before going out. We got ready to go out out and decided to go to a bar called Cheeky Monkeys which was very sleezy but fun with lots of dancing on tables!

The next morning I woke up feeling a bit worse for wear and looked out of the window to see a clear sky and sunny day. However, by the time Frankie and I were ready to head out to the beach, a dust storm had arrived from central Australia, you couldn't see anything in the distance and the whole town had this orange tint to it. I have never seen anything like this before, it was very strange and even the locals said it was very unusual. We still tried to lay on the beach for a while but it wasn't sunny and I even had sand in my mouth by this point so we went for a walk aorund the town and looked in the hippy shops. Byron bay is a really cool and chilled out place, I like it.

The next day we went on a day tour to Nimbin in a very retro looking van! Nimbin is a tiny town that you can walk around in about half an hour but it is full of hippies, hippy shops (my favourite being 'bringabong'!) and known for everyone smoking marijuana. It is still illegal here but there are so many people, smoking and dealing it that the seven policemen they have in Nimbin, cannot really handle the situation. The town has mardi gras every may where there are many protests for the legalisation of marijuana. It looks like a lot of fun! On the way back we stopped off at a pub for a bbq and then a nice waterfall which I was to scard to jump in to!

Frankie and I had to catch our bus very early the next morning so we decided to get up even more early to go and watch the sunrise and Byron Bay lighthouse. We cheated and caught a taxi there just before dawn and watched the sun do its thing! It was very beautiful and when the sun was up we saw whales and dolphins swimming in the sea. Amazing!

We then caught the bus to Brisbane and checked into a hostel. People always talk baout sydeny and Melbourne being the big cool cities of Australia but I really like Brisbane, it's a cool city. The high street is always busy with nice little bars and chiled out cafes in the middle where you can people watch. There is an arts festival on a the minute too so there are many different little street perfomances too.

The first day we went to lone pine Koala sanctury which is the biggest in Australia. I am not normally a fan of animals but I really enjoyed being there and the koalas were so cute I even cuddled one! That night we decided to treat ourselves to a lovely meal, check out more of the city and drink some nice wine rather than the horrible goon that the backpacker bars serve!

Today I had a big walk around the city. I crossed one of the bridges over the river to Southbank which is a lovely park with small swimming pools and fake beach as well had cafes and market stalls. I also walked to fortitude valley and chinatown where there were more bars and market stalls! This is the first chinatown I have been to in Australia ans it reminded me lots of Hong Kong! Tonight we are going to go back to the valley (by train becasue I am not walking anymore!) for dinner and a Saturday night out in a city. Tomorrow we will head to Hervey bay and Fraser Island.

xxx