Airlie Beach - Agnes Water - Rainbow Beach - Gold Coast - Nimbin - Norder Ranges National Park - Red Rock - Urunga - Crowded National Park - Bulahdelah - Sydney

Day 87: Sam and Julia on the road

The past 3 weeks have been warm and cold, exciting and relaxing, sunny and rainy, filled with nice people and great experiences.

The trip started with obstacles, as the clutch of our car broke down on our way from the first beach we visited together. On a Sunday, in the middle of nowhere. The next day was a public holiday and a lot of rain was forecasted. We camped on the side of the road for four days, got wet and dry again, and despite all the adversities, had a lot of fun. After that, things calmed down a bit. The car was repaired and we could continue.

We spent quite a lot of time on the road, with loud music and great observations. When we arrived at the Gold Coast, we took a vacation from our vacation. We visited the local amusement parks, rode roller coasters, and slid down water slides.

The drive to Nimbin, where we went next, was beautiful. In Nimbin itself, we couldn't find a suitable place to set up the camper trailer, so in the end we set up on a large parking lot and slept there. That was immediately met with incomprehension the next morning and we left earlier than planned.

What followed were several nights in the rainforest with big spiders, beautiful trees, lots of humidity, and a lot of peace and quiet. On one of our walks through the rainforest, Sam suddenly held me back and pointed to the ground. There was a large, coiled up snake lying there. After a moment of hesitation, we simply walked past it, the way back seemed too long. When I asked what kind of snake it was (Sam is Australian), he answered completely relaxed, 'Oh, it was just a python. It's not venomous.'

The subsequent stops were mainly aimed at getting closer to Sydney slowly but surely, where Sam dropped me off yesterday. For him, it's now time to go back home, for me, I'm going to Thailand for three weeks on Sunday. I'll be staying with a friend I met on Hawaii many years ago. It's a small world after all...

In this sense, I wish you a golden autumn and say goodbye for now!