After leaving Darwin and its goofy 30 minute time change behind (yeah, I didn’t think that was even possible but I learned the other day that Afghanistan has a 30 minute time change also) we arrived in Brisbane at 6:20am, collected our bags, found a shuttle and headed into town. Keeping with tradition, we were the last people dropped off so it was 8am when we finally got to our hostel, Somewhere to Stay. Our room wasn’t vacated yet so we watched a movie in the lounge and I fell asleep on the beanbags. When our room was ready we pushed the empty wine and beer bottles and other random trash aside and took a nap. Thankfully the cleaning people were there when we woke up. But I guess you can’t expect too much when you pay $19 a night.
We caught the hostel shuttle into town (it’s about a 20 minute walk into town, 5 minutes by shuttle) and went to the library to use their free internet. I’m already a big fan of libraries but this takes the cake. Plus the library is gorgeous and has comfy chairs and free wifi. I’m in backpackers’ heaven. I wonder if they let travelers check out books…
It was rainy and cold (are we in Melbourne?!?!) which equals movie weather, plus it was “Tight ass Tuesdays” when the movies are discounted. We went to see Sunshine Cleaning, pretty good movie.
The next day we ventured back into town, stopped by the library to use the internet and walked along the city’s Southbank area. It’s school holidays so there were tons of kids around. There was even a Circus School going on, Sarah wanted to join in the fabric acrobatics class.
That night I caught some of Michael Jackson’s funeral on the small TV in the hostel’s kitchen. Questions: Why didn’t John Mayer sing any words? And could Brooke Shields have talked about herself any more? Geez!
Since Brisbane was cold and rainy we decided to jet to Byron Bay for the weekend. The 2-hour bus ride south went by fast and before I knew it we were back in New South Wales. Byron Bay is a small surfer town with lots of cute shops and restaurants. It’s a few degrees warmer than Brisbane and the rain only comes in short spurts. There was a rainbow every day we were there, no lie. We spent the weekend walking around the town checking out the shops and restaurants and looking at rainbows. Sarah bought some jewelry, including a ring made out of 100 year old spoon. We went to the beach a few times to watch the surfers, but not partake ourselves as it’s a bit too cold for my liking and I’m afraid I’ll get squashed by the good surfers.
Saturday, after I had the best muffin of my life – apple, coconut, macadamia and blackberry – we rented bikes with baskets and peddled around town. Sarah got called a “wild rider” by a pedestrian she almost ran over. We peddled over to the beach, but not onto the beach per our renter’s agreement, and watched some 8 year old kids catch monster waves. It started to rain so we stood under a tree with our bikes for about 20 minutes until it let up. Don’t worry, it wasn’t lightning. After it stopped we biked up to the lighthouse to whale and dolphin watch. Didn’t see any whales, but we did see dolphins….swimming under a rainbow that extended in a perfect arc over the water. Call Lisa Frank and tell her we have a new sticker idea. I didn’t think stuff like that happened in real life!
There is a platform at the lighthouse that is the most Easterly point on mainland Australia. I told Sarah I wanted my picture taken there but a father and son were hogging the spot and said she would ask them to take a step west. Haha! We peddled safely back into town and locked up our bikes in the hostel’s parking lot, hope they are there in the morning.
The bikes were safe and sound in the morning and we took them for a spin over to Suffolk Park after we checked out of our hostel. Then we caught the afternoon bus back to Brisbane and checked into a different hostel this time, Tinbilly Travellers. It’s a good hostel but I’m on the top bunk and it shakes with every tiny moment the person below makes. So now I’m the first person awake in the room because the girl below me is tossing and turning and I feel like I’m on a horrible rollercoaster. Not fun.
We have a week to kill before our friend Jessica gets here and we go to Steve Irwin’s zoo and then the Whitsundays. I spent $35 at the grocery store and am hoping it will last me till then!
In front of Main Beach, Byron Bay
Holding at rainbow at the most Easterly point of mainland Oz
Cape Byron lighthouse
Surfer and kids on Main Beach
Funky lights
Main beach around sunset
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