Sydney to Brisbane

We’ve got a another relocation deal, but rather than a camper we have a rather nice Toyota Camri (which Heidi names Trixy). We get totally lost coming out of Sydney, going the back south before heading north and losing an hour. We need to get a move on because driving at night is not advised on account of kangaroos jumping out in front of cars. Quite a few hours of driving later we arrive at Coffs Harbour. Tonight we’re staying with Heidi’s second cousin Vaughan and his wife Julie. They welcome us into their beautiful home with as much warmth as wine (i.e. a lot) and provide us with our best meal in a long while. Vaughan tells us a bit about the local wildlife, such as the geckos that prowl on the roof and a python that once meandered into his study.

The next day Julie takes on a tour of Coffs harbour. We go down to the jetty and climb a small mountain, mount Coramba, for a stunning view of Coffs and the coastline. Julie then takes us to a small residential area on the off chance we’ll see some kangaroos up close. There are dozens, milling about people’s gardens and the sides of the road. We even get close to one with a little joey in its pouch.

We head back to the house and Vaughan tells us the python has been back. We wonder round the garden trying to find him but no luck. Vaughan takes us round his front garden where his daughter is getting married next year. It’s something he’s very proud of, and with good reason. We pack up the car and are just about to get going when we hear Julie – the python’s been spotted! I get the camera out and begin taking pictures and a bit of filming. Vaughan then decides to do his best Steve Irwin and grabs the snake by the tale to get a bit of a reaction out of him. It works, and he slithers off. What a place to live.

Slippery...like an eel

After about 30 mins of leaving Coffs Harbour we realise we’ve left both our headphones at the house. We’d only just bought them in Sydney so we turn around to get them. We’re not having much luck in Trixy.

We arrive in Byron Bay just after sunset, without hitting any wildlife. We spend the next day wondering about town. Byron is a hippie/surfer centre and every other shop demonstrates this. As Heidi shops for a bikini I grab a smoothie to get into the vibe. After checking out the town we head to the beach where people are walking their dogs or doing yoga. At one point two newly-met dogs begin scrapping and, totally unaware of their surroundings, continue their squabble over Heidi kicking sand over her towel. I attempt a swim in the sea but it’s far too cold.

At sunset we take trixy up to Cape Byron lighthouse. This is known for being Austrailia’s most easterly point, as well as for having some amazing sunsets. We drive up but we’re a few minutes later, there’s no where to park. We catch the sunset drive-by style then head back to the hostel for dinner.

Can't imagine why this was so popular

We’re on a tight schedule out of Byron as Trixy needs to be returned to Brisbane by 10am. Luckily we get her there in time,  and as we arrive it begins to pour down with rain. We get the train into town and find our hostel for the night. The rain seems to have stopped so we walk down the very pleasant South Bank which gives a great view of the city skyline up close. We then catch the free ferry into the city centre, and walk about for a bit. I didn’t know anything about Brisbane before, but it’s actually a pretty cool city. When we get back to the hostel and get into our room, the rain is back and thunder has come as well. We settle in for the night.

We’ve had to become quite picky with what activities and museums we pay for do to the large expense of travelling by car (we’ve now booked a full price camper for the rest of the trip). However, when we found out the Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane is doing an exhibition of the Marvel Studios films, I deem it an absolute necessity. It’s a short walk from our hostel, so we wonder over and decide to do a free tour. This turns out to be a mistake as our tour guide, whilst a lovely seeming lady, doesn’t seem to know much about the films or characters. After the tour we go through the exhibition again, really having a good look at the actual costumes and props from the movies. Much like the Weta Cave in Wellington, the attention to detail in these artefacts is pretty amazing. There’s also a section at the end dedicated to the special effects of the films. Despite the disappointing tour it was well worth the price of admission.

Suit up

We go back to the hostel and do a bit of planning before it’s time to head out again. Whilst in Coffs Harbour Vaughan put us in touch with his son Scott, who lives in Brisbane and has offered for us to stay over the weekend. We catch the metro out to get to Fortitude Valley where we, quite literally, bump into Scott. We drop off our bags in the flat then make our way back to the Valley as we’ve been invited to a leaving party. We go to a bar called the Coop and have a beer with Scott outside whilst its still warm. We’re shortly joined by his girlfriend Jay. There’s been a bit of a misunderstanding as to where the leaving party is, so we stay at the Coop and drink more beer and eat a whole lot of fried chicken. We get some more drink on the way back to the flat and end up watching youtube videos for another hour. We’ve already got to know each other pretty well by this point.

The next day Heidi and I go explore Brisbane once again. We opt to check out the clock tower which you can take the 1930s lift up for free. Like Sydney and Melbourne, Brisbane is a city that has kept a lot of 17/1800s architecture and built it’s modern skyscapers around them, and the clock tower is somewhat boxed in by the taller buildings. Still an impressive view. In the same building as the tower is the museum of Brisbane which we also check out because it’s free. They have a temporary exhibition on food (bit leftfield, nothing amazing) and one about the history of the city. We then head to the Botanic gardens for a read in the sun. The gardens are surprisingly quiet considering they are right in the middle of the city. Eventually the ants annoy us too much and we return to the flat. Scott and Jay introduce us to the podcast “My dad wrote a porno” which I had heard of but never listened to – it’s pretty hilarious. We finish off the drinks from the previous night.

We don’t really have any plans for Sunday so we end up watching Scott and Jay play Xcom2 on the Playstation. They’ve decided to record the gameplay and we’re guests. It’s pretty big fun. To round off our Brisbane stay the two of us go out to the cinema to see The Dark Tower (3/10). The next morning Jay takes us to a nice little cafe for some breakfast before saying our goodbyes. Scott and Jay have been great hosts and a lot of fun to be around, but we’ve a campervan to pick up!