As I've somewhat slowed down my sight seeing (it's gonna pick up again real quick), the blog topics in my head are filtering towards observations rather than events. My last 4 stops had just about the same MO; sunshine, beach, writing, reading, and the occasional night out.
Every new place I arrive in I always take some time to walk around and get a feel for the place. Even though they're fairly close together they each had a different vibe that they gave off.
Brisbane was the biggest city I'd been in for almost a month and a half and it definitely had a big city feel. It was the first time I had seen droves of people walking around the streets in suits and ties and I felt a bit out of place in my shorts and tank top. However, if you head across the river to South Bank, you're back at the beach. This is helped along by the public lagoon, art galleries, science centres, and street artists.
Next came Surfer's Paradise and this one was a bit of a mystery. Based on the name I expected to see a bit of a hippie town, what I got instead was a big city trying to masquerade as a town. There are high rises everywhere and even a train, somehow just doesn't fit the surfer stereotype. The dance clubs and the boutique shops also seemed quite out of place, albeit fun. I had one of my best nights while in Surfers. What looked to be a quiet night at the pub turned into 3 of us closing down 3 bars in the same outing. You have never seen adults more excited to hear Gangster's Paradise playing in th club. Awesome beats and awesome company can make any night spectacular.
Byron Bay was another mystery. It reminded me of Banff or Waskiseu at home, here was a hippie town mixed with a hit of chique. Minus the one bar, there really wasn't much of anything to do at night. Days could be spent doing one of multiple activities. I spent most of my time walking the beach and walking around the trails to the lighthouse. During these walks I was lucky enough see whales breaching, dolphins, and some pretty cool scenery. During one of said walks my friend, Tori, and I were approached to go hang gliding as they had some no shows and didn't want to have a wasted trip. Having talked about wanting to try that only hours earlier we jumped at the opportunity. After lots of nervouse laughter and lots of 'I can't believe we're doing this', we took the leap of faith and had a blast! I can't wait to see the video of our flight, old DVD players don't like new burnt dics.
Lovely Yamba. I wish I had more time to spend here. Yamba itself has a great small town vibe, something I think the other places I've been to in Australia are missing. While out on my walks, I had more people say 'Hi' to me than any where else, and the YHA feels more like a home than a hostel. Super small, tons of space, incredibly friendly and welcoming staff, throw in a dog named Charlie, and you might as well call it home. Most people come here to surf, the waves are quite large (and I saw them on a 'small' day) but if you ever get the chance you have to go on Shane's tour. Never had so much fun yet been so nervous/scared in my entire life. Just one more town on the ever growing list of I want to visit again.
Main Beach Yamba
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