The family (Nicole, Garrett, Emy, Shaughn, and I) decided it was time to get out of Lismore and see some more of Australia. We just didn't know where; to solve this problem, we just pulled up a map of the bus route. There is a train that goes from Casino to Sydney (Casino is only a 25 minute bus ride from Lismore) and it runs basically everyday. Along the way there are many stops and the closest/cheapest with a beach was Coffs Harbour. And this is how we decided where we were going to go for the weekend. Nicole found a great hostel so we booked it.
Our bus left Friday evening at 6:30. It was a short ride to Casino and then we were able to catch the train to Coffs. This was the first train any of us had been on so it was quite exciting. However, it was dark by the time we got on the train, so we were not able to see anything. We arrived at the Coffs Harbour train station a little after 10. From there we just had to walk a short way to our hostel. Once there we checked in and went straight to bed.
Garrett, Nicole, Emy and I were all in the same room. Shaughn unfortunately was not able to get in the same room as us because the hostel was full. The girls and I were very thankful we had Garrett with us though. We got into our room and there were two guys already asleep in there. One woke up and talked to us for a bit as we got ready for bed; the other guy stayed asleep. However, when we were trying to sleep, the guy that was still asleep started making a ton of noise and moving around. He seriously sounded like he was in a fight. In the morning we all just looked at each other with a questioning look. It was later decided that he has night terrors. The rest of the weekend he was referred to as the Thrasher.
Saturday morning we walked along some shops until we found this cute little coffee shop. There we got scones and coffee. Then we set out for this look out where you can see the whole harbor. It was an amazing view. While we were up there we tried to make a plan of action for our day. First on our list was to walk down to the harbor and go out on Muttonbird Island. It is more of a peninsula than an island, but we walked out on it and had the most amazing view of the ocean. From there we decided it was time to pay a visit to the beach. We walked down to the beach and went into the water. The air temperature was very nice, but the water was a bit chilly. Nonetheless we were too excited about being at the beach so we continued to walk in the water until we reached our resting point. There we lied out to catch some sun. The boys were the first to get into the water. Nicole soon joined them to jump some waves. Emy and I stayed on the beach just enjoying the sun. A large portion of our day was spent there, but eventually we decided it was time to venture back into town for a late lunch. As we were walking back we decided to look for sea shells. All of us found some pretty neat ones. Emy and I even found ones that fit on our fingers so we decided to make them be rings. Once in town we decided to go back to the coffee shop and just get something light. It was pretty late in the afternoon and there were still some things we wanted to see so we ate as we walked. Eventually we came upon the Botanic Gardens. Unfortunately we arrived at 3:45 and it closed at 4. Since we could not walk through the gardens we decided to walk back to the look out to watch the sunset. The sunsets so early here since it is winter so we almost didn't make it in time. Luckily we made it just in time and I am so glad. On one side we had the sun setting over the ocean on the other we had mountains with a sky full of colors as the backdrop. There we stayed for a while to soak in the beauty. Then it was time to find dinner. We found our way back to the main street and decided on a little Indian family restaurant. The food was delicious and very filling. Nicole, Emy, and I were able to save half ours for lunch the following day. After dinner we decided to go back to the hostel. There we sat up and talk until it was time for bed. The hostel was not full Saturday night so Shaughn was able to move into our room so that was much nicer than having the Thrasher.
Sunday we got up early and had breakfast at the coffee shop again. After breakfast it was time to go whale watching. This was my first time on a boat out in the ocean and it was very exciting! We saw quite a few whales and they were magnificent!! They are just so big and yet so graceful! The captain said that they were being a bit boat shy, but we were all pretty happy to see the ones we did. On our way back to the harbor some dolphins started swimming along the boat. They were so playful!! Once we returned to shore we went to check out some local markets. Earlier that morning we say bananas for sale so we wanted to get some. Unfortunately by the time we got there, the bananas we sold out :( We did get to try some fresh sushi which was delicious. There were some pretty neat crafts for sale too. It was fun to just look around. After that the boys went to the beach and Nicole, Emy and I went to the Botanic Gardens. This time we made it before it closed and we walked around for a good amount of time. The plants here are so beautiful!! I absolutely loved seeing them all. It is winter though so some of them weren't blooming yet. Hopefully everything will be blooming before we leave in October. From the gardens we went to the beach for some lunch and to find the boys. It was windy on Sunday so it was quite a bit chillier than it was on Saturday. We all just sat in the sand and ate our left overs. When it got too chilly we walked back into town for the boys to get some food. Emy, Nicole and I broke down and got chocolate banana smoothies. We decided this would be our last time enjoying bananas for awhile since they are $14 in Lismore. Then it was time to catch the train. We made it back to Lismore around 8:00 and we all went straight to bed. It was a fun but exhausting weekend.
Today is grocery day. We have not purchased groceries since before out camping trip so we literally have oranges and weet-bix. Hopefully we will get some laundry done and I suppose I should do some school work too.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment