Unfortunately for us, we don't own a VW Microbus and renting campervans is not as cheap as it should be. By time you factor in the extra fuel consumption, campsite fees and rental costs you break even with cheap flights and basic motels. However, given the long distances that people frequently cover in Oz, there are a lot of one-way rentals which means they need to get back to their place of origin.
Hello campervan relocation schemes! If you've got a bit of flexibility and can plan at the last minute, you can get a one-way relocation deal which usually means you get the campervan for $1 a day so long as you get it back to the home city by the required date - the best deals even include a fuel allowance.
Anyway, Ian managed to get a Brisbane to Sydney relocation on the Tuesday morning and by Friday morning we were headed for the airport. We had a fab night out in Brisbane where everyone is super fit and falls into one of two categories - hipster or homeless chic.
Early the next morning we collected our wobbly wheels and knocking barely 2 hours and 200 kilometres off the 11 hour/1000km journey home we nipped out of Queensland just back over the border into New South Wales and parked ourselves at the Brokenhead Holiday Park at Byron Bay for the next two nights. (*No one availed themselves of the Chemical Dump Point during out stay. Phew.)
In this fairly populous corner of Oz, beach camping and sleeping in laybys etc. is strictly prohibited and even more strictly enforced. So we joined dozens of other holidaymakers who also had the brilliant idea to live outdoors less conveniently and practically on top of each other in what some countries would probably be considered a well-organised refugee camp. This desire to camp in such close quarters with complete strangers has always slightly baffled me, but Australians are so good-natured that within about 10 minutes you're best friends with your new neighbour as you stand outside with a beer admiring each others wheels and swapping traffic notes.
Byron Bay is a big destination in Australia - and rightfully so. The scenery isn't as dramatic as some spots along the West Coast, nor does it feel particularly remote (because it isn't), but it is still undeniably beautiful.
Given Byron Bay's huge popularity two things struck me immediately:
- There are virtually no permanent structures on any of the beaches in the area. A few have tasteful holiday cottages owned by the Park Service, but even they are set back into the treeline enough that they are barely visible. No concrete monstrosities here. Amazing.
- We did not see (and I do not exaggerate) a single piece of garbage or litter the entire time. If Switzerland had a coast, this is what it would be like.
To be honest those two factors alone were more than enough to win me over, but the hikes and beaches are pretty stunning too. After two surprisingly comfortable nights in our van and far too much red wine and red meat we began our journey back south. Our plan was to do the rest of the journey in a single blitz, but we did want to make a quick detour just south of Coff's Harbor to check out the fabled Waterfall Way.
Considered a top scenic drive in NSW, this route is more Ferngully than Baywatch and makes for a pleasant if abrupt change of scenery. Turning away from the coast you head into the hills of Australia's Great Dividing Range (it's not as dramatic as it sounds, more Appalachian than Rocky) but the route shoots you into the Gondwana Rainforest - a World Heritage Site and the most extensive subtropical rainforest in the world. Unfortunately our exploration time was pretty limited, but we did head into Dorrigo National Park to check out the Rainforest Centre and even squeezed in a quick 3km hike to one of the Park's prize waterfalls (we'll be back for more in the future).All too soon we were back on the road and headed south as clouds gathered over the distant Pacific and the sun set behind the hills of the Great Dividing Range.
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