Up the coast

The first two weeks after we left Sydney were pretty wet. In fact, it didn't really stop raining at all. We visited some really nice national parks and quaint coastal towns, but when the visibility is zero it is quite hard to enjoy the scenery. So instead we stayed cooped up in Ivan and played cards. There are worse things.



At Easter we were due to meet up with Andy and Laura, who we had been travelling with in Laos and Thailand. Our destination was Byron Bay, one of the busiest resort towns on the east coast. It was Easter, there was a huge blues festival in town, and we had no booking. We were actually stupid enough to be surprised we found nowhere to stay when we arrived. Being seasoned travellers we didn't panic but instead decided to drive to the nearby hippie town of Nimbin for some reflection. The town turned out to be full of stoned old hippies and psychedelic museums, and more importantly it did not provide us with a revelation to solve our accommodation problems so we decided to drive on. In the end we managed to find a camp site set up at the local rugby club in the town of Mullumbimby, just a short drive out of Byron Bay. It was also the same town where our friends stayed so naturally we headed to the local pub to reward ourselves after a hard days work. The next couple days are a bit hazy.

From Byron Bay we continued up the coast in the rain, skipping a fair few places, until we reached Hervey Bay, where the rain finally stopped. In town there was very little to do but we met Emma and Phil there, who we had previously met in Cambodia, so we decided to stay a couple of days and enjoy the sunshine.



Sun continued to shine and we headed further north. After Hervey Bay we stoppped at Claireview for a night. Not much there but the camp site bar was full of local characters who kept us entertained. From there we drove up to Airlie Beach, and tomorrow we are taking a boat to the Whitsunday Islands.