Byron Bay & Port Macquarie

I checked into the Cape Byron YHA hostel. It was lovely... just filled with partyers. *Sigh* Good thing I sleep with earplugs. I spent a few hours that evening chatting with some of the drunk people. And once they were ready to go to the bar, I ducked into my room and got ready for bed. Had 2 other Canadians in my room, both from Alberta. I got put in a boys dorm, due to the high volume of people over the upcoming holidays. But, everyone was really nice, and I had the cleanest room I've had so far, I think. Given that there were 5 of us. It was comfortable. And none of the boys minded :)

After breakfast, I walked the 3.7 km loop to see the lighthouse. I took the path through the forest to the lighthouse and the beach on the way back. I could see quite a bit of marine life down below once at the light house. Saw 2 sharks, a turtle and an eagle ray. The water was so clear, it was magic.

Then, I went to the most easterly point (of Australia) and continued down to the beach. There were some rich/celebrity beach houses along the first strip. Saw many surfers and body boarders all along the coast. Byron Bay's a great place to do water sports. Good surf. Also saw a pod of 10 dolphins playing in the waves as well. So fun to watch.

When I got back to my hostel, Angela walked around the corner! I was surprised she arrived so quickly. Guess Surfer's Paradise wasn't super exciting.

We spent the rest of the day checking out all the hippie shops, had dinner together and made plans to meet up the next morning.

My hostel had free usage of body boards, so I grabbed one for our day at the beach together. I tell you, body boarding isn't as easy as you think! I think surfing's easier! Even just to get out to the surf was a challenge. Very strong current. It was a lot of fun though, great way to spend the day. Angela loves to read too, so when we needed a break, we'd lie out on the towels, eat our picnic lunch and read. We went to 3 different sections along the beach. There was a boat wreck at one site, but the sand was all stirred up from the waves so there wasn't very good visibility. So much for that. Ah well, nevermind.

We had pizza for dinner down on the beach. Hmm, yumm. Was such a nice evening, lots of stars. Then, we called it a day. I went back home, booked my bus for the next day and went to bed.

My bus didn't leave until 9 pm, and Angela hadn't been to the lighthouse yet, so that's what we did. We checked our emails at a free internet place first, and she had one from her ex-fiance. It was a good email, so that lifted her spirits up and we enjoyed a really nice walk, discussing boys along the way as well. Lol, great girl talk!

This time, we saw a Swamp Wallaby along the trail. He didn't seem to mind us at all and just ate away. Lots of Water Dragons as well. They sure move fast.

After the walk, we hung out at her hostel until it was time for me to catch my bus. She helped me carry my luggage. Sure going to miss her. She was heading to New Zealand soon and invited me to visit her at home in Portland, Oregon sometime. She said "you'll love Oregon, has the ocean, warmer weather and national parks for hiking." So, I agreed that we must make it happen at some point and to keep in touch. We said our goodbyes and I got on the overnight bus.

The bus was ok this time. Fully packed, but I could sleep. I had to get off the bus at Coff's Harbour at 1 am and catch the next bus at 3 am to get to Port Macquarie. You meet some interesting people at those hours of the day. There were 2 English girls waiting at the bus stop as well. And thank goodness for that. Made me feel more at ease with our nightly visitors. Most of the men stopping by were on their way home from the pub or bar and were very intoxicated, but harmless. Just didn't want the party to end so they'd sit a while and chat before stumbling off home. Funny. Only one guy was a bit scary, looking for fight, but no other male around to let the energy out on. So after some incoherent rants and lots of profanity flying, he finally walked off. Whew, what a weirdo. There's all kinds...

My bus didn't come soon enough, and I had 3 hours left on board till I was at my stop. My hostel didn't open till 8:30 am so I slept on the couch on the porch of Port Macquarie Backpackers till it opened. The owner woke me up with a cherry hello, and looked like 2 other German guys followed my lead, as they were snoozing on the chairs. It was actually, really comfortable. Nice outdoor furniture.

After checking in and chatting a bit with the 2 boys, I hopped into bed for a much needed nap. I made sure to get up around 1:30 pm so I could walk to the Koala Hospital at the other end of town to do the 3 pm tour. With it being Christmas Eve, they would be closed the next 2 days so I didn't want to miss it.

The tour did a walk around the outside of the hospital. They only had 1 koala inside the clinic at the time and he was recovering from surgery so it was best to keep things quiet for him. All the others were outside in the yard enclosures anyway. Each koala had a story with them, on how they came to be at the clinic. Two were amputees, had broken their hind leg either falling out of a tree or hit by a car, so it had to be removed. We watched some get syringe feedings (which they just love! They climb down the trees so they get the milk formula.) Some were also getting antibiotics for "wet bottom" which is a bacterial infection on their bum. Once they're rehabilitated, they get released back into colonies in the wild. The hospital can get between 200 to 300 koalas each year. Quiet a lot! Only a few are kept at the hospital site as they can't fend for themselves or climb as well anymore. That's nice to see. They all seemed happy in their trees. There was even a wild koala that came around to socialize :)

That was my event for the day really. Evening wasn't too special, just sat in the lounge and watched a movie with a bunch of German backpackers.

For Christmas day, I went on a nice long walk. I did a loop walk in the Kooloonbung Creek Nature Reserve. Pretty much, right at the beginning, there were Little Red Flying Foxes. Had to be careful as I walked, as the path was slippery with excrement and they were all above me. I made it through luckily, without any blessings from above, lol.

There was a couple sections with a nice boardwalk as it followed the creek and mangroves. Saw some crabs and lizards. There is a section were the town put in a Eucalyptus plantation and you can see wild koalas there. I spotted one, and guess what?! Yup, he was sleeping! Lol. Quite a few kookaburra around as well. Can hear them the whole way along the track.

Once I crossed the bridge to the other side, it was more of a wetland, so many dragonflies were fluttering around, begging to have photos of them. So I obliged, and then, I heard a "thump" and a snake appeared on the boardwalk! He moved so fast that all I really saw was a slithering brown body move into the grass. Couldn't get a picture. Don't really know where he came from, the trees maybe??

As I was heading back to drier terrain, lots of little spiders where around. It was really neat how they'd have their web, and pull a leaf into the web and use it as shelter/camouflage. Pretty smart. I witnessed the death of a little blue dragonfly :( But, circle of life, all creatures have to eat. The spider made fast work of its meal! Cool to watch them!

I roamed into town afterwards to see the shops and walked along the ocean path back to the main road to my hostel. After pasta dinner, did some emails and headed to bed.

I got up early to call home to wish a happy xmas and then, after a little more sleep, got a picnic lunch together for a 6 km walk to the light house. I walked along 7 beaches to get there: Town, Oxley, Rocky, Flynns, Nobby's, Shelley and Miners beach. It was a good walk. I ate at the light house, enjoyed the view, and then headed back the 6 km.

The 2 body boarding/surfing beaches were Town and Flynns beach. But even there, you have to be careful. Strong rips and rocks all over the place. I could easily see how dangerous it could be here. A huge swell could wipe you out, you'd be somersaulted underwater and the current throw you into a rock where you'd smash your head. Ouch! Caution for sure. However, despite the danger, Port Macquarie is the body boarding capital in Australia, due to the great waves, always present.

Also found that Nobby's beach is dog friendly (you don't see that much along the east coast) and Miners was a nudest beach. Guess who decided to have a rest, topless on that beach?! Yup, I did it! I managed not to be too self conscious and go with the flow. It was exhilarating!

Found quiet a few Bluebottle jellyfish on the beaches on the way back. Left ashore from the outgoing tide. Wouldn't want to touch those. They aren't deadly, but give a nasty pain throbbing sting that lasts a long time. I met 1 guy that got stung in Byron Bay, and he said it was excruciating! He was told to pour boiling water over the stinging area to kill the protein from the tentacles. So, once the water was too hot to touch, he went in the swimming pool, dumped the water on himself, then plunged into the pool to cool the burn. He said it was instant relief. I couldn't imagine! But, I suppose being in that much pain, you'd do almost anything to get it to stop.

Leftover pasta for dinner, and an early night. I was tuckered out from all that fresh air!

Today, I had a slower start to my day and wanted to practice my surfing or try body boarding again, but when I got to Town beach, it was really stormy. The waves were really big, and even standing in the water up to your mid calves was an effort. The rip just was too strong. So, not safe for a beginner like me. That's alright, I'll have other opportunities. So, I read a bit till the rain came. And boy did it come. Like up in tropical Queensland!

I'm spending the rest of the day inside the hostel, reading and using the computer. I have some episodes of "How I met your Mother" that crack me up, so I'll watch 2 of those. My bus leaves at 6 am tomorrow morning to Sydney, where I'll hop on the train to the Blue Mountains. I'm going to camp in Blackheath. It will be a nice change form the hostels!