23.07.19 - 29.07.19 East Coast Part 3 (from Newcastle to Brisbane)

After saying goodbye to Carlin and Bastian on Day 14 in the morning, we hit the road again. First, we made a small detour to see some of the famous Big Things. This detour also took us through the beautiful Hunter Valley, a famous wine region in Australia. Back on the coast, we were at the same time in the desert. The sand dunes at Stockton Beach make you feel like you're in the Sahara - right by the sea. After a late lunch, where we actually spotted another whale, it was time to set up our camp for the night. We camped in a forest, at a surprisingly large campsite. The great thing about camping in the forest is that you often see some curious wallabies hopping around, and a few kookaburras entertained us with their laughter. Since the valve on our gas hose is leaking, we had to skip a warm dinner and went to bed early as usual.

Day 15 started with a drive to the next town to have a coffee. Then we bought a new seal for the gas stove at a camping supply store and once again marveled at how convenient life could be ;). Before continuing up the coast, we made a detour inland and followed the so-called Waterfall Way, including a short hike through the rainforest. To avoid freezing too much at night, we set up our tent at a campsite in a small village. Not as beautiful location, but at least on the way and not as cold as in the mountains.

On Day 16, we first visited the small town of Bellingen, which looks very charming due to its alternative residents and treated us to a delicious pretzel from a Swiss bakery - Lea had been longing for it for a while. The next stop on this day was Coffs Harbour, where we took a walk on Muttonbird Island. The island and the weather made it perfect, and then... whales suddenly appeared again, over and over. It's just extremely impressive to observe these giant creatures (this time probably a mother with calf). We could hardly tear ourselves away and always thought we might be missing something. Unfortunately, they didn't jump. The next attraction on the program was the Big Banana, where we played a round of mini golf and then spontaneously enjoyed a 4D show, where we took a tour on the moon. We spent tonight on the lawn in front of a tavern in Lawrence, which offers campers accommodation for $10 a night. In the evening, the tavern was packed, not only with campers, but the whole village seemed to be there. We also enjoyed the cheap beer and the $10 schnitzels (well, Lea didn't...). On the campground, we seem to be a little attraction among all the seniors, and so people kept coming by to chat with us and give us tips for the rest of our journey.

On Day 17, we first visited the famous Byron Bay, where the rich and beautiful live. Here, the Acai Smoothie Bowl seems to be what the Egg and Bacon Roll is elsewhere. For us, it felt more like a big holiday resort and after a quick coffee, we moved on to arrive early at our next accommodation. We had reserved a cottage at Casuarina Beach for one night, where we could have stayed longer for sure. Unfortunately, it was still a bit too cold to go swimming.

On Day 18, we left our beautiful cottage again and after a detour to the Tropical Fruit World, where we took all the fruits we didn't know, we continued north. Hard to miss is the Gold Coast. A place that now consists of kilometers of high-rise buildings and is probably one of the most famous vacation spots for Australians and Chinese. It is also famous for all its amusement parks. We took a short walk along the crowded beach and strolled through a small market that took place on the occasion of a fun country festival. Our lunch was enriched today with the many different fruits, some of which were very tasty and some, well, interesting. Then we headed to Brisbane, where we would spend the next 3 nights. The rest of the day, the two of us strolled through the city, as Luki and Schtä wanted to go to a concert and we didn't feel like it. In the evening, we decided to go to the cinema and enjoyed The Lion King in super comfortable seats in a historic building, where the big halls used to be ballrooms.

Day 19 was spent strolling through the city center of Brisbane and taking it easy. We're not really enthusiastic about this city. On Day 20, Schtä and Luki drove out of the city to meet up with Schtä's cousin, who owns a vacation house there. We took a short trip to other neighborhoods until we strolled along the riverbank again and later met up with the two of them to have dinner together and share our experiences of the day. For dessert, we went to a famous 24-hour pancake restaurant, designed in the style of a knights' hall, and ate pancakes until we were almost bursting. The weather is really beautiful now, and we're looking forward to finally jumping into the sea, so we weren't really sad when the last night in Brisbane began.