92.-96. Day 16.12. - 20.12. On the way to Carina Part 2

Sunday 16.12.

After breakfast, I said goodbye to Natascha, maybe see you again. I continued to the Gold Coast, more specifically Surfers Paradise, a district. Gold Coast is just like Miami, high-rise buildings right on the beach, busy and lots of people.

It was exactly like that and it is quite an impressive sight. Since the weather was not good, I decided beforehand to pick up a travel mate and take him with me to Byron Bay. Mickael, a Frenchman, had been in Surfers Paradise for 3 months, took an English course and partied a lot. We had a fun drive to Byron Bay, where I dropped him off. I also took a quick look at Byron Bay. It is a really pretty town, but because of the weather I continued to a rest area inland. There I met 4 girls from Cologne (18 years old and high school graduates), once again German girls. We played a little Wizard, a card game with fun factor, and chatted a bit. Then it was off to bed.

Monday 17.12.

In the morning I met Rickie and Noel, a couple in their 60s from Australia, who are just traveling around. They gave me some tips and also told me a wonderful story about a friend. The friend is 65 years old and from Canada, rented a motorcycle a year ago and traveled all over Australia and Tasmania on the motorcycle. At 65, that's pretty much the most impressive thing I've ever heard. She also wants to travel all of England alone on a motorcycle. For me, it was only a few kilometers to the next place to sleep, because I made an appointment with Carina to meet her uncle Peter and his girlfriend Petra in the coming days.

Tuesday 18.12.

I drove south towards Grafton, a very beautiful city on the Clarence River. There I stocked up on supplies and then continued south. My destination would be a campsite near Peter's house, but the weather had other plans. I saw a flashing warning sign in front of me 'Caution Flood - Oara Bridge impassable' OK, so either I can still drive through, or I thought to myself, I'm standing in front of a flooded bridge, which is also an experience. Guess which case occurred.

So I made a U-turn and drove past Grafton to a small spot behind a pub, where they offered camping for $10. There I met Jo-Anne and Steve, a couple from England, who are traveling the world and driving through Australia with their motorhome. We exchanged many stories and had a few cool beers together.

Wednesday 19.12.

I went fishing with Jo-Anne and Steve for the first time in a long time, but besides Jo-Anne's eels, we didn't catch anything. And we didn't want eels.

In the afternoon, I did some sports, played soccer and repaired my surfboard.

Thursday 20.12.

In the morning, the two of them said goodbye and I went fishing. I caught a catfish and an eel, which I released back into the wild. At noon, I treated myself to some fish and chips and enjoyed the good food at the pub.