Pottsville & Gold Coast

We left Byron Bay after a great morning surf at 'The Pass' and headed inland for a scenic drive and brief coffee stop in Nimbin. The drive was absolutely beautiful as we passed Mount Warning and Nimbin Rocks.

We arrived at Cabarita Beach in time for a picnic lunch and a walk along the headland - one of the nicest beaches we have seen on our travels! That evening we went to stay with Jen's long lost cousin Pete and his wife Miranda. We had planned to stay a couple of days, but we were made to feel extremely welcome and so ended up staying almost a week.

During the week we were treated to a great steak meal at Pete's restaurant, loads of unbelievable home-cooked food, and Premiership footy on the TV; not to mention the great company!

We spent one day on the Gold Coast where we visited Kirra, Coolangatta, and Burleigh Heads. Unfortunately, the conditions for surfing were slightly too big (we're not quite ready for 10ft barrels!) However, we had a great day watching the pros and eating huge ice creams! The Gold Coast was a bit too built up and touristy for us, so we decided that we would spend the rest of the week day-tripping back to Byron Bay where we knew the surf was going to be perfect.

The week didn't pass without incident! To cut lots of long stories short...

# Joe nearly had a heart attack after seeing an enormous fin metres from his board, only to realise with sheer jubilation that it was three dolphins that had come to have a play with the surfers - what an experience!

# Jen had two fights with the locals. One resulted in her losing a fin and half of her board, the other saw her literally pushed off her replacement hire board mid-wave and subjected to a torrent of abuse - the Kamakazee Kid is definitely back!

# The car broke down (boo). A hole in the casing leading to the radiator meant the car lost all its water and overheated. After pumping gallons of water into the car at regular intervals in an attempt to just get back to Pottsville, we failed on the last hill and had to be pushed into a locals driveway where we filled up the radiator with his hosepipe! Note to self, do not open radiator cap when car is overheated, it tends to explode with boiling hot mucky water - ouch! (Not to worry, car is now fixed).

All in all, great week, great surf, and the most comfortable bed since Kentucky! - Thanks Pete and Miranda xxx