Sydney to Brisbane

Hi everybody, once again we apologise for not posting sooner. We've been in Brisbane for about 7 weeks now and time's flying. We've got about 5 more weeks before we hit the road once again. Life's pretty good; we've found a place to live and although the short length of time we've got left here has made finding jobs difficult, Leah has found work in a call centre raising money for the Make a Wish Foundation. I'm still looking and picking up what I can from agencies. Anyway, back to the story of our journey to Brisbane.

Nobbys Head, Newcastle

After kindly being put up by Tegan and her family, our first stop after Sydney was Newcastle where we would be relying on the hospitality of others once again. This time we were going to meet up with Leah's cousin Molly. Newcastle is the second biggest city in New South Wales and it feels really spread out. You need to rely on the busses or have your own car to get around the city. Having said that, there are loads of beaches, including one stretch which goes on further than the eye can see! Although it was only a flying visit and we only spent one full day in the city it was great to see the area and to catch up with Molly.

We departed Newcastle on the Greyhound coach first thing Monday morning. The three hour journey passed quite quickly and before we knew it we were in Port Macquarie. Upon arrival we offloaded our baggage at the hostel before setting out to explore the town. We found the river mouth and a pier from which we could see shoals of fish and even rays, if not the dolphins we were hoping for. None the less, it really makes you grasp just how beautifully clean and clear the water is in this part of the world. However, in what would become a Port Macquarie theme, it started to rain on us and we sought refuge in a nearby cafe. We decided that the circumstances required cake too, cake is often important. 

The next day hadn't seen a break in the rain but we decided to make the most of where we were and head out for a wonder around the marshland boardwalks. I don't really know what we were expecting to see but I don't think it was bats. Certainly not the hundreds of them that were all over the trees here. And they were active too, and REALLY noisy - not at all what you expect from a nocturnal animal. We also saw some more Kookaburras. Having been really proud of spotting one within a week of being in Australia, seeing three perched on the most obvious of branches rather diminished our original feat.

However, these native birds weren't the most memorable stars of port Macquarie. That honour went to the Water Dragon that we stumbled across further along the board-walk. This little water dragon was lying across our path and although it wasn't the most striking of lizards it will always be remembered for the fright it gave me. I was taking the lizard's photo when all of a sudden it lurched towards me, rearing onto it's hind legs and running straight at me. We wish we had a video but as the cameraman was too busy taking evasive action from the scampering animal we didn't actually manage to capture the beast mid-run before it disappeared into the marshland.

Barry the escape 

The other animal stars came later that day at the Port Macquarie Koala hospital. Here they specialise in treating wounded koalas and feeding them back into the wild where possible. But these lovable marsupials each have their own personalities and stories. We arrived just in time to catch the free afternoon tour and were treated to stories about each of the animals. In particular Barry (whom we saw being fed), a resident who isn't well enough to be returned to the wild but who has somehow managed to escape from the hospital multiple times and is now famous amongst travellers worldwide.

Coffs (and around, below)

A new day dawned and a new destination beckoned, this time Coffs Harbour. We arrived in the evening, just about in time for sunset and we decided to take it easy and enjoy a meal out rather than stress over cooking in the hostel. We chose Indian and decided upon a little restaurant near to our hostel, the food was great and the price very reasonable too. We'd just finished when the rain caught up to us once more and resulted in us getting rather wet as we ran for the hostel. The next day was rather more on and off weather wise and we used breaks in the rain to investigate the harbour.

Where we canoed

Coffs is quite an interesting little town really with lots of things to do and we were lucky enough to be staying in a hostel which offered free canoe hire for use on the nearby river. After waiting nearly all of our second day for the tide to be high enough, we eventually made our way onto the river. It was so quiet - we were the only people out there and it felt as though we were a much longer way from the busy road and shops than we were. The other benefit to the tranquillity was that the wildlife didn't hide; there were a variety of birds lining the banks and fish jumping all around us!

Our final stop before Brisbane was Byron Bay. Even better, the weather had improved; it wasn't glorious sunshine but it was dry at least and warm enough to explore the area and make the most of the gorgeous beaches of Byron. The town was bigger than both Coffs and Port Macquarie but that meant that there was a little more of a buzz and vibe in the town centre, we liked that about Byron and decided that it would be a fantastic place to live - beaches, nice town (not too big or too small) , plenty to do and see. Byron is also home to the most easterly point of Australia mainland. We had the added incentive that the hostel we had chosen wasn't the nicest so avoiding our messy 8 bed dorm was a high priority. We loved it in the bay and both agreed that we would have stayed there longer if we could have.

We departed Byron heading for Brisbane, and will let you know about Queensland's capital in another post.

Lots of love,

Leah and Mat

P.s. Thanks for all of the Birthday wishes, I had a really nice day. We went for a meal the night before and to the cinema on the day.