Sydney to Brisbane

After I last wrote I picked up a hire car in Sydney on the Tuesday (23rd Feb) morning and headed north out of Sydney.  Now I was a little apprehensive to say the least having not driven since I left the UK in September and with also having to negotiate my way out of Sydney.  I needn't have worried it was so easy compared with London its not funny although I did manage to miss the turning for the bridge so I exited Sydney through the tunnel under the harbour instead of across thebridge which is what I had wanted to do,  nevermind.

It was beautiful sunny day as I left Sydney and I had high hopes for my little driving adventure to Brisbane ... these were short lived as the clouds rolled in.  My first stop was a small beach side town called Terrigal where I got some essential food shopping and did a drive through of the town which was ok but a bit touristy and commericial so I didn't bother stopping.  From there I drove up to The Entrance which again had a nice beach but with it being overcast and lacking an real character I decided to plod on.

After a few unplanned detours (road signs are rubbish and fairly infrequent here) I eventually arrived into Newcastle about 4pm having come via Toronto and Cardiff on the way ... very funny seeing familiar place names in unfamiliar places.

By the time I had checked in to the YHA (don't ever stay here by the way its horribly dirty) and my lovely room next to the mens bathrooms I decided to have a wander round.  The wind had picked up outside and the clouds were getting darker so I had a very quick walk round down to Customs House which is now a posh hotel, the convicts lumber yard which is just behind Customs House and the PayMasters office is now a posh restaurant, down to the waterfront, up through the park and old railway buildings over to the other coast where the sea was lashing the shore but still some fool hardy people were swimming despite the lifeguard yelling through tannoys for them not to and finally I wandered through the centre of town and back to the hostel ... hmmm interesting but certainly not worth a longer stay than my night.

Up and off early the following day (couldn't help it really as was woken by a man hacking up his guts at 6am) heading for Port Macquarie

Thursday by now and still the weather was rubbish so I decided on a bit of retail therapy at the very expensive and exclusive Target (like a slightly more expensive Primark) as I had a short journey to Bellingen which was my next stop.  I stopped in at Smoky Cape Lighthouse on the way to have a look round and have my picnic lunch and also checked out the Trial Bay Gaol whilst I was there which was interesting.  I arrived into Bellingen about 3pm and after checking in took myself up to Dorrigo National Park which was recommended by the lady at the last YHA and is a world herritage centre.  Fabulous drive up through winding roads surrounded by rainforest mostly made up of eucalyptus (700 different varieties here).  I headed for the Skywalk which is a wooden platform that you can walk out along high up above the tallest trees of the rainforest .... WOW!!!!  What a spectacular view you could see for miles lush rainforest and huge mountains in amongst it all.

The YHA in Bellingen was gorgeous and I would really recommend anyone staying there it had a lovely friendly atmosphere, cute slightly boho decor and my top bunk mate was a cat called Bella who very much 'tollerates' humans so you can imagine how pleased she was to see me who hadn't had a pet to cuddle for quite some time ;-)

Bellingen itself is very quaint, lots of old houses, old hippies, organic food stores, fab galleries and great scenery all around.  The hostel had a great verrandah looking out to the rainforest and the mountains beyond and about 8pm the flying foxes (bats) fly past while you're sitting there off to find food ... amazing, unfortunately I couldn't get a photo as they were moving too quick.

Following morning I was up and away early again.  Having not really seen anything much that I wanted to stop at I drove for a good 3 hours before I had my first stop of the day in Ballina where I had lunch and stocked up on some food things for Lulu's imminent arrival the following day.  Nothing much to report on Ballina so I moved on and headed for Bangalow which Amy and Stuart (who I stayed with in Canberra) had recommended and which was lovely I parked up and had a good mooch round quaint little nic nac shops, Mum would have loved this place and also lots of what looked like great food places but I resisted temptation and hoped back in the car as the sun was out and I was hopeful of some beach time in Byron Bay.

First thing on reaching Byron Bay I drove up to the Lighthouse for a quick look, great views of Byron Bay!!  I them went to check into my YHA ... hmmm another one to avoid folks, my so called female dorm had a mating couple in it and they are on the bunk below me, JOY!!

So quick change and i hit the beach where I managed I think an hour and a half of sunbathing before the heavens opened and i got soaked to the bone, I tell you the weather in this country is not what you are led to believe!  The rest of the day I did the mundane wash, eat, read, internet and sleep.

Finally Lulu's arrival was imminent and I woke excitedly early and headed out of Byron Bay for Brisbane.  What i had forgotten though was that Queensland sues day light saving so as I rocked into Surfers Paradise thinking it was 9.30am it was infact 8.30am and I was way ahead of schedule.  So I went for a wander on the beach which was surprisingly busy for that time in the morning (can only imagine what it would be like by mid afternoon).  The beach was actually quite spectacular, with the waves dramatically lashing the shore creating a kind of haze across the beach.  Surfers itself is full of high rised housing and hotels all up the coast which in itself is quite amazing and actually very different to the rest of Australia from what I've seen, it had an almost American feel to it.

After driving around for a bit getting a good look at the place I head out and up to Brisbane but because I was so far ahead of schedule I found a mountain look out on the way and parked up for an hours or so and read my book and had my lunch.

Finally arrived into Brisbane about 2pm and after driving round the block 5 times and still not finding the hotel I parked in THE most expensive car park in the world ($20 for 5 minutes) as I had no choice and went in search of it.  After a few technical issues, like them not having a room for us, we eventually sorted it all out and I opened the door on our luxury apartment from which you could just about see the river ... I did the little dance of glee as I came through the door.

So for the rest of the day I pottered sorting stuff out and had my dinner in front of the TV (which has become a luxury I might add) and then at about 10.45pm I headed to the airport to pick Lulu up.