No more hippies

After the last few days in seclusion and in the middle of nowhere, the place Byron Bay was like a culture shock! Everything full of colorful birds, backpackers and surfers, pubs, restaurants and small shops, street music etc. So quickly you are (again) in a different world!

To recover from the hard work of the past few days, we took it easy here. A little bathing, a few walks, a little city stroll, good food, a nice little reggae concert, a few beers in the sun...

After three days in Byron Bay we drove to Nimbin, a 450-inhabitant town surrounded by green hills and forests. Nimbin is the only place in Australia where the sale and consumption of marijuana is tolerated. As mentioned in the previous post, a hippie festival took place here in 1973. Many of the visitors at that time stayed and tried to create a place of peace and live out the ideals addressed at the festival. Among the now somewhat older former festival visitors, who sit around everywhere in the cafes and on the streets seemingly doing nothing, some pretty creepy characters can be found. It seems not only grass is consumed here...

The place itself is still very beautiful with its colorful and unusual houses and residents and the great surrounding landscape.

When we were sitting in a café at the end of the day, with 'Peace and Love' written in large letters above the door, we witnessed a heated argument between the owners, complete with shouting and tears!

So, not everything is as peaceful in the (supposed) paradise after all...