March 1st (Tuesday) - March 7th (Monday) - Byron Bay

March 1st (Tuesday)

We  picked up Brent on our way out of Sydney and headed to the Blue Moutains.  We did some hiking, took a ride on one of the world's steepest railway car and went on the Skyway.  We then spent the rest of the day driving as far as we could.  We ended up in Newcastle and stayed in the dodgiest Hostel (at least there were empty dorms and us three were able to stay together) - we had quite a few laughs that night (Brent has travelled around Europe and he sayed this would have to be one of the worst Hostels he ever stayed in). 

Our room (first things first - check for bed bugs :)

In the bar downstairs:

March 2nd (Wednesday)

We spent the entire day driving as close as we could to Byron Bay.  We made it to Bellina and stayed at the good ole Best Western (after last nights experience we needed a break before trying our next Hostel). 

Brent decided he wanted to try out driving - my life flashed before my eyes countless times ;)

March 3rd (Thursday)

It was a sunny day so we spent the day at the beach at Byron Bay and booked our tours to Fraser Island and the Whitsundays. 

March 4th (Friday)

We toured the lighthouse at Byron Bay and were told by numerous people to go to a nearby town called Nimbin.  It is an old hippy town and they are one of the only towns are united together into fighting for legalizing Marijuana. 

A group of dolphins off the coast by the lighthouse (hard to see).  Josh counted 25:

A fellow backpacker decided to join us for this pic ;)  This is the most Easternely point of Australia:

Nimbin:

March 5th (Saturday)

We went to Surfer's Paradise (a nearby beach) to finally watch the Quiksilver/Roxy World Pro Surfing Competition (it was cancelled for the last 5 days because the conditions weren't good).  It was a great time minus the rain.  My oldtime crush Kelly Slater was surfing in the competition but I didn't get to see him :( (the men weren't competiting that day).  For those of you who don't know who Kelly Slater is (Brent had no idea) he used to be on Baywatch with Pamela Anderson and is a 10time world surf champion. 

We met up in the evening with Tim and Anne for supper and a night on the town (we seem to go out every night for a night on the town :):

March 6th (Sunday)

Brent and Josh decided to rent surfboards and try it on there own.  My sides hurt from laughing so hard (I decided I'm going to wait until Cairns and take an actual lesson).  Brent launched his surfboard to the moon numerous times and Josh was in the water more than on his board.  By the end they were completely covered in the wax used to coat the surfboard. 

March 7th (Monday)  On our way to Harvey Bay (Fraser Island tour meeting point) we stopped at the Australia zoo:

These kangaroos smelled alot better then Timmy:

March 8th (Tuesday)

We are heading out to Harvey Bay to meet at the Hostel with fellow Fraser Island 4by4ing people.  We need to make groups and buy groceries with our group members for the next 3 days.  We will then depart on the ferry tomorrow morning at 9.  We are hoping it will be a good time and the weather will be nice.  We will post an update after that.  We miss everyone and hope everything is going well!!

February 23rd (Wednesday) - March1st (Tuesday): Sydney

February 23rd (Wednesday)

I believe that the laid back lifestyle has worn off on Josh and I.  Who else would come to Sydney with a dead cell phone, no map and no address for our hotel.  Needless to say that by the time we found our hotel we not only went across the bridge but we also went through the underwater tunnel that goes across the tunnel.  During that adventure we ran through two toll boths and could not pay (pre-pay pass only) so I am currently trying to find the number to contact them to clear up the tolls (we currently have three parking tickets, 1 speeding ticket and now probably 2 toll both tickets).

Our hotel is right downtown so we spent the rest of the day walking and touring the sights. 

Tunnel under Sydney Harbour:

February 24th (Thursday)

Brent landed yesterday and was feeling better (was quite sick right before coming).  He met us at our hotel and we toured the Sydney aquarium and Paddy's market together.  This market reminded me of the Adelaide Central Market.  You can buy souvenirs for super cheap ;)  We met up with Nick and Kayla (friend's Brent is staying with) for supper. 

Shark replica:

February 25th (Friday)

We went and did a tour of the Opera House - it was great!  Josh was sick of walking so we took the Sightseeing tour bus around the city.  We toured more of the harbour and went to Nick and Kayla's for supper and a round of Cranium.

On the tour with our headphones so we could hear our guide:

February 26th (Saturday)

Josh and I took the ferry to Bondi Beach - it was a beautiful beach but I was unsure of the currents and the extremely large waves.  This is where they film a reality show called Bondi Beach rescue and we found out why.  In the few hours that we were there we seen about 5 people get rescued. 

The TV crew:

February 27th (Sunday)

We got an early start on the day - at 7:00 Josh's alarm went off and right after another alarm went off briefly.  We ignored it - a few minutes later it starts again and on the loudspeaker it was the fire marshal asking for everyone on level 5 to evacuate the hotel.  I started thinking that we are on the 7th floor and if there is a fire I don't want to be above it.  I always thought if I was ever in that situation I would try to grab as much stuff as I could - nope, just made sure I grabbed my purse and our passports.  It was mayhem at first because on every floor one of the two fire exits was locked.  We finally found the other one that was open and went ot the lobby.  It was funny afterwards seeing everyone in there house coats, pajamas and bed hair.  It was a false alarm - someone decided to have a early morning smoke in there room.  Needless to say I was disappointed we didn't get any sort of a discount. 

We took the ferry to the Taronga Zoo.  It was huge (had to take a lift to the top and work your way down.  Lots of animals and really clean.  We went to the Imax (largest in the world) and watched Titanic 3D. 

February 28th (Monday)

We were waiting for the ferry to Manly Beach so we decided to do the Thunder jet boating experience.  The boat goes 85km/h and does tons of tricks.  They gave everyone a poncho to wear - it was the start of the day and we thought it would protect us.  As you can see from the picture we were completely soaked.  The ponchos proved to be more of a decoration.  We were going to go on a harbour dusk cruise but to save some money someone told us to go to Manly and come back in the evening because it takes you through the harbour.  It was a beautiful cruise through the harbour.

March 1st (Tuesday)

We picked up Brent and headed out on the open road.  Today it is Thursday and we arrived at Byron Bay.  My next post update will be from March 1st on - we are enjoying the beach and we booked two cruises (sail the Whitsunday Islands and a 4 by 4ing adventure on Fraser Island.   

Josh, Brent, Nick and I were going to do the Bridge Climb - but the cheapest climb was $200 with the ideal one being $300 and we decided it wasn't worth it. 

Miscellaneous Pictures:

As we were walking this lady walks up and was asking people to listen to a piece of music and she wanted to videotape you to see how you react to the music - originally I said yes Josh said no - but then I told her I would probably just stand and smile.  She then wanted Josh instead - Josh had no reaction ;)