Next stop Byron Bay

It's Thursday evening, 9th March, and I'm back in the Colonial Log Cabins YHA in Hervey Bay (pronounced 'harvey', by the way). I'm in the same cabin ('Possum Lodge'), the same room (118) and the same bed. What's more the bread and cheese that I left in the fridge in the common room on Monday is still there, so that's breakfast sorted.

I have to make an early start tomorrow morning. I'm getting the 6.15 (courtesy) bus from the YHA down to the coach station at Pialba in town, in order to get the 7.00 a.m. bus to Brisbane and from there to Byron bay, arriving at about 6.30 p.m. I'll be losing an hour along the way too as Queensland is an hour behind the rest of Australia - they don't have daylight savings time, 'cos they like to be different I think!

I want to do some more diving, amongst other things and when I was here on Monday I decided on three places that I'd like to go. Working north to south these were: Rainbow Beach, Byron Bay (and hippy dippy Nimbin) and Coff's Harbour. It seemed a bit unrealistic to think that I could visit three places in a week (I need to be back in Victoria to join Mark and Kim for the camping trip on Saturday 18th) and actually get to do anything - given the distances and travelling times. So, today I asked Tony, our Sand Island Safari tour guide for some advice. He said the Byron Bay was the best choice because it's a good place to use as a base: lots to do in Byron Bay itself, including diving, surfing and the Sunday flea market, and also it's a good place to use as a base for trips into the mountains.

Byron Bay it is then! I booked the Greyhound bus by phone early this evening - $86 (with backpacker discount). It only cost me $89 to fly from Sydney to Hervey Bay with Virgin Blue - a far greater distance. But I didn't have time to sort out flights.

By the way, I sent yet another email to Nigel Pope last week - an old friend of mine from the '70s (he even lodged at our house once when Gris was little and we lived at 79 Greenham Road in Newbury). I'd hoped to see him while I was over here. He teaches at Griffith University in Brisbane. He hasn't replied to any of my emails though. I left a phone message wth the Departmental Secretary 2-3 weeks ago too, but still nothing. It's very odd because he was communicating with me fine until about 2 years ago, then suddenly nothing. Oh well ... there's nowt so queer as folk!