Tuesday, April 10, 2007
The lowdown on Byron Bay
To avoid the traffic, we took the long route, along Putty Rd to Singleton then past Tamworth and then further north. Total driving time: 17 hours!! 5 hours to the first campsite on Putty Rd, then 12 hours the next day from there to Byron Bay. Anyway it was fun. We stopped a million times for toilet, cigarrettes, reading the newspaper, buying prawns... there was never a reason not to stop.
We arrived with no prearranged accommodation so I was absolutely devastated when I realised I would be spending over half my budget to camp. $30 per person per night, minimum 4 night stay. SHIT!!! So after declaring bankruptcy I was nostalgic to the old days when you're a kid and your mum only gives you $2 to spend on the excursion to Taronga Zoo and you have to search the gift shop high and low for something under $2 while everyone else buys whatever they want. Ah, the good old days. [Sob sob]
The music was mostly funky. This performance by Xavier Rudd was mesmerising mainly due to the reaction from the crowd, which was one of hysteria especially as it became apparent he was beginning a reggae song that everyone seemed to know (except us). It was entertaining though - he sat on stage with 3 didgeridoos in front of him, some drums and a guitar, often playing all three at once. The audience screamed louder as the drum beat and the guitar strumming intensified and if only all the acts were as popular as this guy, the festival would have gone off.
Wandering into a performance by a band called Jackson Jackson I was immediately entertained and later spent the rest of my A-list budget on their CD. Which turned out to be alot of rap, which signals alarm bells for me, but it ain't too bad.
The first night we spent about 9 hours straight at the festival watching peformances and after a while I needed to get some space after it became more crowded and I became tired of the aroma of musty wet grass floating up from down below, not to mention the aroma of burning grass weaving in and out of the sea of heads, finding it's way to our noses every 3-4 minutes. We speculated as to whether we would become stoned by osmosis; luckily, I felt nothing.
The second night we had a bbq with Rose's friends Regina and Billy. That gave us a chance to drink for less than $5 per beer (did they even sell alcohol at Woodstock?), get drunk, and then drink-cycle back to the festival. I managed to stack it only once on the way. Speaking of Woodstock, I forgot to shave my underarms or take a razor, and this hairyness became known as 'going Woodstock'.
As for the weather, everyone commented on the rain, but noone seemed to note that it wasn't just bad luck - it is supposed to rain at this time of the year in Byron. Our tents didn't leak, and I found it fun cycling through the rain, so all was good.
On the way back we took the short route which took about 11 hours. Conversation included arguments over who farted, and whether I wanted any more pizza. And there you have the trip to Byron. Yay! Mission completed. So soon! ¶ 11:12
To avoid the traffic, we took the long route, along Putty Rd to Singleton then past Tamworth and then further north. Total driving time: 17 hours!! 5 hours to the first campsite on Putty Rd, then 12 hours the next day from there to Byron Bay. Anyway it was fun. We stopped a million times for toilet, cigarrettes, reading the newspaper, buying prawns... there was never a reason not to stop.
We arrived with no prearranged accommodation so I was absolutely devastated when I realised I would be spending over half my budget to camp. $30 per person per night, minimum 4 night stay. SHIT!!! So after declaring bankruptcy I was nostalgic to the old days when you're a kid and your mum only gives you $2 to spend on the excursion to Taronga Zoo and you have to search the gift shop high and low for something under $2 while everyone else buys whatever they want. Ah, the good old days. [Sob sob]
The music was mostly funky. This performance by Xavier Rudd was mesmerising mainly due to the reaction from the crowd, which was one of hysteria especially as it became apparent he was beginning a reggae song that everyone seemed to know (except us). It was entertaining though - he sat on stage with 3 didgeridoos in front of him, some drums and a guitar, often playing all three at once. The audience screamed louder as the drum beat and the guitar strumming intensified and if only all the acts were as popular as this guy, the festival would have gone off.
Wandering into a performance by a band called Jackson Jackson I was immediately entertained and later spent the rest of my A-list budget on their CD. Which turned out to be alot of rap, which signals alarm bells for me, but it ain't too bad.
The first night we spent about 9 hours straight at the festival watching peformances and after a while I needed to get some space after it became more crowded and I became tired of the aroma of musty wet grass floating up from down below, not to mention the aroma of burning grass weaving in and out of the sea of heads, finding it's way to our noses every 3-4 minutes. We speculated as to whether we would become stoned by osmosis; luckily, I felt nothing.
The second night we had a bbq with Rose's friends Regina and Billy. That gave us a chance to drink for less than $5 per beer (did they even sell alcohol at Woodstock?), get drunk, and then drink-cycle back to the festival. I managed to stack it only once on the way. Speaking of Woodstock, I forgot to shave my underarms or take a razor, and this hairyness became known as 'going Woodstock'.
As for the weather, everyone commented on the rain, but noone seemed to note that it wasn't just bad luck - it is supposed to rain at this time of the year in Byron. Our tents didn't leak, and I found it fun cycling through the rain, so all was good.
On the way back we took the short route which took about 11 hours. Conversation included arguments over who farted, and whether I wanted any more pizza. And there you have the trip to Byron. Yay! Mission completed. So soon! ¶ 11:12
