Mantra Aqua Nelson Bay

... along the dunes! The cafe overlooking the beach served very yummy Tuna Melts, but you had to be quick before the flies got to them. After a good play in the surf we headed off to find some accommodation for the next couple of nights. We soon stumbled upon a backpackers site so we thought we would check it out. It consisted of a few wooden cabins, communal cooking and washing facilities and a number of wild animals and spiders ...

We left the sleepy hamlet (what do you mean no internet after 5pm!?) and drove along coast to the big smoke, well Newcastle. Like it's geordieland namesake it's a big port town (mostly due to the coal industry) but you wouldn't know it just by walking around it. Granted it was a monday morning but it wasn't quite the bustling metropolis (it was founded in 1801 to house all the convicts who'd been kicked out of Sydney for being too ...

... heading out for a weekend sail. We also saw a few dolphins swimming in the bay much to our excitement. After a spot of lunch (with chips) and a beer we headed home to relax for a while before heading out for dinner that night. The following day we were up quite early as we were going quad biking on the largest sand dunes Australia has to offer. Return of the Jedi and Mad Max 2 were both filmed in this location so I was looking ...

... with in PGL in France, Kane, Cheyne, PB & Motters!!! Then even more ex-pglers came to stay Andy, Will & Ellie! It was a full house in Kane's and we had a great time! My first night there myself and Kane cycled over to a party in the 'burbs'! where I met his brother Troy and a guy with a d.i.y home cut mullet! I couldn't stop staring, it was like a car wreck, you just gotta look! After a bottle of JD and too many ...

... death. The pain from a box jelly-fish must be excrutiating. People still scream even if they've been pumped up with morphine. Not pretty. Luckily they exist more up North in Queensland. It gets deadlier the more you move up the coast. Hier erforschen wir ein paar Strände. Redhead beach ist auf dem Weg zu Nelson Bay. Der Name kommt von dem großen roten Felsen. Da waren viele Containerschiffe am Horizont. Vielleicht eine Schiffsroute ...

... beer bingo, and comedy nights. If you cant tell drinking is more or less the norm here. Hell you can drink just about anywhere on campus, anytime. One more great thing about Edwards hall, besides the peeps, is the cellar. Its really just a place to chill outside your room. Theres an entertainment center and an outdoor pool. During oweek it hosts a couple of themed ...

... there were a few whales surfacing a couple of hundred metres out. Not quite close enough for a good photograph im afraid, but spectacular to say the least. Many travellers have advised us to visit a place called Nimbin while we were here, a small town situated approx. 1 hour inland, a place we will never forget. This we had to see !! Nimbin is very small indeed. This is more of a hippy town than Byron Bay and roughly a quarter of the size. Basically made up of one street, about 200m long ...

Sup! its sarah, havin a reli cool time here in sunny Oz! learnt a couple of things over the weekend...firstly never wear flip-flops (or 'thongs' as they call 'em ova here..caused much confusion until we learnt the crazy oz lingo) to a potential moshing area at a gig. In fact just dont go to a place where moshing is likely, the aussies are well harsh i swear, my poor feet are still recovering. and secondly why dont ****ing cockroaches die!!!! its just ...

... Anne who left for France and I who have little direction but to roam like wildfire. Talk of all of these journeys lingers in the air while gnocchi is placed on floured trays and made ready for freezing. Tray after tray is prepared as life events from each feminine life in the family is discussed. Secrets are revealed, regrets finally revealed, laughter and tears accompany it all. Despite distances when we come together we fit. Just like a sticky mix of emotions ...

... to spot dolphins. Why not! Did I see any? Not one! The captain of the boat tried to say he spotted some but we think he was a little economical with the truth :) Not seeing any Dolphins was a little disappointing but the views were spectacular and some of the homes on the water front were fantastic. Half way thru the journey, I knocked on the captain's door and talked for a while with him ...