Get Mellow in Bello

The YHA
see all photos »

Bellingen YHA is a little hidden heaven. I can't describe how great it is here. There's a balcony overlooking a beautiful landscape, yet we're a minutes walk from the trendy high street and brilliant supermarket (its strange but it seems there aren't many supermarkets in very central areas - like sydney. Just a hell of a lot of 7/11s.) It's so chilled out, there's a hammock and a geetar on the wall and the kitchen is brill and the rooms are spotless and comfy. There's a little tv area with sofas. It's like a hippy community house. Like in Easy Rider. Only cleaner. We've only been here a few hours so i don't really have any stories. We cooked pasta for dinner and bought yoghurt and cereal and the suchlike for mornings. I'm desperately craving that guitar... might have to indulge. Really wish we were staying here more than 2 nights. But we have a schedule to stick to. Must be in surfer's paradise by the 30th.

From the lookout
see all photos »

On the way here in a field there was a sleeping cow in a perfect circle of white birds with one perched on its back.

Yeah i really don't have much to tell. More later (plus, as usual, photos)  xxxx

We went tubing down the river which was pretty lovely. We saw a snake swim across in front of us that turned out to be a little lizard, and we saw a kingfisher. Getting in was a bit of a kefuffle but as soon as we were soaked and floating away it was fine. We went to this amazing old fashioned posh coffee house in the high street filled with odd characters. In the evening we cooked and chilled out and i talked to some boys from Norwich.

A waterfall
see all photos »

The next day we went on the rainforest tour. Our turtle man driver who was really cool in a nerdy way failed to inform us about the leeches until we got there. But we bravely set out for the 7k walk. We learnt a lot about strangler figs which grow around another tree and kill it so it rots away inside, then become trees of their own. And spikey plants. And things like that. I didn't get leeched but some other people did. That was gross. The guide talked to me about films for a looong time. And on the way back we played a filmstar game.

A turkey drinking tea
see all photos »

Then sadly we had to leave on the greyhound. Bellingen is such a chilled lovely place, we miss it. On the journey I couldn't sleep so watched the sunlight fade and the stars come out and listened to music and thought and thought. And it rained. But then we arrived at Byron Bay.