Finally the time had come to say farewell to Queensland and hello to New South Wales! I'm not sure what I was expecting but I was a bit disappointed that the only thing telling us we had changed state was a slightly weather worn road sign! Still, we were entering our 3rd area of Australia and with that brought the need to change our clocks... so we are now 11 hours ahead of the UK!

After stopping for fuel for us & for Keo we made our way towards Brunswick Heads, our planned destination for our first evening in NSW . We had been warned it was only a small town so weren't surprised to read on the welcome sign that there were 1619 residents. The first campsite we tried was closed as they were attending a Christmas party but thankfully the 2nd one either hadn't been invited or had the sense to employ someone from out of town for the night as they were still open & had space! It was a lovely campsite right alongside the river. We quickly set up the van & tent and set about cooking our evening meal before settling down to sort through the 100s of photos we had taken over the last few days before bedtime.

The following morning, we packed up and made our way a little further along the coast to Byron Bay. We were all looking forward to getting there as so many people we have met along the way have raved about it! As we drove in, we could see it really was a hive of activity with people & cars everywhere and interesting little shops with colourful signs. We parked up and wandered into the shopping area where Matt bought himself a rash vest and hired a surfboard for a few hours, this then led to the next dilemma, where would be good to surf? We walked to the nearest beach where, probably sensing our apprehension, a local guy came up and gave us a lesson surf spots in the area! The decision was made to move even further up the coast so we all piled back into the van, the board included, and moved on to try our luck elsewhere . The spot we chose had some pretty decent waves but also a very strong current so despite Matt choosing a good spot to start, it didn't take long for him to be pulled almost the entire length if the beach before being washed up on some fairly nasty rocks! As you can imagine, he didn't come out in the best of moods and spent a while silently fuming before going in for another go! His second attempt was only slightly more successful than his first and it wasn't long before he was back on the beach fuming less silently this time round! In his defence, I only saw about 3 out of the 40 or so surfers actually manage to catch anything long enough to stand up so it was pretty tough out there!

After a bit of a relax, it was time to head back to the car & return the board. While we were back in the shopping area we had a little look around & picked up a few souvenirs before heading to our campsite to check in and cook our lunch. Feeling full, we got ourselves ready to venture out into the Byron Bay nightlife and then waited for the free shuttle bus to take us to Cheeky Monkeys in the heart of town . There we met up with Luke & Claire and a couple they had met on another trip: Charlotte & Craig from Huddersfield. By this time, it was 8pm and the bar was offering $5 meals so we ordered burritos all round and enjoyed a couple of drinks. After this, we went back to Luke & Claire's hostel for some drinks (much cheaper than in the bars!) where we joined up with a big group of girls they had met who were all solo travellers from around the UK and happened to be staying in the same hostel.

At about 11:30pm we ventured back out, this time to a club called La La Land. We had to pay $5 to get in and it became clear pretty quickly that this wasn't our kind if scene! Apparently the music was dubstep?! It was pretty crazy, with lots of very drunk people bouncing around and into each other! Once we finished our drinks, we decided to head back to the relative safety of Cheeky Monkeys where the music was a little calmer and the people much friendlier! There we stayed until the bar closed at 3am, dancing, singing & generally having a brilliant time!

At closing time, we then had the task of working out how to get home! It was a 30-40 minute walk in the dark on some very long roads so we didn't really fancy that & we didn't have a number for a taxi! Luckily, we spotted some guys who ride a bike with a carriage on the back like a modern day rickshaw! Matt did some hard bargaining and managed to persuade one of them to take all 3 of us, all the way home for just $15!!!! His name was Daniel and he was travelling from Germany . The poor guy really wasn't very fit or strong and we must have been pretty heavy so he really struggled! At one point, Matt & Gareth had to jump out and run alongside the carriage pushing it up a hill! It was a very funny experience, for us at least, and we all made it home in one piece!

The next morning we decided to visit the lighthouse as this marks the most easterly point of mainland Australia and offers spectacular views. It's a little walk from the car park and along the way we stopped to look down on the surfers at Tallow Beach catching some impressive waves, it was then we spotted a group of dolphins swimming really closely to the surfers - an amazing sight! As we walked further round we spotted the group of about 15 dolphins again all playing in the waves and jumping out of the water. Unfortunately, it was at this point that I picked up an injury! A group of tourists were walking towards us and seemed oblivious to the fact they were taking up the whole pavement so I dutifully stepped off the kerb to pass them . In doing so, however, I tripped slightly and sliced the end of my big toe! Queue lots of blood!! I was very brave though & was rewarded with a big ice cream from Gareth! Once cleaned up, Gareth & I went into the lighthouse museum while Matt took in the views then we all made our way to the official 'Easterly Point' spot! Again, the views were beautiful and it felt special as we live so close to the most eastern point of England!

From the lighthouse, we made our way to the Main Beach to meet up with Claire, Luke, Craig & Charlotte and squeeze in a spot of sunbathing & surfing practise before heading back to the campsite, stopping off for pizzas on the way!

The following day we were up early as we were being collected from the bus station in town at 10am to go to Nimbin. The first stop on the trip was at a pub in Eltham! This was so we could stock up on drinks for the coach, giving us a clear indication of the type of trip we had gotten ourselves on! Next, we stopped at Minyon Falls which the locals had always believed stood 100m high until a couple of people decided to abseil down it, bringing with them 100m of rope only to discover they were still about 20m from the ground!! There wasn't very much water but it was a lovely view! It was around this point in the trip that we got talking to Katie, a journalist from Canada, and our trio became a quartet for the day!

From Minyon Falls we drove for about an hour to the town of Nimbin . Really it seems Nimbin is actually just one long road but it's a sight to behold! Every shop is painted in bright colours and you can find all kinds of interesting bits & bobs! I was so tempted to buy a hammock but the boys quite rightly reminded me I still have about 8 months to carry it round with me!! The most curious thing about Nimbin is that they have signs up saying the main road is an alcohol free zone & there is a police station at one end of the road, however as you walk along the road, the shopkeepers invite you in to buy cookies, weed, mushrooms... And the authorities turn a blind eye?!?!

After Nimbin we drove for about another hour to Hosanna Farm Stay where our guide, Ivan - originally from South Africa but has lived in Australia for about 30 years & clearly enjoys his Nimbin purchases!!, cooked us an amazing BBQ! There was so much food!!!! While it was cooking some of the group went for a swim in the lake & enjoyed jumping off the diving board into the water, Matt & Gareth included!

Once we had all eaten, it was time to head back to Byron Bay, which took around 45 minutes, and back to the campsite for the exciting job of laundry, ready to move on again in the morning!

Byron Bay is such a cool place with a lovely vibe about it and is somewhere both of us agree we would love to visit again as our time here just wasn't long enough!