We’re still in Katoomba. The weather has been a bit unstable during the last days but yesterday it was good enough to go for a little walk. We wanted to see the hanging rock. Even though that place made it to the cover of the Lonely Planet Australia (backpacker travel guide) it’s on none of the maps the local tourist information hands out. Main reasons for that are that the place is rather hard to reach and basically as dangerous as it looks on the picture.

On Monday I gave the wreckers in Lawson a call to ask if they’d have time to fit in the fuel pump. Unfortunately they forgot about it and asked me to call them back on Wednesday. I guess if you’re more laid back than an Aussie you’re gonna fall over. As I wasn’t too sure if they’d do it on Wednesday I asked the mechanic next door for a quote for fitting in the part from the wrecker.

Yesterday I stopped by a mechanic next door to the hostel. The car recently made some noises that made me suspicious about some damage on the wheel bearings. They asked me to come around Saturday morning and they’d have a look at it. This morning I got in the car to drive it over to their place. It started a bit rough but I never started it at temperatures this low (12° night time) before.

Thursday morning started with a nice sunrise over Birdie Beach. The sight was spoiled a bit by six oil tankers lined up along the coast. But as I’m driving 1.5t of petrol powered steel thousands of kilometres through the country I can’t really complain about seeing some tankers. I left the camp site around half six and hoped to reach Sydney before rush hour kicked in. It didn’t work, for two hours I was stuck in the worst traffic I ever experienced.

70km or two hours west of Sydney lie the Blue Mountains. They got their name from light reflecting off vapours from eucalypt trees which gives everything in the distance a blue touch. The mountains aren’t really mountains but rather gorges that have been formed over the last couple of million years. Rock climbing probably is quite popular in the area. I had a really relaxed day with some easy walks, sitting on lookouts and catching up with emails at the hostel.

Today I woke up to the sound of rain drops. Sleeping in a car definitely has its advantages. By the time I had decided to get up it had stopped raining. After saying goodbye to my kangaroo neighbours I was on the road again. My destination for today was the Hunter Valley near Syndey. It’s famous for its wineries and I intended to stay there for the night before driving into the big city.

After leaving New Italy in the morning my next destination was the New England national park. After the time at the coast I wanted to see some mountains and the national park is just right for that. I got some information about the park at the Visitor Information Centre (VIC) in Grafton and they predicted unstable weather for the area. No risk no fun and thus I drove up 1563m to the Point Lookout.

Today it was time for us to leave Mullumbimby. We had a really nice and relaxing time there even though the place was only quiet when the kids weren’t around. On Sunday we spent our last day on the markets in Byron Bay. They’re held monthly and offer a wide range of local and international products. One shop even offered “Traditional German Bratwurst”. I gave it a try and it really wasn’t too bad.

Earlier this year Hiro spent more than two months as a voluntary worker (WWOOF) with a family that lives near Mullumbimby. Mullum is near Byron and likewise a refuge for alternative lifestyle but with farmers instead of partying tourists. We went there on Sunday to visit a music festival and have a look around town. We met Hiro’s host family there and they invited us to stay with them for some time.

After weeks of travelling Hiro and I decided to take a rest in Byron Bay. The small town is situated some 150km south of Brisbane and known for its alternative lifestyle and hippy culture. There are a lot of shops that sell local and organic products (which I appreciate) as well as shops that offer tarot and coffee leaf readings (which is bollocks in my opinion). The towns large beach is popular with surfers and sunbathers.