After spending a few days catching up with our good mate Paul aka "Drabs", from the salmon farm we worked on in Scotland... yes it's true, I really did work on a salmon farm, we headed north-east to Brisbane, to catch up with some of Ben's friends. Packing our tent, eski (cool box) & assorted camping gear, we were planning to journey inland from there to a "secret" location, just outside of Toowoomba, a small city, about an hour an a half west of Brisbane. The reason - "Bush Mosh". Created last year, Bush Mosh brings together a talented group of Australian musicians, who originally met at University in Toowoomba itself. In short, it's a mini festival, out in the bush, with BBQ, beer & bugs... Oh and not forgetting of course the iconic festival portaloos.
After waking early (and surveying the aftermath) we headed for the highway & south east towards the Gold Coast, bypassing fields & hills in search of the sea again!!! I was pretty excited at this point, as a trip to the sea isn't so easy since we're now a couple of hours from it. It does make me miss being able to jog down to Poole Harbour, or along Bournemouth sea front. We arrived on the Gold Coast just as dusk was setting in, so we headed straight for our campsite, located just minutes from the beach and beside a beautiful river/creek, in an area called Tullebudgera.
The next day we headed out, bought some fishing rods, tackle & bait & went off in search of fish! It wasn't long before we were catching Bream, Flathead, Whiting, Tarwhin & Sole... Sadly, they were all just under size, so back into the water they went. My calls of "Go tell your big brothers about us" unfortunately didn't work.
It was great to chuck some steaks on the barbie, (since there were no fish to grill!) in the evenings & to eat outside in the warmth, under the stars. I hear it's pretty cold in the UK just now & you've been having freak weather again, so just to rub it in - it was about 20 degrees until 9pm! Having said that, we were in bed most evenings by 8.30pm, meaning we were up by 6am and off out - fishing!
Now I would never have seen myself as someone interested in fishing - other than having worked with fish on the farm in Scotland, but I seemed to have quite a talent for it, either that, or beginner's luck. Over the next few days, Ben & I went fishing in several locations, each time, with me out-fishing him. My best being 8 fish to 2... or was it only 1????
Tuesday saw us head down over the border into NSW (New South Wales), to the legendary Byron Bay. It wasn't disappointing. The white sands, crystal clear, aquamarine water & bright blue skies...should I continue??? Yep, it was gorgeous! Sitting overlooking the bay, we enjoyed the customary fish 'n' chips, before going for a walk along the beautiful, long beach, afterwards heading up to Cape Byron & the lighthouse, to take in the amazing panoramic views.
Once again, we returned to the campsite, fished until we couldn't see the hooks or bait, then cranked up the barbie!
(To be continued.... I'm off to phone the UK for my Visa interview - hopefully the last hurdle...)
