Just one day more…
in beautiful Australia. New Zealand here I come….
My time in Australia, which was entirely too short, is coming to a close. …but not before one last crazy transportation concoction.
Right now I’m in a town called Port MacQuarie. At midnight I catch a bus down to Sydney, which gets me there around 6:30am. I then have 12 hours to kill before my flight to New Zeland. I’m not exactly looking forward to carrying my (way to heavy) backpack around for 12 hours. …I guess I’ll figure it out.
Last I wrote I was in hippie land, Byron Bay. Wow, what a place. The town is such a weird combination of new age junkies and backpackers…with a healthy dose of alcohol thrown in. Sitting at the bus stop, waiting for a 1am bus on a Saturday night was a little more entertaining for all the drunken revelers who passed me by…or, even better, stopped to chat. (I had more then one guy offer to carry my backpack cause I should go “PAR-TAY” with him!) I don’t think I saw a single sober person in an hour…the whole town was literally stumbling drunk.
I spent my time in Byron in total relaxation mode. After the early mornings and hard-to-sleep-hostel nights, the jam-packed days of activites…I simply hung out in Byron. I developed quite the strenuous routine of trips from the pool to the beach and back to the pool. My bathing suit was definitely working harder then I was.
I also got myself a nice massage…and float. “A float?” you ask. Why yes, a float. This involved getting into a tank of extremely salty water with a little floaty-pillow thing around my head, listening to new age whale/wave ‘music’, and just…floating. It was a little weird when they closed the hatch…and there I was in warm salt water, in pitch blackness…admitedly trying to see if it was possible to sink. (Verdict: sort of…but not really.)
Well anyway, the massage was good. I’ll never know how such a tiny lady had such darn strong hands. She really worked those knots in my back…and yes, I still have knots even though I’m on semi-perma-vacation. I actually feel like I have some bruises at the moment…she was that strong! (and all of 5 feet tall)
My next stop was Port MacQuarie, koala capital of Australia. (or so they say.) It’s a gorgeous little town on the Hastings River/ocean water front. Everything here is lush and in bloom.
I came here so that I could befriend a cuddly Australian teddy bear…koala! I visited the Koala Hospital on the outskirts of town. The hospital cares for koalas that are harmed in bush-fires, attacked by dogs (who apparently REALLY dislike koalas) or are hit by motor vehicles. They had about 30 of the cuties in the hospital, 4 of whom have the honor of being permenant residents. They even had a little baby koala born there recently (after one of the males snuck into the female quarters! Naughty boy!)
After spending a few hours there I’ve decided: I WANT ONE! They are really so adorable! But at the same time they can just sit around looking wise. They are so cute!
I got to watch feedings and got a tour of the grounds, and even spotted a few former residents in the trees of the surrounding park! I can whole-heartedly say it was great!
On the walk back to my hostel (some 2 miles away…so much for proportional maps!) I stopped at a local pub to grab a bite to eat. A local band called Ghost Road was playing…what a treat! The band was an amazing a mix of blues, jazz and funk. These boys could really rock! A simple 4 piece band that really filled the room and had everyone dancing.
It’s funny, the 2 lead guitar players are brothers and the bass player and drummer date the brother’s sisters. It sounds like a bad movie plot, but it seems to work for them.
After their 3rd set of the night I bought one of their CDs and struck up a conversation with the brothers…who happen to be really nice guys. I ended up going with them, and half the town, to another bar for a nightcap. It was a good night. 🙂
That’s all for now…more news soon…from New Zealand!
*Liz
Tags: Australia
LizG