Start of Lismore to Sydney Road Trip

On Friday, Ian and Maria picked Katie and me up at 7 am for a day trip north of Lismore. We started off in the National Nightcap Park, where we had previously been for the Minyon Falls hike at the beginning of the semester. This time, we went on a shorter hike around Mt. Mathenson, which was a bushwalk on a trail. It was dark out due to the thick canopy above us, and began to sprinkle about half way through the walk. We were expecting lookouts on the top of the peak but we ended up doing the loop without any lookout points. Either way, it was a nice walk and it felt good to move by passing through Nimbin, and taking in the incredibly unique town.

 Nimbin is the weed capitol of Australia, and it is evident in the people, shops and colorfully painted town. Although we didn’t stop for any “cookies” or “cakes”, we walked along the main street and felt a natural high off the fun-loving energy of the town.

We continued on to the volcano Mt. Warning, which is the first place in Australia that the sun hits as it rises. Although we weren’t there for sunrise, we wanted to check out the surrounding environment because of its uniqueness. We got to the top of the road and saw that the hike up to the peak was six hours and for expert bushwalkers, so we decided to have a picnic lunch up there instead. On the way back, we took a detour towards the coast, and finally got to take a picture in front of Australia’s most easterly point in Byron Bay. We walked down the path past the lighthouse and saw a group of dolphins swimming below against the strong ocean current. I’ve never seen so many dolphins in nature swimming so closely together and jumping over the tall waves above them. It was spectacular! We took a moment to realize that we were closer to America at that point that at any other place so far in Australia. I said belted out a big hello to my family and everyone over seas. It started to rain a bit so we headed back and made our way to Lismore.

Most Easterly Point!!

That night I had to get ready to check out the next morning, so I was up late cleaning and packing. We said goodbye to a few of our friends that night, in case we didn’t seen them in the morning. After our last fun night with Tyler and Justin, we had to force ourselves to say goodbye. Instead of sobbing and ending on a sad note, we decided to just keep it light hearted and playful, as we always were. We had one last group hug that lasted forever and said “see ya later!” It’s odd to think we may never see them again, but they said we will be seeing them years down the road for their weddings. What a thought.

My empty room

As mentally and physically exhausted as I was that night, I still had lots of last minute things to do. I avoided my roommates that night because every time I saw them, they gave me the saddest look and couldn’t stand the thought that I was leaving the next day. I knew after all this time of living together that it would be tough to say goodbye to them. Katie and I each spent time on our own just getting our things together and making sure the house and our rooms were in perfect order for the check out in the morning

The house was extra quiet that night when I fell asleep, and I couldn’t help but to miss the usual loud noise of a party in the living room.

Saturday morning I woke up at 6 am and finished cleaning the house for the final unit inspection. After getting Hannah, the RA to check me out, Katie found me and we said our goodbyes. It was hardest to say goodbye to Tiana, and she’s the only person I let out tears for. It was mainly because of how grateful I was to have become so close to her in the past few weeks. After our girls weekend a month before, we really bonded and had a close friendship for the remaining time I was there. I walked out the door without my purse because they had hid it in order for me to be stuck in Australia with no passport. The scary thing is, I was so caught up in the moment, I forgot about it for a while there! Kevin eventually brought it to me and said he doesn’t me to leave but also doesn’t want me to get stuck with no ID or passport. Nice roomies, huh? :)

Last roomie picture 

Many goodbye shouts later, we loaded up the car to the max and hit the road. Katie is joining us for the last two weeks as we roadtrip from Lismore to Avoca Beach, which is two hours north of Sydney.

By 10:30 we were officially waving goodbye to Lismore and heading south. Katie and I each had a bag of clothes that we couldn’t fit in our suitcase, so we dropped it off at Vinnies which is like our Goodwill. I wish SCU would have had some sort of drop off for all of our possession that we wouldn’t take home, such as lamps, fans, sheets, pillows, clothes, etc. We ended up giving most of it away to our Aussie friends, but we were told to just throw away the rest of it and that didn’t sit right with many of us. I will probably write to the school asking to have a tent on the colleges for give away items and the remaining would be donated to the church or Vinnes automatically. With Air Pacific, we found out it would cost over $400 to take home two suitcases, so I decided to leave one of my suitcases there. As a result, I struggled to fit everything I accumulated over four months in that one piece of luggage, while keeping it under 23 kilograms (50 lbs). Ask a thank you for driving everywhere, and being a great roommate gift, I gave my suitcase to Tiana and told her she has to use it to come to visit.

 

Interestingly, there is no major highways between Brisbane and Sydney, even though it’s the most highly-trafficked route. Instead, there is a two lane road that stretches the distance. As a result, we drove through every small town along the way and could get a feel for places that we would have otherwise missed. I noticed the lush green landscape and thought how there was no signs of the 12 year drought that occurred a few years back. It was a much different experience than the train ride from Sydney to Lismore, because of the  slower pace we went at, and the abundance of daylight to actually see the  land. This entire trip I’ve noticed how there seems to be more cattle on farmland than there are sheep. That has surprised me considering there are more sheep than people that live in Australia. Perhaps the sheep are more inland and in larger ranges compared to the small farms alongside the roads. It was interesting to see the view out my window change from grassy farmlands to distance mountains to swamplands and then gum tree forest. The first town name I recognized was Kempsey, which is where Tiana and Sharyn are from. They had complained that the town was sketchy and ghettos, but from the few minutes we spent driving through it, it seemed really nice. There was a pleasant mix of modern and older homes along with well kept parks and country clubs. An hour further south, we got out and had lunch at a park in Grafton. We had some rolls with cheese, bbq Shapes (similar to our Wheat-Thins), chicken potato chips (which are amazing and I’m not sure why America hasn’t caught onto them yet), and coffee yogurt. Delicious picnic lunch! We were amazed when we saw three young kids played with a boomerang, because it seems rare to actually go outside and throw one around. I thought about how we were taught last month in Cairns how to throw one at a precise angle, and these kids were pretty decent with their tosses.

After driving a while longer, we came to Port McQuarey, where we got out to take in the incredible sunset over the ocean. This town was obviously newer, and full of beach resorts and swanky restaurants. It was getting dark, so we decided to spend the night in a town called Forster (pronounced Foster). We found a vacant motel and waked to a nearby restaurant for delicious Indian food, We each ordered a different type of curry (lamb, buttered chicken, beef) and topped it off with saffron rice and pommpadoms. It was an amazing meal and we enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere.

After dinner we went to our room and watched REAL football as Ian would call it (AFL-Australian Football League, like rugby, but you can kick the ball down the field), read our books and fell asleep. Thankfully there was a heater AND electric blankets in our room, because it got to be pretty cold that night.

We got up early to go on a morning walk around the rocky beach before we left Forster. It’s been fun traveling with geologists, because they just seem to know everything. We found of the rocks jutting out from the water were from the water were from past volcanic eruptions, and learned about the different minerals involved. After a lovely morning walk, we hopped back into the car and headed to Avoca Beach. We stopped along the way for Paddle Pops which Ian said were a must-try while we were here. They are ice cream bars flavored either chocolate or banana and quite delicious. He went for Cherry Ripes which are like Almond Joys but with a cherry in the middle. When we arrived in Avoca Beach, which is a couple hours outside of Sydney, I was in awe of the beautiful homes and suburbs. Although it’s rare to find an ostentatious, gated community in Oz, there are some neighborhoods like this particular one which looks impressive but family friendly. We’ve checked out the real estate posters from town to town and noticed that in Australia, you generally pay a half million dollars for something that may be only $90,000 in America.

We are staying at Ian’s brother’s (Murray) and his family’s house for the week. His wife Jeanette and their kids Matthew (17), Nicole (16) and Brooke (15) are the kindest people ever. We got settled in and walked to the gorgeous beach and had some fish and chips at the place Nicole works. The rest of the afternoon we walked along the beach and neighborhoods, and got a feel for the area. Avoca is absolutely amazing. Friendly atmosphere, beautiful hikes and beaches, hilly landscape with forest and farms, and city life close by.

We had a bbq dinner and caught up with everyone about our semester. It was so nice to be a part of a family again and it’s incredible to feel so at home.