the flight was actually pretty enjoyable considering its length, and Air New Zealand still provides customers with actual service, a very novel idea in the airline industry these days. dinner was decent, and there was a good selection of movies and tv shows, a perfect opportunity to watch Star Trek again and Wolverine for the first time. i was a bit worried about being able to sleep since once again there was a baby one row over. but she hardly made a sound and i was able to sleep most of the flight. the crew woke us up for breakfast while it was still dark, which was fine with me since breakfast included "bubbles" or sparkling wine, nothing says "Good Morning" like a mimosa :-) the international terminal at the Auckland airport has had some renovations in the last 6 years, adding a second level to keep arriving and departing passengers separated. the flight to Brisbane was pretty uneventful, a second breakfast and more sleep in a row all to myself.
arriving in Brisbane i passed immigration and customs without any problems, my tent being sufficiently clean of dirt and the only food in my possession being ramen & chocolate. walking thru to a familiar arrivals terminal i called Rich with a little help from a "Welcome Ambassador," one of several elderly people walking around with little badges and big smiles--not unlike a Wal-Mart greeter, only useful--ready to help flailing tourists place a phone call (you have to dial first, then pay) and direct them to the train to get to city center (downtown). after a short, pleasant train ride to city center, i stashed my bags in a storage locker (yes, they still have those in train and bus stations here) and went exploring until Rich was done with work.
Brisbane has definitely done some growing since last i was here. at least 5 or 6 new sky scrapers and a couple more museums along the river. the day was sunny and hot, Queensland is definetly the Florida of Australia. well, Florida, Georgia & Alabama--lots of retirees & tourists, lots of new money & shiny buildings, and lots of racist rednecks. oh, and lots of tan, attractive boys walking about ;-) after plenty of walking about i met up with Rich for a late lunch/early dinner on the Queen Street Mall, an outdoor shopping center in the heart of the city. we had no problem picking up where we left off in conversation and passed the time quickly so that he almost missed his bus to Uni. he's working full time and studying part time with one more semester to go on his Law degree. after we parted ways i found a cheap hostel across the street from the train station and realized it was the same one i'd stayed in last time, the Tin Billy. not exactly full of fond memories, the place has gone down hill a bit. that being said, i didn't much care when my head hit the pillow and i was out for a solid 12 hours. before going to bed however, i sat in the common room to use the internet and learned some fun things about TV in Australia. firstly, they have Bravo but call it Arena, on which they run unedited episodes of Sex & the City--and i mean UNedited: tits, ass, sex, "Fuck" and all the rest included. not bad for basic cable.
my first morning in Brisbane i booked a bus to Byron Bay at 1pm. the city was nice enough but also expensive and boring. i made good use of the morning though when i discovered that the Queensland State Library had free WiFi. after that it was back to the bus station and a scenic drive thru farm and bushland to Byron Bay. now Byron is a place full of fond memories: the dive shop where we were Padi certified, the bakery with half-priced bread after 4, the many gelati stands, the lighthouse. all of which were still in place, except for the bakery, it's been replaced by another annoying billabong-esque store selling overpriced flipflops & board shorts. but for the most part, Byron remained as i remembered it.
once off the bus i popped into the information stand, not sure exactly how to get to my hostel, and received directions which included the bad news that CountryLink trains haven't stopped in Byron in 4 years :-( you all know how i like trains. anyway, i walked the 4 or 5 blocks to the Arts Factory to secure a camp site and drop my increasingly heavy bags. it was fun setting up my little tent in the camping area, not used to seeing it in such a tropical, crowded setting. once everything was in its place i made a B-line for the beach, towel in hand. nothing really has changed there, the sky and water were clear blue, the sand was soft and white, and the lighthouse sat perfectly on the headlands to the east. it was a very blustery day down on the water, so much so there wasn't much point in spreading out my towel, just left it folded with my clothes on top while i ran for the water. a little cold at first, nothing like it was in San Fran, but i haven't told you about that yet. the odd thing was, i kept walking out and the water never seemed to get deeper than my waist. the tide was obviously on its way out, so i had to go pretty far out myself to get my head under the waves. so worth it. the water was crisp and refreshing, everything i remembered it to be. my swim was shorter lived than i wanted it to be, but the sun was getting close to the horizon and i knew it would be pretty cold after that. getting out of the water i barely needed to towel off the wind was so strong. i let myself air dry while building a small sandcastle and watching some soccer players.
dried and dressed i returned to the hostel for a cheap, delicious dinner of spaghetti bolognese while chatting with some other travelers. i made quick friends with a couple of Irish girls and a German guy and the four of us decided to walk down to the bottle shop and split a case of beer. walking back with our box of Tooheys New, i looked up and finally caught my first glimpse of the Southern Cross. we stayed up late that night, drinking and talking and meeting other people and generally having a good time.
the next morning i boarded the Nimbin Shuttle with one of the Irish girls, Jen, who'd recommended it. after boarding i realized it was the same bus, and driver, that i took to get there the first time, years ago. as we left Byron and started climbing into the hills i began to notice a haze on the horizon that was growing quickly. i had just commented on it to Jen when the driver announced that practically the whole of New South Wales was experiencing one of the worst dust storms in its history. by the time we reached Nimbin the sky was red and the air was thick and left a taste of clay in my mouth. gazing up i noticed that the sun actually appeared blue. Nimbin itself was pretty much exactly as i remembered it, small, a tiny bit dirty & dodgy, but mostly quaintly hippyish. we stuck around for 2 hours, more time than you need in Nimbin, but the shortest amount of time to make a tour seem legit. the bus then headed thru the Nightcap National Park and we stopped to take some pics of a koala who didn't seem to care much that we were there. then we headed to a water fall, or more accurately a place where a water fall would be were there any water. as it was, a small trickle cascaded down into a gorge, the bottom of which we couldn't really see because of the dust :-\ can't win em all.
from there we drove for less than 5 minuets before the driver stopped to let me out. from here i would make my way to Jasper Hall, and that, will have to be another post, because this one is too long already and i'm hungry for dinner.
Ta for now
