Nimbin, Rocky Creek Dam & Minyon Falls 19/08/16

Jess and I had booked a tour of Nimbin for today, a small village near Byron Bay which is famous for being the ‘drugs capitol of Australia’. It was supposed to be even more hippy and quirky than Byron Bay.

Our ‘Grasshopper’ tour didn’t leave until 10am, so I planned on having a bit of a lie in, but I woke up quite early so I ended up walking to town early and having a look around some of the shops. I could easily buy so many crystals if I had the space in my suitcase!

I met Jess around 9.45ish and we walked to the bus stop to meet our tour guide. You couldn’t miss the bus as it was huge and really brightly painted as a rainbow. We met our guide Ivan and headed towards Nimbin at 10am. There were loads of different people on the bus including a bunch of really rowdy Americans who were at the front of the bus.

We saw some amazing scenery on our drive to Nimbin through the Byron Bay hinterland. On the way Ivan had a reggae music playlist going so it really did feel very hippy. Before we got into Nimbin, Ivan pulled over to give us a ‘safety briefing’. He told us how he hated the police but took no responsibility if anyone got caught with drugs, which was quite strange to hear from a tour guide!

As soon as we stepped off the bus you were hit with the smell of weed. Jess and I walked down the main strip and after around half an hour we had been offered cookies and joints at least ten times.

The whole village was painted really brightly with rainbow shops and quotes painted everywhere. We went into a few shops, ‘Happy High Herbs’, the ‘Nimbin Bazzare’, the ‘Hemp Bar’, ‘Mad Hattery’, ‘Hemp Embassy’ and Nimbin Craft Gallery. I bought some jewellery and a little dream catcher. There was a very strong drugs theme!

One of the places I had been told to visit was the Nimbin Candle Factory, which was famous for the bright multi-coloured candles it made. They were so cool so I ended up buying a black and pink pyramid candle.

We carried on walking through Nimbin looking in all the shops. They had a really cool rainbow painted retirement home, and loads of quirky quotes and ‘street codes’ on the walls.

We grabbed some snacks from the supermarket and then headed to meet the rest of the tour group. A lot of people were definitely stoned!

We drove for a little while and stopped at Rocky Creek Dam where Ivan cooked us a BBQ lunch. While he was cooking, we went on the Platypus walk to the dam. We walked through the National Park along the Rocky Creek and then walked across the dam wall.

By the time we got back, Ivan had cooked us burgers and hot dogs. We had to be really careful and guard our plates, as the Kookaburra birds were known to swoop down and steal sausages from people. It happened to one of the German girls in our group who was sitting near the edge of the table, which was quite funny.

After we had washed up we got back on the bus and drove to Nightcap National Park, where we walked to the Minyon Falls lookout. It was a really pretty waterfall!

We got back on the bus after staying there for a while and made the journey back to Byron. It was around 5pm by the time we got there so Jess and I went to Aldi for some snacks and headed to the beach to watch the sunset. It was really lively as it was a Friday night, so there were loads of people there dancing and playing bongos. We stayed to watch the sun set and then were really cold so headed back to our hostels.

I decided to have an early night as I had to be up early to meet Kayla. I ended up chatting to Laura in my room for a while, as well as mum on the walk home. I re packed my stuff as I was meeting Kayla from my topdeck tour in the morning, which I was really looking forward to. 

Ocean Kayaking & Cheeky Monkeys 18/08/16

Jess and I checked into Cape Byron Kayaks and were each given a wet suit, life jacket, helmet and paddle.

We walked down to the beach and were given a few instructions on how to paddle in the kayaks, and how we would get out past the waves on the beach. I got in the front and Jess was behind me.

We had to paddle really hard against the waves that were breaking close to shore. We were told no matter how high the wave was just keep paddling otherwise we would capsize. Luckily we managed to break through quiet quickly without too many waves breaking in front of us.

The only downside was that I started to feel sick quite quickly. I normally get sea sick, but because I expected to be hang gliding, I hadn’t taken any tablets and didn’t have any motion sickness bands or ginger with me.

We paddled out really far, but it was difficult as the current was really strong and pushing us back to shore. We kept paddling as a group and aimed to find dolphins. After around an hour, we still hadn’t seen any. I was getting quite sick by this point, and my arms were aching, so I was not enjoying it too much.

But after around another half an hour, we spotted some whales breeching in the distance. We paddles out towards them and got really close. It was amazing! After that point we kept seeing loads of whales swimming past us and jumping out of the water. Even though I was feeling rough, I loved it!

After around 3 hours in the water I was so glad when we were told we were going back to shore. I was trying not to vomit the entire way and I wasn’t the only one. One girl was sick a few times over the side of the boat.

We had to stop just before sure so the instructors could explain how to get back into sure. We had to paddle with the waves and almost surf our way back in. As I was at the front, I had to wait until we caught a wave, lean back and raise my paddle in the air. We were one of the few pairs that didn’t capsize thank god!

I still felt like I was swaying when we got back to the beach. We took a group photo and then had to drag the kayaks back up to the van. After paddling for 3 hours, it was really difficult as my arms felt like jelly!

We got changed and had some hot chocolate and tim tams. It was exactly what we needed. We got chatting to a few people who had been part of the group and met a guy called Daniel from the UK. We arranged to meet up with a few people in Cheeky Monkeys, which is Byron Bay’s big club, for some drinks in the evening.

Jess and I popped back into her hostel so I could pick up my stuff. We then walked back through Byron Bay to Arts Factory Lodge. On the way we had a browse at some more of the shops and went to Aldi. I showed Jess round the hostel which looked really cool at night. She left to go back to Aquarias, so I had some dinner and got ready to go out. I was sharing a room with a really nice girl called Laura who was a teacher back in the UK.

I was doing my hair in the bathrooms and met a girl called Danielle who was also going to Cheeky Monkeys. We decided to go together. The hairdryer in the hostel kept cutting out so it took ages for me to do my hair. Eventually we left around 9ish and went together.

The bar was really cool and had tables with steel tops so people could dance on them. We met up with Jess but she was feeling really sick so couldn’t stay long. Daniel arrived shortly after but after a few drinks I started to feel quite ill to. Daniel and Danielle wanted to move on to another bar but I decided to go home cause I felt rough and didn’t want to ruin the next day. 

Arts Factory Lodge & Byron Bay 18/08/16

I checked out of the hostel at around 7.45am. I got to the bus stop early so I called mum whilst I waited for the bus. It was only a 2 and a half hour journey to Byron Bay, which didn’t seem long at all compared to the long journeys I had been on. I had booked to go hang gliding for the afternoon, but I got a call from the company whilst I was on the bus to say it was unlikely to go ahead as the weather was too nice and there wasn’t enough wind. It made a change from the usual bad weather cancellations! They said they would confirm with me in the afternoon what the plan was.

I got in to Byron Bay at around 10am and noticed straight away it was very different to any other place I’d been in Australia. The town had a real hippie feel with a lot of people walking around barefoot, wearing tie die and dreadlocks. There were VW camper vans everywhere and most of them were graffiti sprayed.

I was told as soon as I got off the bus I would be met by a rep from the hostel to take me on the shuttle bus. I waited right by the bus, but I didn’t see anyone from the lodge. I waited around 15 minutes and then rung the hostel who told me the bus had left without me. I was really pissed off as I had to wait 40 minutes for the next one and I had already let them know I would be arriving at that time. She said she hadn’t seen me but I don’t know how with all of my luggage!

I read my book for a bit and then messaged Jess, who had got to Byron the day before. She met me at the bus stop and we planned out how we would spend the day. Jess had booked an ocean kayak trip, so I decided to do that if my hang gliding trip was cancelled.

The bus finally picked me up and took me to my hostel, which was Arts Factory Lodge. 

It’s a famous hostel among backpackers for being really quirky, and it’s also where they filmed the Inbetweeners 2 movie. It was really cool with lots of graffiti everywhere, hammocks, and a walkway outside around a really pretty pond. 

There was a beach volleyball court and some massive tepees where people could stay. I was staying in an all-girls dorm called ‘The Nunnery’. It was one of the best dorms I have stayed in, as it had its own fridge, sink and microwave.

I dropped off my stuff, had some breakfast and then headed back into Byron to meet Jess. Our first stop was the Rainbow Show, which sold lots of quirky things like dreamcatchers, crystals and every kind of tie die item you could imagine. I got a rainbow dreamcatcher which was really pretty.

We went to Aldi to get some food and then went to the beach. Whilst I was there, I got a phone call from the hang gliding company who said I probably wouldn’t be able to fly. I didn’t want to risk wasting the day if I couldn’t fly, so I decided to go kayaking instead.

Luckily, I had packed my swimmers and towel, so I went back to Aquarias Backpackers, which is the hostel Jess was staying at. Outside the hostel was a really cool mural of Byron Bay, which I got some pictures of.

I snuck in past reception so I could get changed, and then we walked to the ocean kayaking site. 

Beach day in Yamba 17/08/16

I decided to have a really chilled day in Yamba as I was still pretty tired from New Zealand. I had a bit of a lie in, read my book in bed for a bit, made breakfast and was ready for around 12ish. The weather was really nice so I decided to walk to Pippi beach to sunbathe and read. I stayed there for around an hour and a half, and then decided to walk along the coast a bit to Main Beach.

I stayed there for a couple of hours and then carried on walking up to the lighthouse.

 I ended up doing the coastal walk again and walking all the way to Turners beach. I took a slightly longer route back to central Yamba, as I walked along the marina.

When I got back to town, I stopped to buy some dinner. I got calamari and Yamba prawns, as the town is known for having some of the best prawns in Australia. I also stopped in a fudge shop and ended up buying some mint cookies and cream flavor fudge.

I went back to the hostel and had my prawns for dinner on the rooftop pool deck. I spoke to mum for a while and had a really relaxed evening planning some more of my trip and chilling in my hostel. I went to bed quite early as I had to be up for an 8am bus the next day. 

Cliff Jumping, Angourie Pools & Coastal Walk in Yamba 16/08/16

I was up at 4.30ish to meet my taxi at 5am. I felt sorry for the girls in my room as even though I tried to be quiet, I’m sure I woke them up. I got a taxi to the bus stop and spoke to Grahame whilst I waited. The bus was surprisingly busy so I was sat next to a German girl called Marion who was also going to Yamba.

We got to Yamba around 8.15am and headed straight for the Yamba YHA. It was directly opposite the bus stop, which made a nice change from having to lug my stuff for ages like normal.

As soon as I got there, I met Shane, the owner of the hostel. His tours of Yamba are famous amongst backpackers so I booked onto the tour for that day. It didn’t leave until 10am, which gave me some time to have breakfast and catch up with Jess, who was also staying at the hostel. Jess and Marion were also booked onto the tour.

One of the things that makes Shane’s tour famous is that no one knows what happens on them. He asks that no one publicises the ‘secrets’ of the tour, so I will only write about what we did. 

Shane started by showing us some of Yamba’s beaches. It’s a town famous for surfing as it has 11 beaches with lots of different swells. We started at Pippi beach, and then drove to Main beach and Turners beach to see the Yamba lighthouse.

After that, we went to Angourie Reserve and Yuraygir National Park. We walked to the Angourie pools along the coast which was stunning. We saw lots of little lizards on the walk down the pools.

We also did a couple of cliff jumps which was scary but so much fun.

Afterwards we walked to a gorgeous lookout where we could see whales breaching. 

We got back around 3pm and were absolutely starving. Jess and I went and bought chicken pies from the bakery next to the hostel which were really nice.

We decided to the Yamba coastal walk from Pippi beach to Turners beach. Another German girl from our hostel called Ines came with us. Our aim was to get to Turners in time to watch the sunset, as it’s a common place to see dolphins. 

Towards the end of the walk we walked past the Yamba lighthouse. We walked down to Turners, and stayed there for a while looking for dolphins. I did manage to see a couple jumping around which was cool, but they didn’t stay very long.

We walked back to the hostel but stopped at a Spar to get some food on the way for the next couple of days. We got back to the hostel and chilled in our rooms for a while before dinner. I tried to get wifi, but wasn’t able to connect, so I read my book for a while.

We had signed up for a hostel dinner as it was really cheap. I got a really nice potato salad. After dinner we signed up for a beer pong tournament which was a lot of fun. I was with a guy called Andy who worked at the hostel. We won our first round although it was mainly Andy that got the shots in. I did get one in our second game, but we lost that game and were eliminated. I really didn’t mind as I was so tired from getting the 5am bus I went straight to bed after our game was over.