The 1000 Day Holiday

Well post byron I did another mission drive.

Byron -> Hervey Bay.
I stopped in Brisbane to watch a movie tho.
Im such a scooter driver. I never comprehend what parking signs really mean. Im used to parking anywhere for as long as I want.

So I arrived in brisbane. found a park on the street (2P) and was astounded that it cost to park in places in byron but not brisbane.

walked to cinema, thinking that that just cant be right.
watched ‘closer’ about a 4 way sex triangle. made me laugh and I left in a really good mood. I even thought on the way back that I would have a ticket for exceding 2hours.

I didnt really mind this idea, as i was getting better at parking a vehicle.

So when i turned the corner to see it stuck to my windscreen I wasnt too bothered.

When I read it, failure to display ticket in pay & display area, I could only laugh.
I had only looked for the meter that is at every park. Not one of those silly ones where you have to get the ticket and put it in your windscreen.

still. I havent had one in Sydney for parking scooter on footpath for several months. And i average one of those every 3 months @ $70. so this at $50 I can still giggle at.

One day i will be proficient on legally parking a vehicle in a city.

second day of diving cancelled due to weather.
I have decided to head north, and do the remaining 2 days of diving on my way back south. Otherwise I dread being stuck in byron for ages and not getting to see the places I want to.

Well after getting up @ 6am this morning for the first dive @ Julian Rocks. The dive has been delayed till tomorrow due to bad weather. V Frustrating. And now it has also foiled my backup plan of popping back up to surfers for some flat water kiting. 24 knots of wind & 37 knot gusts already & its only 7am.

time to find out what there is to do in byron.

well Ive done my first day of the day open water course.

All i have seen so far is a small pool, but its fun nonetheless.

and apparently (according to a travel guide tourist chick) that julian rocks where all our open water dives are is in the top 10 of spots in Aussie.

I found it hilarious that the lecturer said you shouldnt climb any mountains greater than 2.4km highwithin 24 hours of diving. Lucky Aussies highest mountain is Mount
Kosciuszko, 2228m PFFT!

Staying in the ArtsFactory. Seems to be quite groovy. But I miss all the activities like making a diggereedoo.

Schweet

Well, A huge nite was had in Byron.

met up with Martin ~7 and headed to Cheecky Charlies -> Beach Hotel -> railway hotel -> and back to the high quality that is Cheekys.

Ended up on stage in a contest to win a scuba dive course.
about 8 on stage, pick heads or tails, and if you loose remove 1 item of clothing.

I managed to beat them all, and retained my boxers.
So now I have the four day course starting Monday.
Wooohoo!

Was something I was keen to do at some stage, and now i can do it for free! Apparently Byron has some of the best diving in Aussie 🙂

back on the GC for the weekend, since I figure that 4 more days in byron will be enough.

The number of days remaining in my holiday is disturbingly low. a Lowly 17 if I return to Sydney on the 7th as planned.
Will have to plan where Im going to go.

At this stage I will only go as far north as Hervey Bay, then work my way back down the coast.

The wind is finally NE, so I’m heading out to Currumbin Alley for a kitesurfing session.

Im finally leaving the comfort of a proper bed on the Gold Coast (and flat waters for Kitesurfing) for Byron/Lennox Head.

Im not sure how much kiting I will manage down there with the prevailing Southerly winds. Im sure I will find somewhere.
I cant believe I still haven’t kited right outside my door here, Currumbin Alley. Its due to swing NE this afternoon, so maybe I’ll hang around for that just so I can say I’ve done it.

With T moving back to Brisbane, we now have a new flatmate moving in on Sat. A fellow kiwi.

Haven’t met/talked to her yet.

Huge expanse of water. Great spot NE/SE shallow for ~800m from shore (you can stand up)

the only drawback is if you cant stay upwind then you have to walk back in the water, as the beach is only 80m long. the rest of the shore is a surf break wall.

The wind on the day I went out was lucky to break 10knots. So most people didn’t even bother setting up. I went out on my 17m yarga for a run. hard work keeping the speed up, and ended up downwind and a trek back through the water.

But at least I got to have a go there.

Quite a large group of local kiters, and 2 shops use the spot for lessons.

Had another great day on the water, and now have no problems staying upwind.

Thats the only drawback of kiting compared to Snowboarding, you have to work for the fun.. there isn’t a chair lift for an easy ride 🙂

The Broadwater is a great place in NE/SE and you coul probably find a spot for E as well.
quite shallow, and at high tide there wasn’t much launching space.
but great for learning.

The Lens now refuses to emerge from the body, and the screen correctly tells me that there is a lens error.

This is not of much use when I have another month of holidays. And my warranty is back in Sydney.

Grrr, not a happy camper.