On the train on the way to Yamba I had this wave of extreme happiness and comfort hit me. My iPod on shuffle was playing all of the perfect songs, there were kangaroos everywhere, beautiful scenery and everything just felt right. I even saw a kangaroo and her joey (baby) hopping across a field! I'm turning into a damn hippie ;) Not really but I am feeling so grateful for this experience and also what I have back at home. I miss home already because I love Boise and what I have there but this is such a great experience and I'm not ready to go home yet!
We stayed another night in Byron Bay before heading to Yamba and what a day it was. Our plan was to just walk along the beach to find a spot to lay out and soak up the sun. We wanted to swim but it was SO windy so that wasn't going to happen. While we were trying to find a spot in the bay that was a little blocked from wind we noticed this big Sea Turtle on the beach way out of the water. We walked over and just assumed it was sunbathing too and just watched it and took photos along with another German couple. We noticed it had barnacles all over it and looked extremely exhausted. Whenever the wave would hit it it would try to swim but very pathetically and just kept getting pushed further and further up shore. I'm no expert but there was no doubt in my mind this turtle was struggling. So another local couple walked up and the lady agreed something was wrong and ran to get her mobile phone to call animal rescue and we waited for at least an hour for them to show up. When they got there they said judging by the amount of barnacles on it and it's condition it either ate some plastic (very common I guess) or had parasites and had been floating for at least 6 weeks without being able to eat while floating to shore. They wrapped it up in this portable blanket with straps and said they'd be taking it back to a shallow tank to let it relax for the night before starting any tests and if all went well they would eventually release it back into the ocean at the same spot it washed in. I guess they have done that with many other turtles successfully :)
After the turtle rescue we continued to walk down the beach to the lighthouse (lots of stairs when you get off the beach!) and the lookout points. At the top where the lighthouse was we could see giant humpback whales breaching (jumping out of the water and splashing) and you could see the spray come up when they would surface to take a breath. Pretty amazing! Ive never seen whales in the wild so we were pretty stoked about it.
We stayed that night at the Arts Factory again and ill be honest, once the novelty of sleeping in a bungalow outside wears off its kind of a dump! The people who stay there also seem to be a lot of locals and after talking to the bus driver I guess a lot of them just collect unemployment and stay at these places without trying to get a job. And they all claim to be peaceful hippies or at least look like they came straight out of woodstock Not the nicest of people and every little thing costs you extra money. Their special at the bar was $14 cocktails. Hah! Anyway, we were ready to go in the morning after a night of not sleeping well due to tons of weird noises and people partying all night. The wind was also really strong so I was sure we were either going to die from a tree falling on us or get attacked by what sounded like those dinosaurs that kill the fat guy in the first Jurassic park. You know, the one that spits goo and has a giant fan-like thing around its head.
The hotel we are staying at in Yamba has the BEST view of the ocean and these cool rocks with little cave like holes carved into them from the waves crashing. We laid around all day on the rocks and watched dolphins swim around the cove for hours. There is a bar downstairs that had live music playing until late and some young travelers with no concept of how to be respectful in a hotel when it's really early in the morning but I find joy in the fact I still wake up at 5:00am while they are just probably falling asleep and become giddy at the idea of stomping loudly through the halls on my way to the toilets and laugh inside when the heavy doors just happen to slam. Muahahahaha! I did happen to wake up just in time to watch the most beautiful sunrise I've ever seen and also found a 50 cent coin on the ground (yesss!) so that was exciting. Jeff and I are obsessed with this seafood place down the hill called Wato's and they have 50 cent fish balls. We have gone there 3 times in a day and a half!
This morning we were supposed to leave for Wollongong and we had made a reservation on the bus but apparently since we didn't print the ticket they cancelled our booking? So we are here for another day/night in Yamba (at least it's beautiful and the room is only $40 a night). Today after walking 20 mins to the bus stop and going through that we walked back, got a beverage and then went and laid on the beach all afternoon. Rough life, I know. We also video chatted with Trevor, Elanna, Ricky and Violetta which was fun! Good to see their faces for sure.
Tomorrow we have about 13 hours of travel on a bus (couldn't get on a train this weekend) so wish us luck and that there are no screaming babies on board ;)
Thanks for the quick trip to Australia :) Your trip sounds amazing and is complete with loud, disrespectful partiers (hostel life!). That turtle makes me so sad! I keep thinking about him, but it's so good to hear they do this all the time successfully so hopefully he'll be back out swimming soon. And he's lucky to get people like you guys instead of some other people who could've crowded him and not known what to do, he caught a break :) Your pictures are lovely, the trip sounds amazing, and you just started! Thanks for sharing :)
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