Byron Bay, NSW, Australia (Day 8, 0 km)

Hi all

On Friday morning I caught a train down to Burleigh Heads, on the Gold Coast, where I spent a laid-back day and the night, before catching a bus (15 min) back to Surfer's Paradise for a quick look-see, and then a Greyhound bus down to Byron Bay (170 km south of Brisbane) just into New South Wales.

The past 4 days have consisted of camping, reading, a little walking, at least 2 swims a day in the lovely warm sea, and yesterday, a bit more sun exposure than intended. After a nice, relaxing time, I headed back to Brisbane today to see if I can start to get this show on the road. After all, I'm not here to relax!

(The other side of Brisbane that I neglected to mention before are the prolific security cameras in all the parks, stations and other public places, as well as signs warning of spot fines for smoking, crossing the railway tracks, etc - makes me feel a little bit like Singapore...)

Anyhow, the bike has been unpacked, and Quarantine are scheduled to hopefully have a look at it tomorrow, after which I may be allowed near it, unless they decide to clean it or something. So all going well, I _could_ be on my way by Thursday... I spent the rest of the afternoon mucking about, like going up the Brisbane City Hall's clocktower (just before it struck 3, and cleared the cobwebs out!) and not a lot else.

As to the trip down south, Surfer's Paradise and the rest of the Gold Coast were much as expected, and as most of you already know - high-rises abound (they are just building the "tallest residential building in the world", 88 floors of it), huge amounts of commercialism and attractions to take your money off you, scantily clad people, etc. One day I will come back with some mates and hit the theme parks, but they're not really individual activities, in my opinion. The beach, waves and sea were nice, though.

Byron Bay is still very touristy, but they've passed ordinances to prevent high-rises, as well as banning McD's, etc - the whole place tries to maintain a very eco-friendly, organic, crystal/incense/spiritual image. On the whole, I found it a lot more pleasant than the Gold Coast, although it was still AUD20 per night to find a patch of grass for my tent! The beach is also broken by some headlands, etc, one of which has a lighthouse on it, and is the most Easterly point of mainland Australia... just. I recommend a few laid-back days there.

As the Burleigh Heads library didn't want to know me because I had no proof of my NZ address, I had bought a couple of novels from the 2nd-hand bookstore, and spent happy times reading in scenic spots.

So far I have seen the Rosetta Stone, and Michaelangelo's David, neither of which had I known were housed in Australia.

Ever closer...