Coffs Harbour & Yamba

So we arrived in Coffs Harbour pretty early in the morning and we went straight to MacDonolds, now not for what you might initially expect. So basically Bob, told us a hidden Aussie secret, that you can get ice cream for 30cents all day everyday. I can't believe we only found this out in Byron, we could have saved ourselves a lot of money. So here's the picture of our 30cents ice cream at 8.30am.

We found the beach as our first priority obviously and had a long walk by the sea before we found an island, I think it was called South Coffs which we decided to explore. 

 

It was really beautiful and the views were completed uninterrupted and there were no other tourists around so we felt like we had the island to ourselves. 

We stayed in Coffs Harbour to eat our packed lunch before heading to find our rest stop for the night. Only a short visit but we really enjoyed the walk. 

The following morning we arrived in Yamba, which I'm not sure is a very touristy place but the main beach was huge and there was no one around so we went for a walk, whilst watching the sun come up. 

Nath and I also this thing, which we find really funny. So you know how normal people write in the sand 'I love Sam' or 'B.R 4 C.L' well we think it's hilarious to write things like 'haemoglobin' or 'tables' because other people and the beach walk past and spend ages staring at it and just don't get it. Anyway I did actually write something normal. 

We didn't stay in Yamba for too long, as out initial aim was to spot dolphins on Pippa Beach but we couldn't spot anyway, so off we went. 

Xoxo

The Great Barrier Reef

We caught an early plane from Melbourne to Cairns and arrived in hot, sticky Cairns before lunch time. We checked in at Global Backpackers where we managed to get a check double room rather than a dorm. We then booked onto the Great Barrier Reef tour for the following day. For dinner we got a voucher from our hostel, for $6 for a main meal and a drink and went here as we hadn't yet done a food shop. 

The next day we got up early for our Great Barrier Reef tour and walked out to the jetty. The day included a introductory scuba dive. I have never been scuba diving, so I was ridiculously excited if not a bit nervous. Also at this point I was also a bit gutted that Nathan and I had not done the PADI course in Koh Tao, Thailand last year. As apparently it's the cheapest and best place to do it in the world, may have to make a return trip. 

We had a perfect day, the sun was shining and not too much wind so we assumed sea sickness could be avoided. However you'll soon find out this wasn't this case. We both took ginger sea sickness tablets to be on the safe side (NB.. Does not always work). 

Our boat took us out to the outer reef and we stopped at Norman's reef, which according to the travel guy was meant to be one of the best. We were the third group to go on the intro scuba dive so we went snorkelling to start with. Obviously taking with us our favourite toy, the GoPro. 

All suited and booted in our wetsuits, just waiting for the all go to jump in. 

So there was a video I wanted to post here, which was taken from the GoPro but it won't seem to let me, might only be possible on a computer. We had an awesome time snorkelling and saw lots of colourful fish and beautiful coral. 

After a half hour snorkelling session, it was our time to get into our scuba gear. Unfortunately the pictures of us in our gear was rubbish (taken by someone else) so I won't be putting it on here. And because it was our introductory dive, we weren't allowed to take any cameras underwater, as they wanted our full attention on the activity at hand. But luckily we had a professional following us around taking pictures, I have only 1 saved on my phone which I will share with you shortly. 

Scuba diving is a completely crazy experience and definitely nothing like I've ever experienced before. I was pretty nervous to be quite honest. The key point to remember was 'do not stop breathing', which they drilled into us. Sounds easy right? But I was then overthinking, what if I forget to breath! Obviously I didn't but it did make you panic. Every metre or so we went further underwater we had to pop our ears and the further we went down the more I felt in my comfort zone! 

It's a completely different world but I was fascinated, I felt like a mermaid. Because it was our introductory dive, the instructor took 4 of us down and we had to link arms with him the whole time, which gave us less freedom but it made sense, seeing as we weren't trained. He took us 10 metre below the surface and got us to sit on the sand and we held a starfish. Then out of no where this huge fish came over. I now know this is a humpback wrasse. It is pretty much a pet dog of the fish world, following all the divers around and we were allowed to stroke it's lips. This is my professional photo.

I mean talk about awesome!! We also saw lots of nemo fish! But before we knew it, it was time to come back to the real world. As soon as we reached the surface and had removed the breathing tube, Nathan felt really unwell. According to our instructor this is normal, as it is articifical air that we are taking it and people react differently to it. Stupid ginger tablets didn't work. 

Once we were back on the boat we were given the opportunity to go on a second dive, which would be longer as we didn't have to do any training but it would cost. I decided straight away I had to do it. And we were allowed to take our cameras down. Nathan opted out as he wasn't feeling great. 

The second dive was even better. We were allowed a lot more freedom and could swim by ourselves rather than linked arms with the instructor. 

This is my selfie with my scuba gear. 

This is my underwater selfie.

We saw a sea cucumber, a flat worm ( easily the most elegant thing I have seen which is actually a worm, wish I could upload a video), lots of colourful fish, some huge ones and lots of little ones. Don't ask me for names, because I have no idea. I was hoping to see a turtle but luck wasn't on my side. However I did see a reef shark, caught on video but not by picture. Luckily whilst I was scuba diving, Nathan went back in the water and did some more snorkelling. 

Just a quick tip, those of you that go underwater with your GoPro whether it is scuba diving or snorkelling or just playing in the sea or a pool. I'd really recommend buying a floatie device. It's bright orange and attaches as a back door onto your GoPro. That way if you drop it, it will still float and you've less chance of losing it. We also attached our extendable pole, which is perfect for getting up close and personal with the fish and for taking selfies without having to ask others for help. 

We had an incredible day on the reef and it's safe to say we were very tired on the trip back to Cairns.

Here's one last picture of Nathan feeling a lot better with his certificate.

Xoxo

Keeping you up-to-date

On our last days off, we spent a lot of money and time booking the next stage of our trip.

I finish work tonight and Nathan finish tomorrow, we have then booked a campervan (Lucky Campers) to leave Perth on Tuesday and travel 1600km to Exmouth (Northern West Australia). Our plan is to drive quickly there and then take it slow on the way back, as we have 10 days. 

We then return to Perth on the 15th, have the 16th in Perth before taking a lunchtime flight to Bali for 6 days, where we are staying in Seminyak. We return from Bali on the 17th and fly on that same day to Adelaide. 

In Adelaide, we plan to hire another Campervan to drive the Great Ocean Road to Melbourne for 4/5 days. We are then going to fly from Melbourne to Cairnes. Where we will hire yet another Campervan and drive down the coast to Sydney, before Nath flies home and I fly to LA.

Xoxo 

Where to go next?

So the plan was to stay here in Perth for a while to earn some loot before heading off to explore/experience the rest of Australia, which is so much bigger than I originally imagined. However we have decided to cut our time here shorter, as the pay is good, we've had plenty of hours and we have many places we want to see. 

So yesterday we handed in our week's notice and we will have both finished work by Monday 5th May.

After spending some time with Judi, Arthur and their daughter, Philippa they have convinced me that the left hand side of Australia is the best side (much like the competitiveness of the North and South of the UK)! Most people I know of that have travelled Australia have spent time driving the East Coast, so it's all that I really heard of doing! However there has always been a niggling at the back of my mind to do the none touristy spots. Which has now been enlightened by my recent discussions with Philippa.

It seems that Ningaloo (10hours north of Perth) is the untouched, untouristy version of the Great Barrier Reef. And rather than having to get a boat out like you have to at GBR you can apparently snorkel right off the beach. She also explained that the weather the further north you travel is so much better whereas now in Perth, the weather starts to get more 'wintery', however I'm not sure we have the same understanding of winter. After looking at a few guide books we have also discovered that this is the time to go swimming with whale sharks! Eek! 

So the plan is to travel to Exmouth and stop at the Pinnacles, Monkey Mia, Shark  Bay, Coral Bay, Cape National Park and Ningaloo. We will travel there and back via campervan in just over a week. The plan is then to fly out to Bali for a few days or so and then back to Perth for a quick stopover before heading to Adelaide via flight then driving up the East Coast to Cairns. 

Any tips on places to visit or see would be appreciated!! Thanks. 

Xoxo