Oct 2006

So today the boys and I got jobs. What a stupid idea that was. We were flipping hamburgers and making carnival food at the Indy 300 race for 10 dollars and hour. The reason I put all that into past tense is because we promptly quit when our shift was over. The good thing is we got some passes for the Indy this weekend which are valued around 150 bucks. As always being on vacationing and working proves to be a bad idea. Our group of five has turned into a group of ten at the moment. It’s a little hectic traveling with this many so we will see how long it lasts. The five originals are going on a self drive safari on Fraser Island soon which should be a good time. Fraser Island is a huge sand island that you can camp and snorkel on. Can’t wait!!

hair dresser
mrs. suzen do you approve?
chef
wine coniseur
pimp? nahhh
mexican

So as you can see I have been a busy guy the past couple of days. I have become a travel hairdresser and that’s how I am now funding my trip. My first victim I mean customer was tom who was quickly obliged to me cutting his hair after I told him “I can do it my best friends mom is a hair dresser". I don’t think I will hear the end of that one from all the boys’ ha-ha. Byron bay is great and we have had a lot of fun lately. the only down part is that every morning we are woken up by the police around 6 am telling us to move from where we slept the night before. Thankfully we got away with it this morning and I got a decent sleep in our luxurious ford Fairmont. When we go to clubs the bouncers have to ask what hostels you stay in for surveys and they are a little confused when we say the Fairmont. Tomorrow we are going to the gold coast for the Indy races and then making our way to cairns to dive and fish the Great Barrier Reef. No crazy locals here trying to kill us but have met plenty of very nice ones. it seems just as in south Africa that people have no problem befriending strangers who are traveling through their town which doesn’t occur to often at home. Oh and don’t worry mom I haven’t started turning tricks with the ladies. Halloween is coming up which is weird because it is the first of a few holidays I will miss at home. The boys and I haven’t decided yet what to dress up as but we are leaning towards different tourists such as Japanese, euro American and Brazilian. Halloween isn’t really celebrated here so we could become one of the odd balls who walk around town. Cheers Nick

Yesterday on the way to Byron bay we stopped for a night in Nimbin. The town of Nimbin is known for still being in the 70's and has the feel of a commune somewhat apart from the rest of the country and the gov't. we all thought this would be a great experience and be able to sample some of the local flavor that is a much different atmosphere than anywhere else in oz. our decision to go to nimbi was quickly shown to be a stupid one when we were woken up at 3 am by a local who was on some sorts of drugs and tried to force us out of our cars. He had a knife and was telling the euros they had 5 seconds to get out of the car or he would stab them in the head and light the car on fire. A very scary situation especially because of the the fact that the police force on Nimbin is almost obsolete. We quickly gathered our things and get the hell out of town and slept on the outskirts off of the highway. We went back this morning to report a complaint with one of the only two police officers in town and made our way to Byron bay which is where we are now. This town looks great especially since one of the best waves in oz is out front. Brock and I are having a great time traveling together and I am loving all of the in-depth convos that we have while driving and they are definitely great ways to make me think about things in life and how much I appreciate things.

campin in the beach parking lot
the euros and i
takin in a shower in town center
kangaroo rihgt next to our car where we slept
sittin by the fire
dont i make you proud mom?

Brock and I have added a few more people to our travel squad. I like to call them the euros. The euros are made up of tom (British), Andy, and mono (both Irish). Very fun and entertaining guys. It was funny how we met them. We were setting up camp in a random parking lot when they pulled up and started doing the same thing as us. we ended up having a good night out on the town with them in port Macquarie an otherwise boring town until we rolled through and by the end of the night were denied entrance into three bars ha-ha. The first night Brock and I spent in the car was at diamond beach, a very "bogen" town (redneck) kind of like a run down new Smyrna. We parked in a public park next to a house that by chance had a party going on where we quickly were invited into and had a great time with some very hospitable locals. As you can see from the pictures we have had to go to all sorts of resorts to take showers and such, our best bet so far has been sneaking into caravan parks and takin hot showers whihc believe me is a luxury on the road. At the moment we are on the way up to Byron bay about another 4 hours up the coast with the euros. Byron bay is known as being a very laid back surfer/hippy town so it should be interesting the next 3 or four days while we are there. After that we are planning on going up to the gold coast for the Indy races which start on the 19th. This should be fun and it has a reputation as being a huge gathering with the town about doubling in population for the weekend. Last night we parked at hat head national park and made a big bonfire on the beach and had a great time. As you can see we got a little crazy with jumping over the fire but it was a good time. I also saw my first kangaroo here right next to where we were sleeping in our car. They are amazingly big animals and are awe inspiring as you can imagine. We were quickly kicked out of the parking lot this morning by the rangers because of the fact that it is illegal to sleep in your car. Our plan is to still make it up to the Great Barrier Reef by the end of the month and hopefully go diving and fishing. I still love life on the road though I am starting to miss home. Can’t wait to see the family when I get to Costa Rica.

starting a big night out in Sydney
opera house


heading to the secret spot
Pete and I about to go surf
our home

We left Sydney and went to my mate Pete’s house up the coast in Avoca beach in the central coast. Pete showed us some great hospitality and even took us to one of his secret surf spots which took a lot of hiking down cliffs and through a national forest. We left this morning after getting our lovely car situated and are currently in new castle with no plans and no idea where we are going. Looks like it could be a very interesting few weeks with Brock. Stay tuned

p.s. you can also check Brock’s travel blog for a different perspective on our trip http://gbrockmag-ri.travellerspoint.com