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Friday was our last day at surf camp. It's been a really good little course. Met some lovely people, (even Marvin the Dutchman turned out ok, although he felt the need to start every sentance with the phrase 'I must say though...'), had loads of laughs, camped out with the Kangaroos, munched on outstanding food and even managed to do a mid-surf head-stand on my board for the last day's surfing competition - yes, I'm now a professional surfer of the highest standard! Sorry, I dont have a photo - but it did happen - honest!

Cheeky Byron

Ricklivesey
2006-08-31 12:08:02

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Friday was our last day at surf camp. It's been a really good little course. Met some lovely people, (even Marvin the Dutchman turned out ok, although he felt the need to start every sentance with the phrase 'I must say though...'), had loads of laughs, camped out with the Kangaroos, munched on outstanding food and even managed to do a mid-surf head-stand on my board for the last day's surfing competition - yes, I'm now a professional surfer of the highest standard! Sorry, I dont have a photo - but it did happen - honest!

I'm currently in Byron Bay, which is a lovely little town, populated almost entirely by backpackers, who, like us, flock each night to Cheeky Monkeys bar for cheep grub, beer and table top dancing.

On Sunday, a few of the girls from the Surf Camp and myself jumped on a little half day tour to Nimbin. I'd not even heard of the place till getting here. In a former life it was a sleepy dairy town, but in 1973 the Aquarius Festival, (a large gathering of pot-smoking hippies), was held in the town and since then it's been the unofficial marijuana capital of Gillan, Jasinta, Me, Katerine and MarvinOz. It turns out the police tolerate the almost-public buying and selling of the drug on the proviso that harder drugs are kept off the supermarket shelves. We stopped for an hour, which was probably enough to buy some space cakes, admire the tye-dye, rainbow flags and very weird museum.

On the way back, our tour guide, Matt, took us to swim in a beautiful waterfall. Unfortunately by then it was pouring down and we all looked like crazy fools, dressed in just our swimmers running down the street in the pouring, freezing rain, shivering, charging through a muddy forest to then leap off a huge 20ft rock into a icey pool. Still, it was good fun and very 'The Beach', just without the sun.

Wish I could stay in Byron longer, but it's quite pricey and so I've booked my bus upto Brisbane for May day.

I should just put this little note in to give you some idea of the joys of travelling:
I'd been staying in a 4 bed dorm at the Backpackers Inn, which is a beautiful hostel, well equipped and well laid out. Normally I alway go for the bottom bunk bed, if possible, then you can store all your stuff under the bed and it's easier to get in and out without flashing your bollocks to the person on the bottom bunk when you climb into bed. Anyway, it must have been about 4 or 5 in the morning when I woke up to the sound of retching in the room. It's not a pleasant sound, and I sat up, instantly worried, wondering what was going on, and why the bed was shaking. No sooner had I sat up when a shower of vom came raining down from the top bunk, all over my arm, sheets, pillow and clothes that I'd left by the bed. A torrent of various expletives shot from my mouth as I jumped out of bed, pushed my clothes away and ran to turn the light on, but there was no point in kicking up a fuss, the Sweedish guy was in a right state, dangling half off the bed, barely able to open his eyes. He slurred endless apologies and seemed very relived I wasn't kicking his head in, but that's not really my style, and I was satisfied the next day when, (at my request), he paid for my laundry.

Lovely hey? I think I'm a top-bunk convert.