Surfers Paradise to Byron Bay...

Sorry, i got so distracted by Matthew i forgot to tell you what we'd been up to in Surfers - Byron.

Where do i start?! Surfers Paradise...'Blackpool with Palm Trees' according to someone we met at the Zoo. Not at all - we loved it. Big white beach, killer waves and ice cream counters every second step. And the weather was scorching! Big skyrise buildings line the promenade & play hide and seek with the sun during the afternoon so you have to keep moving yourself & your sarong everytime the shade catches up with you - but that's all part of the fun...and exercise pre-Cookie &cream icecream! And with our hostel kitchen a disgusting sight we got to try a few of the many restaurants - Its a hard life - hence the pictures at the Hard Rock & Chang Mai Tai.

While in Surfers we also headed to one of its many theme parks - Wet & Wild. Great day out riding the tornado, blackhole & Mach 5. I took on the kamikaze...never again, while we all loved the lazy river!

Headed to Coolangatta next - a lovely little town south of Surfers. Bonus was the Quicksilver Surf Pro championship, a welcomed distraction from the sun when i could stand it no more. And of course, Matthew - yum!yum! The town has the border of New South Wales running through it to so one minute your on Queensland time, the next you're an hour ahead with NSW. Confusing! Stayed there a few nights just chill-axing & drooling over Surf dudes before heading to Byron Bay - hippy central...

Staying at this lovely hippy style village - opened in the 70's, and its sooo cool. Infact we love it so much we extended our stay from 4 nights to 8! And now the sun's back its even better. There's tons of classes - yoga, tai chi etc & i'd decided, in my usual crazy style, to take the dijeredoo class. But, alas, its been cancelled so i can't learn or make my own - boo!

Following heaps of recommendations we took a 'Jims Alternative Tour' to Nimbin. First stop was the pub - at 11am! - for drinks and loo break, before arriving in the aging hippy town of Nimbin for lunch. Checked out the jewellery stalls, the museum (of illuminous junk) and the pub and mingled with the hippies. Then headed to the National Park to check out waterfalls etc before stopping at Jim's mates house - Paul - to chill by his riverside while this eccentric man talked about his 80-acres of plants (all planted by him), his collections of junk art (they love it!) and his mumbled views(of taking life too seriously). Meanwhile we sat & cracked nuts! But the best bit of the tour was the driving, as Jim played his mix of REM, Bob Marley & Depeche Mode in time with the sights we'd pass or the roads we were driving on. He's even perfectly timed one piece to a rollercoaster of a road, taking 5 mins and 12 secs!

Back in our hippy village Kim & Sharon are taking a massage course (while Laura & i wait to reap the benefits!) before we head off to Coffs Harbour...for more sun, more beaches and some body boarding!