Byron Bay

Did I say the weather had turned to showers. Correction it turned to heavy rain for a night. A couple of the tents were a bit old and leaked a bit. The tents are canvas as some of us remember are not the most waterproof things in the world.

Haven't managed to get to a pc until today as we have camped in some sleepy spots which close very early.

Tuesday morning we went out to kayak with the dolphins. Most of us expected it to be a view of them from 1/2 a mile away. We saw nothing for the first 1 hour. Then the guide spotted them in the distance and asked us to paddle inland (away from them) which was a little strange. However, he knew what he was doing as they followed the current inshore, chasing the fish. We got about 50 m from them and they turned and went out again. The guide then had us paddle a few hundred metres along the coast and we waited. This time they came in right up to us and a couple went under our kayak. Fantastic experience to see them so close - about a dozen of them.

Byron Bay is a lovely place - my favourite place so far. Its pn the backpack route, has a number of older hippies hanging round, loads of srt shops and surf shops and also a great selection of restaurants and big houses. My favourite place so far. If you are interested have a look at Byron Bay on the web.

In the afternoon we went for a great walk around the cliffs to Australias most easterly point. Just like any coastal walk in Wales if you ask me, except for the views of the dolphins and surfers sharing the waves.

Wednesday we were up early for the 500km drive to Port Maquarie, where we visted a Koal Hospital - which was lovely and then did nothing else. Its a bit of a dead town really - as you guess when you see signs for 'elderley pedestrians'.

However, it is an area that koalas live so we saw 2 wild ones in our camp site..

Another blog to follow