Far North Coast & Hinterland, New South Wales

Australia is so huge that when they changed the names of everything into things that the white man could pronounce they ran out of creativity and just got literal.
Minion: What shall we call this bit that is right at the very furthest north of New South Wales?
Captain: Well, we shall call that the Far North Coast.
Minion: But what about this bit here that is still northerly yet not quite as northerly as the far north?
Captain: Let us henceforth refer to this area as the North Coast.
Minion: Captain, there is more. What about this part that which is positioned in the middle of the coast of New South Wales?
Captain: Hmm, this is a difficult one. I feel we should christian this bit… Central Coast…

You get the picture.

Byron Bay – Most Easterly Point Of Mainland Australia
Arrived: 10/06/06
Left: 21/06/06

Sunset Over Byron Bay

You know how in Alaska they have about 50 different words for snow? Well in the UK we have 290 different words for rain but only one word can describe the rain we had in Byron Bay; Torrential.
It’s the kind of unrelenting rain that highlights all kinds of exciting things such as the fact that the wipers on the car don’t wipe the water away so much as move it around a bit and the caravan leaks in two places.

Byron Bay is beautiful, it’s a small town on the coast that attracts surfers and hippies from all over the world.
You can watch whales from the lighthouse, go snorkelling round Julian Rocks (about 3km out from the beach) or surf with dolphins.

The Lighthouse

We stayed here for just over week, I wanted to learn to dive here but not enough people wanted to do the course so I missed out. We stayed for longer than we intended to as we found out that if we wanted to work in licensed premises in New South Wales or Victoria we needed a Responsible Service Of Alcohol certificate so we hung around to do the course.

A trip to Byron Bay isn’t complete without a beer at Cheeky Monkeys, the locals will try and put you off going there but don’t listen to them, they must just have taste and class or something.

Ballina – Has A Big Prawn

The Big Prawn

Bow down to your crustacean master.

Nimbin – Cannabis Capital Of Australia
Despite the fact the only thing I inhale into my lungs these days is fresh air and occasionally a bit of salt water during my sporadic attempts at snorkelling, Nimbin was still a wicked place to spend a few hours.
It’s small but has huge personality, once the haze of incense and pot smoke clears you’re met with a tiny little village where every other person squints at you through swollen, red eyes and wonders if you would like to purchase one of their "good, strong marijuana cookies."

Anyway, I'm off to resist the urge to grow dreddlocks, wear knitted jumpers and wander round smelling of patchouli with a dog on a piece of string.

written by

Koala Bear on June 21, 2006 from Byron Bay, Australia

from the travel blog: Sod Off Great Big Mission Round Oz

tagged Bollocks and BigThings

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