After morning rush, we headed to the aforementioned Nimbin. Why there and not to the much more popular Bayron Bay?! Well, we were afraid that - although Bayron is definitely a great place - it is a simply crowded, loud, party spot. Such Australian Władysławowo (the most popular and crowded seaside town in Poland) of the east coast. On the other hand, Nimbin is a small village located at the foot of Nightcap National Park with a population of about 1,500 people (as of 2016) famous for the fact that all hippies fed up with the hustle and bustle of Bayron Bay moved out here. I do not need to mention what is this place famous for? Hippie style?! Yes, that's right. It is also one of the most popular destinations for backpackers, tramps, hikers and gadabouts. People live here from handicrafts (and not only 😊), festivals, concerts and happenings. We arrived in the town around 10 a.m. so it was still very sleepy and nothing really was happening. We walked around, which took us 10 minutes, took pictures and sat in the skate park to rest and think about what to do next.
I think it's worth seeing Nimbin on a weekend night - it must be great fun then. Just look for "Nimbin" on YouTube and you will see what is going on here.😊
Promising ourselves that we would also visit Bayron Bay on our way back, we continued towards the Gold Coast. The heat was starting to take its toll. On the map, we found an encouraging sounding place called Palmers Road Swimming Hole, which is a naturally formed swimming pool in the mouth of the river. Oh, swimming in the cool river was what we've all dreamed of! Unfortunately, we did not take one thing into account - months of drought. Already on the way, when the riverbed sometimes appeared among the trees, we could saw that the water was almost gone. The river stood. It's was hard to even call it a river. I mean, the riverbed was very wide, but at its bottom we saw only the swathes of duckweed, overgrown bends and sometimes brown, muddy water. Well, bad luck. And sadness - as you can see on photo below.
However, we came to this place to look regretfully and think how cool it would be when the water level was right. Pity. We had to come up with something else. Where is a lot of water?! Well, in the ocean! So, quick change of plans, let's drive to the coast. And so we got to the outskirts of the Gold Coast, a picturesque city, like from a postcard. We quickly parked in the parking lot right next to the beach and ran towards fabulous waters of the Pacific. Ach, wide, sandy beach of Miami Beach. In the distance, the skyscrapers in the city center waving like a mirage and the water so warm that I was shocked! Because when you drip near Sydney, the ocean's has temperature of our Baltic Sea (=freezing) and swimming in it requires a bit of determination, unless the air temperature is 40°C - then there is no problem. But here it was pure pleasure. Hubert, as he saw all this view, only said: "No, now I will be so blasé that nothing will surprise me anymore, no place in the world will make a better impression on me..."
Hold on - I thought. Just wait. 😊
Let me mention that it was the first immersion of our guests in the Pacific and this ocean is not a little puddle. Waves and currents are huge. You just can't swim in it like in pool, here you just give in to the wave. And the ocean does with you what it wants. It capsizes, melts, turns and hits your stomach with great force (it's worth standing sideways to the wave). You have to be really careful. These are not jokes. But we all had a big smile on our faces and a ton of sand in our swim trunks. After cooling down in the ocean's waves we continued our way towards Brisbane.
In one of the travel guides I read that in the suburbs of Brisbane there is the famous Pancake Manor creperie, where it is worth trying fluffy pancakes with butter and honey and fried becon egg with bacon strips. It turned out that the restaurant is located in a huge shopping center and judging by the number of guests, its golden time was probably behind it. But we ordered meals and ate. It wasn't a super outstanding meal, but it was worth trying. However, this stop made us take a drive through the most touristic and picturesque streets of Brisbane. It is said that this city is a hundred times more cool than Sydney. And I think it is. Crossed by canals and colorfully lit bridges, it seemed very romantic in the pouring rain that caught us there. Unfortunately, the clock struck 6.00 p.m. and we didn't have the place to stay. Oh, and we were surprised by the time change. Yes, we crossed the state boarder and drove into Queensland, where the watches are turned back an hour. We've gained an hour on the clock, but the sun was setting just as fast as normal. Chased by the falling dusk, we promised to visit Brisbane on the way back, meanwhile we moved on.
Finding a free campground or any accommodation was almost a miracle at that moment. We decided to get away from this tourist center as far as possible, because the vacancies were only in hotels, which were far beyond our financial capabilities. About 100 km from Brisbane, we turned away from the main road towards the ocean, because Google Maps and the WikiCamps application showed a camping with a pleasant name Pacific Sun Friends. It was very late, almost 9:00 pm and we had to stop somewhere. Following the map directions, we left the main road and drove into a dark forest with road that wound along the Elimbah Creek. We were driving around 10 km, farther and deeper into the forest, dark as hell, we couldn't see anything. Suddenly a light appeared somewhere in the distance, or rather lights, dimmed but colorful, almost like Christmas-tree decorations and we saw the sign "Reception - 800m". Okay, let's go. The reception desk was located at the very end of the entire field so we could take a close look to all the place. In the dense forest there were trailers, tents, but also small houses. All hidden, but still colorful, discreetly lit. In front of them tenants sat at tables in the twilight, sipping wine and talking quietly. Somewhere in the darkness figures flashed from time to time, few dogs ran and there was a bit strange silence. But it was almost 10 p.m., normal time to sleep on campgrounds in Australia. Everything seemed to look nice, the mood was a bit "romantico", but hiding some secret. Until suddenly my attention was drawn to two older grandparents sitting in under the carport. They looked so awesome, like old hippies. But I looked attentively again... They all were naked!!!
I looked the other way. Holy crap! Now I can see! Those people were naked! And now this whole place seemed like some pleace of a strange hippie cult! Where the hell are we??!!! We bursted out laughing! After exchanging opinions on whether we were staying or not, we decided not to risk it.😊 Although there were people among us willing to stay over night, they were outvoted. I am tolerant, I understand everything, but I really didn't want to make myself food in the common kitchen and chat with some elderly resident who has no panties. Or use the shared bathroom. Maybe if they had these beards by their belt at least... Although the camp policy left you to choose whether you want to optionally wear clothes or fly naked, my instincts told me that this place reminds me too much of some "Church of the Liberated Pee-Pee & Muff" or "Association Loving Each Other in Nudity and Nature Contact".
Yeah, nah. We escaped back to civilization. Forgive me that there will be no photos from this place, but here is the link to the "magic" campground: https://www.pacificsunfriends.com.au/image-gallery
At the motorway enter we stopped at the huge Shell station, which is also a pit stop for truckers, to think what we do next. It was almost 11.00 p.m., no places to stay within a radius of 50 km, but the morale was high, the moods were good. We took a quick shower at the station (for free! Polish onion was happy) and we decided to drive throught the night, as long as our drivers - Misiek and Hubert - could manage. The plan was to hang on to one of the many trucks and drive as long as possible. If a kangaroo pops out the truck won't even feel it and we'll be only...well... splashed...
Oh, we set off! Here, truckers do not messing around. If they can go 100km/h, they go without even slowing down for a moment. Marcin and Hubert had real fun with this ride. Adrenaline 1000%. No wonder that they didn't feel sleepy. Seeing the number of kangaroos by the road I moved to the back seat, not wanting to witness some macabre, and plunged in search of accommodation. I knew everyone needed some rest. Moreover, we lost two of the three mattresses. After one night, ffs! Don't buy $15 Aldi mattresses - crap. By the way, the very next day was December 31 and I thought that it would be nice to spend New Year's Eve in some nice circumstances. As always, Booking.com doesn't disappoint me in such situations. Wait, wait - it isn't an advertisement - I really use this platform a lot and I've never been disappointed! You just need to know what and how to search😉.
Years of practice….
When the last truck driver finally pulled down to rest, we waved to him thanking for the joint ride and our roads went apart. Our eyes were closing as well, and the boys were already hanging on the wheel. It was after 3 a.m. Luckily, at the last minute, we spotted a rest stop off the beaten track. Same as at the first night, only a bit bigger. More tables and shelters, a toilet with running water, and most importantly, no prohibitions. There already were a few cars and campervans. We set up the tents as quietly as possible, on the half-remote control. I don't even remember if we ate anything. I threw the pierced mattress on the tent floor and I slipped into my sleeping bag. After three seconds, only snoring was heard.