Gratfon, Coffs Harbour.....

After what seemed like the longest winding road through the country, we arrived in Nimbin, famous for its 'back to the land' culture and ideals. The town was very small, so we had a quick look in the museum (where we watched a DVD of the police drugs bust in April 2008) and grabbed some lunch before the journey down to Grafton, from where we would look to head into the rainforests.

We arrived in Grafton late afternoon and found a pub on the Clarence river with simple, clean accomodation. That evening Tom ate what I can only describe as the biggest steak I have ever seen (he would like me to add that he finished it too). Next morning we headed for Washpool, for an 8.5km walk through the rainforest (some was temperate rainforest, some dryforest), which was great news for my ankle athough it coped admirably. We ended the day sitting on the top of Anvil Rock, with stunning panoramic views of the landscape (Tom and Roz took some photos of the lego characters which have accompanied them since Cologne). That evening we dined in a deserted Chinese restaurant where I sample yet another variety of beer (so far Tooheys New, VB, Crown, Hahn, Blue Tongue, Coopers, Cascade, Little Creatures; Blue Tongue current favourite).

The next morning we looked to hire some canoes to explore Susan Island, although the hire shop was actually just someones house; someone who wasn't at home, so after breakfast by the river we decided knock that on the head and travel down to Coffs Harbour.

On route was The Big Banana, a banana theme park on the edge of the highway, It was voted the worst tourist attraction in NSW in 2007, so worth a look. It would seem there are many 'Big' attractions throughout Oz, the only criteria is that they need to be made of plastic, and bigger than the real thing. Pretty stringent stuff! We rode some tobogans which was fun before hitting the beach.

In true Aussie style we decided a beach-barbie was the choice for dinner. Midway through the first round of sausages we were approached by three local (and drunk) guys, who were facinated with the iPod, and also with the ability to grill crisps on a barbeque, which they seasoned with sausage fat and rum. We were forced to taste them. Not great. They were very amusing company and happily regaled the story of their friend, who had only minutes earlier been arrested for urinating in public in the vicinty of a family and their children. Whilst we found this hilarious, the mother of the children not so......

We then spent the rest of the evening drinking beers on the beach under the moonlight, beats a beer garden any day....