Byron Bay - Port Stephens
Trip Start
Jan 2003
1
112
200
Trip End
Dec 2003
Port Stephens,
Australia
Friday, July 18, 2003
Although byron Bay has, like seems to be the case in australia, little of offer in the way of daytie activity (am I beginning to sound like a broken record with that comment yet?!), it mercifully differs from the idea of a stereotypical town we've generated. On the negative side it's the dirtiest place I've encountered in Australia and is seeingly in possession of a drug problem. To explore these vices further, we made the effort to travel in land to Nimbin, a kind of hippy town where the police turn a blind eye to the use and sale of marijuana. Personally i can't come up with anything positive to say about the place and it's constant offers of recreational drugs. You're not left in peace from the moment you get out the car until the moment you return and for the alleged 'Free Love' spirit, it's hypocritical to be shunned when you infomr them you don't want to buy drugs
Port Stephens during the day
. You can't help but feel that the inhabitants were born in the wrong decade in the wrong country.Byron is less affected and with the assistance of the guesthouse (called Byron Springs by the way) we've properly relaxed after the exploits on Moreton island. We even managed to have a night out boozing, our first in a while, with Magnus and Alan who we met during our brief stay in Singapore.
Day 171 - 172 - Byron Bay - Port Stephens
Our longest day driviing yet heralded our arrival in Port Stephens. Despite its glowing write up in all the guidebooks, Port Stephens, unlike everywhere else we've visited on the East Coast, is relatively untainted by backpackers. It consists of various peninsulas and bays and is, our guide succinctly puts it 'simply stunning'. The journey, while arduous was punctuated by three 'big things'. The Big Prawn was superb, rivvalling The Big mango for the prize of best big thing so far, The Big Banana, while big, was a bit over-hyped and The Big Oyster was absolutely awful and not even worthy of a photo.
The down part thus far in Port Stephens has been the different desires of the four of us. Personally I've wanted to get out and see things but there has been a bit of a lethargic ring to yesterday's journey and today. Maybe the effects of travelling with three females is finally taking its toll but it's meant for a frustrating day for me and probably for everyone else as well. Despite not seeing that much of the surrounding area, Kirsty and I had an absolutely delicious meal at a local restaurant and NSW seems to be making up for Queensland in the quality of food stakes.
