After escaping some of the worst weather Australia has seen in 40 odd years, our first priority was sunshine and heaps of it!
We had known prior to coming away that music would feature heavily on this adventure – Dave doesn’t do anything unless he has music playing – so we had a look about and stumbled across a festival called Subsonic. Set in a valley, next to a river, with weather set to be topping 38 degrees and not a single cloud, we were tempted and when our Jamberoo camping neighbour recommended Subsonic, we were sold. Cheap tickets bought, we set off inland in the pursuit of lush weather.

And what a bonza weekend it turned out to be – minus the endless house music.
In the words of Sublime “It ain’t house music, that makes me wanna dance..”.
Amongst the horrendous music, we found our own gems:

• Dread wraps
• Dj Chinky Stickens – Excellent DJ name!
• Majun Bu – Ska/punk on a Friday night! They were ace!
• Listening to a ‘Mc’ shout “I don’t FUCK spiders..” during a relaxing Sunday Afternoon. Hilarious.
• Sunday afternoons spent floating down a river in your watermelon fruit floaty.
• Peanut Butter sandwiches
• The Welsh Contingent opposite provided the weekends entertainment
• NICE ONE BRUVVVVAAAA features a lot in Aussie festivals too
• Being told I had nice elbows
• I got really into recycling – the festival provided you with all the necessary means to do so! Brilliant!
• I realised how much I LOVE having my bed with me, at all times.
• Sharing watermelon with our neighbours
• Chicken Pesto Toasties!

Things that definitely weren’t gems:

• House music
• Mr Filthy and Professor Jorkoff – Don’t. Even. Ask.
• Festival Toilets, obviously.

 

Quite frankly, we were just dead chuffed for some nice weather and after the joyous post festival shower, we went on the hunt again finding ourselves up the coast at a lovely little pub called Coopernook Hotel. Just 30 minutes away from the beach, free to stay if you enjoy a pint in the pub (oh, go on then!) and with a river for fishing one side and a field of BABY COWS the other side, we were sold. So much so, that we spent an entire week enjoying Coopernook and its surrounding area.
Unfortunately, that makes for really dull writing… So, I shall sum up our week in photos.

We decorated Pam for Christmas
We upgraded our camping chairs to BEACH CHAIRS. Best decision, EVER!
We spent most evenings sat on the pier, in our deck chairs, talking to those who were fishing – you could catch shark and mud crab!
WE made friends with so many dogs!
AND with the cows in the adjacent field – feeding one, who we named Millie (because she was a bit fat and liked her food, like my parents fat cat Millie) Pineapple.
We won at the meat raffle – and were then gifted even more meat/eggs by the couple next to us!
We played Mini golf in Port Macquarie
Bought me some colouring pencils – my travel diary is now super colourful!
We spent our Sunday night at a Christmas Carol concert in the next town along – Santa turned up in a Ute and then threw sweets at children before leaving.
The evening finished with FIREWORKS!
We spent our last day at Coopernook @ Crowdy Head beach – what a joy it is to have Pam on the beach with you!
We then spent 40 minutes digging ourselves and Pam out of the beach!

Coopernook, you were a pleasure. We certainly felt like locals by the end of the week.

 

And would you believe it, we were punished for enjoying the good weather with a cyclone! Yes, a cyclone. Where do we stay??
NImbin of course! An hour drive inland, we found our sanctuary. $10 a night for power and hot showers, just a 5 minute walk into Nimbin. Brilliant.
Now, I realise I am again guilty of not being able to provide you with much as we spent another week in one place, but here it goes:

• We sheltered right next to a barn with power sockets and picnic tables so were dry all week, despite crazy weather.
• Our wonderful new friend Travis, who was camped next to us, gifted us with his hammock after overhearing us talking about one – I have not managed to get Dave out of it since. He also gave us his address with his brother Declan, as somewhere we can stay in Pam if we ever get stuck. Babe!
• Strawberry Felt Hat!
• I bought new patches for my travel bag
• There is a peacock that roams the streets of Nimbin
• We also visited Nimbin Candle Company which sold the biggest candle made from left over wax Id ever seen. They also had all the irons they had ever used, covered in wax and ready for an art installations to be made out of them.
• We bought some nagchampa and hemp soap
• Enjoyed the slowest game of Bingo Ive ever played – and dragged Dave along too!
• We enjoyed a jaunt around a super chilled and funky Byron Bay before having lunch at Broken Head Beach.

Nimbin, known as the pot capital of Australia, was an interesting place. Yes, there is the illegal side to Nimbin, but I think that overshadows the mix of creative, friendly souls you also meet there. Everyone was so eager to help, to chat, to find out who you were and what had bought you to their small slice of the world. The people, their vibrancy and the colour/art that covered every surface were my favourite parts.
Unfortunately for us, Nimbin Showground operates a strict 7 days stay and no return within a month – boo! Although, in hindsight, that’s probably a good thing – Dave would probably still be there, swinging in his hammock!

We left Nimbin on the 20th December in search of somewhere to stay over the holiday period. After hearing horror stories about there being nowhere on the Gold Coast during the holidays, we weren’t hopeful but Alstonville, complete with pub and somewhere to hang the hammock, was a gem of a find and the base for our Christmas on the beach celebrations…