Goodbye Australia, Hello America!

Before leaving Woolgoogla we had one last supper at our favourite pub the Seaview Tavern across the road from the Diggers rest for a quick one on Tuesday evening. The special meals there are very reasonable from $10 each which is not bad for 3 lamb chops. I think Phil was secretly hoping that we’d bump into Trev and his dog again but they were nowhere to be soon. Perhaps one night of our company was more than enough? It was early to bed and on Wednesday morning we packed our bags and left the motel just after 10am. Phil & I didn’t realise just how close Byron Bay, our final port of call, was to Woolgoogla but that was okay, we just took our time driving some of the journey on the highway and turning off at various creeks, rivers and pretty little towns. Some were what we have come to call them, ‘one horse’ towns but nonetheless they were all very pretty. It was just before 4 in the afternoon when we pulled into Byron Bay and we stopped off at a bottle shop to get some supplies before finding our way to Mick & Lynn’s where we’d arranged to stay the night. Byron Bay was a lot quieter than the last time we visited but the town was still buzzing even though it was late afternoon.

I’m not sure if Mick & Lynn actually invited us or whether we invited ourselves but either way it was great to catch up with them before leaving Oz and gave us a chance say goodbye. When we arrived Mick was busy doing stuff in the garden and Lynn was making her way back from a meeting in Coffs harbour. I admit, I did feel a little guilty landing them with us two reprobates as Lynn has been very busy at work lately and has had to travel to Sydney a couple of times since we were last in Byron Bay to visit her dad who has been poorly in hospital. Lynn made good time and got back home not much after 6pm but of course, we’d already got stuck into the beer by this time so we were a little ahead of her. The weather was warm and the mozzies were out in force but we had a great evening catching up on the under-cover back deck. Mick cooked steaks and sausages on the barbecue which we had with one of Lynn’s special salads and some very garlicky bread. And very nice it was too. Jeff was back from his tour so he also joined us for dinner. The red wine flowed and we finished the evening with a glass of cointreau and ice. Needless to say we all were a bit groggy the next morning, all bar Lynn, who was out at first light picking up supplies from the local farm market.

Whilst Lynn put on the coffee machine, Mick cooked up sausages, eggs and bacon on toast which went down very well after the night before. Jeff came by to pick up his surf board and Phil couldn’t resist taking a photo of him riding away on his bike with his board under one arm. God knows how he got on getting out of the drive and riding up the hill to the beach but I guess, where there is a will there’s a way. Before leaving, we gave Mick & Lynn back their map which we had borrowed; they gave us some invaluable travel tips when we came in January and with their advice we saw sights that we simply would never have found under our own steam. I am certain that we shall meet up again, whether it is on our native land, in Europe or in other far remote places on the planet. Thanks once again for putting us up guys, it was great fun as always!

We said our goodbyes and left Byron bay around quarter to ten. The plan was to leave early so that we could drop off our bags at the Soho www.sohobrisbane.com.au and then return the car. The roads were busy but we were soon in Brisbane. Unfortunately we’d completely forgotten all about daylight saving time in Queensland which meant we gained an extra hour! This didn’t matter much because the crappy sat nav was temperamental so we went round in circles but finally we found our hotel, got to a petrol station to fill up with fuel before eventually getting to the Europa office to return the hire car. This is third time we’ve been in Brisbane so we were easily able to find our way on foot to the centre of town where we stopped off for a drink and a toilet break before going back to the hotel to check in and get our room key. We always stay at the Soho in Brissie when we’ve been here and I’m sure Phil thought the reception staff would recognise him when he checked in, but of course they didn’t!

We couldn’t be bothered to walk back into town for something to eat, so lunch was a quiet affair at a little restaurant-cum-cafe just down from our hotel on Wickham Terrace. It was edible, cheap and cheerful fare but nothing to rave home about. For some reason we were feeling pretty jaded so we went back to our room to catch up with emails and book a hotel in Los Angeles. Our flight leaves Brisbane at midday but we don’t arrive in LA until 7am, bizarrely because of the time zones, we arrive in the US before our flight departs from Australia! Worst thing is, although it will be morning time when we arrive, in Oz time it will be 1am. The plan is to go straight to the hotel to get some sleep before deciding what and where to go from there.


Well this is our last evening before we leave Australia tomorrow. Am I sad? Well no, not really, it’s been a ball down under but the time has come to move on to pastures new. I think we’ve done pretty well driving practically the entire boomerang coast. I am sure there is much we have missed along the way and I would have liked to have got to Darwin, but all in all we haven’t done badly for first timers. There have been some highs and a few lows, although not too many of the latter I’m pleased to say. The highs include, connecting up with Jane & Ian in Melbourne, Philip Island, driving the Great Ocean, Road, seeing Sydney in the sunshine, Fraser Island, cruising the Whitsundays, chilling out at the white house in Townsville, Magetic Island (even if it did rain half the time) and staying at Byron Bay with Mick & Lynn. One thing I will miss is the friendliness of the Australian people; I just love their laid back approach to life, their directness and the way they tell it as it is. Out here, life is certainly a beach! We’ve met some great people along the way, and some hopefully that we will keep in touch with when we return back to England. As for the lows, well we have been unlucky with the weather at times, the speeding fines and bans weren’t planned and we had some miserable moments in Melbourne. The worst though was receiving news from Jim to say that Daphne had fallen and broken her fema resulting in surgery and worst still, hearing news of her subsequent heart attack. This is just a brief mention of some of the good and the bad so far, we will, no doubt, have much more time to say on the whole trip when we get back home and have time to reflect.


For now it’s, “Goodbye Australia, Hello America”!