Our campervan includes space for four to sleep… yeah right! The upper bunk, which is advertised to sleep two adults would be more suitable for two children under the age of eight… going forward was deemed The Upstairs Coffin. The lower bunk is created by flipping down the table and bench seats to accommodate a queen size sleeping area and was later coined “The Suite”! Along with the sleeping areas, The Beast also includes a mini kitchenette inclusive of a refrigerator, microwave, gas top stove, sink, and all the kitchen “needs” for our camping adventure. 
As you are all probably assuming, the obvious driver would be the male Aussie, Jimmy, having that he is the native and grew up driving on the left hand side of the road not to mention he knows the driving laws… and stereotypically the testosterone filled men would be driving the yank tanks, well… you’re wrong. Jaclyn, Melanie, and Alison were the three listed drivers for The Beast as Jimmy got a late start with his license in Australia as he was traveling the world and is now only has his P’s which does not allow him to drive a rental vehicle let alone The Beast! 
Melanie took the wheel first and we were off!! Surprisingly, we made it through our mini driving tour of downtown Brisbane and onto Pacific Coast Highway 1 with a small learning curve on how different it is to drive a buslike vans versus driving a car. Basically, what we learned is that you must slow down to a crawl when going over bumps to avoid the back of the school bus sensation (remember, when we were all kids and we would sit in the back of the bus knowing that when the driver went over a hill or over a bump you would be up in the air, off the seat, and getting a rollercoaster thrill), you must take turns SLOWLY to avoid everything falling from the bunk above and all the cabinets and drawers from opening. Learning to drive The Beast – check, rating Easy! 
Our afternoon consisted of a drive through the Gold Coast. Although it is a tourist spot, we stopped in Surfer’s Paradise for a look at the beach, a photo, and of course lunch. Our stay was short lived as it was Schoolie week and there were high school kids everywhere and techno music, go figure… we stayed for less than hour. Off we went to Bryon Bay…. the first stop on our road trip down the coast. 
As we took our time with the drive and stopped to look at some beaches, gather groceries and alcohol, we just barely made the six pm cutoff time for check-in at the Suffolk Holiday Park less than 2 miles from the center of town. We were reminded of the dangers in Australia by the Brown Snake warning as we entered the caravan park. We immediately put on our cozi’s (aka bathing suit in Aussie terms) we walked the path attached to our campervan site that led us directly to the beach! After a quick dip and a long day of travel, we headed back to The Beast for our first night’s feast. We established what would be soon be own dinner routine… by starting with an appetizer course consisting of chips and salsa and our new favorite, always classey, an under rated gem… a box-o-wine! We then proceeded to have our American feast of good ol’ burgers and mac and cheese, yum! 
To bed we went, in hysterics when we came to find out that the love bunk for two that Jimmy and Jaclyn insisted on having was less than two feet from the top of The Beast, four feet wide, and six feet long with only two tiny windows for ventilation. Wait, did we mention it was 80 degrees with no wind blowing. Needless to say they were not happy with the must have selection and even before sleep they got us to agreed to an every other night sleeping arrangement agreement. 
Day 2 - Sunday - Bryon Bay 
We awoke Sunday morning at the crack of dawn, oh wait that was Jimmy’s ass, to hear him shouting, “I reckin’ that was the worst night’s sleep I have ever had!” After our healthy breakfast of Muesli and fresh fruit we were geared up in our Cozi’s and beach gear and off to Byron Bay for a day at the beach. It was a bit of struggle finding parking for The Beast but a friendly old couple assisted in our parking dilemma. Finding the perfect spot on the sand we dropped our belongings and went straight for the water. The turquoise bath water was just what we all needed! We swam, Jaclyn & Melanie body boarded or attempted to should we say, Jimmy went for a surf despite thinking the surf was crap even though the waves scared the crap out of us (got to love Aussie logic), and bronzed ourselves until we got restless. We walked through the small quant town and then decided to drive up to the Lighthouse for lunch, this time with Alison at the wheel. 
We parked in the lower lot packed up a backpack with all our lunch needs and walked up the rest of the way to picnic at the lighthouse. The perfectly blue sky gave us the perfect backdrop for our picnic lunch and our walk out to the most Easterly Point in Australia where we were able to get a birds’ eye view of Bryon Bay. The water was so clear that we were able to spot a baby dolphin with its mother, a family of sea turtles, and rock formations on the ocean floor. 
After our long day in the sun, we headed back to the Caravan Park for showers and preparation of our Italian feast that evening. And oh boy did we feast. Our started consisted of three different types of cheeses with whole grain crackers and Carlton Dry beer. 
As if that wasn’t enough to begin with, we cooked up over 2 pounds of Meat filled Tortilini with Pesto Sauce, Garlic Bread, and Salad… within intentions of having leftovers for lunch the next day. 
Come on guys… you must know us by now… we absolutely “smashed” it. There was not one bite left. We were so full and a bit drunk all four of us crawled into the bottom Suite and watched Anchor Man on Alison’s laptop like Three’s Company with a guest appearance of Alison (for those of you that don’t know Melanie, Jaclyn, and Jimmy lived together and referred to themselves as Three’s Company). After our late night the night before, we were sound asleep by 9:30 with Alison and Melanie on the top bunk with our new air conditioning unit, aka a very small ten dollar fan from Woolworth’s. Day 3 - Monday - Nimben & Dorrigo
Rise and shine bright and early at 7:00 sharp, oh wait there was no shine, our morning beach dreams were ruined and we decided to get on the road early for our tour of Nimben. We said our goodbyes to Bryon Bay and especially our new friends the Wild Turkeys that ran rampid throughout the campground. Nimben is the sight of the famed Aquarius festival that launched Australian hippie culture in 1973 and is synonymous with Australian alternative culture. Although this trip was out of the way, we thought it would be well worth it to see since it has been talked about for years and recommended to us as cool place to visit. 
Our trip there was short and sweet, the drive was beautiful through the rolling hills, farmland, and countryside, we stopped for less than hour took pictures, took a stroll, and went on our merry way to Dorrigo National Park. 
The drive was long. We didn’t want the clouds to dampen our spirits. We had a pit stop in a small fishing village of Evan’s Head where we had our noon time feast before continuing on into the Mountains. The drive into Dorrigo was interesting to say the least. It started to absolutely downpour and despite Jimmy not being listed as a driver, he took the wheel and led The Beast through the rain, through the mist, and into the Rain Forest… what a true Aussie man! As we climbed higher and higher, the subtropical climate got lusher and lusher and the skies began to clear, well, at least it stopped raining. 
We finally got to the top and pulled into Dorrigo Mountain Resort to park for the night. The location was great, only two kilometers from the national park. However, despite the great location, it was one of the weirdest places we’ve ever stayed. Maybe it was the fact that we were greeted by a creepy manager, or maybe it was just that we in the middle of no where with a caravan neighbor that was occupied by one lonely man that could easily be coined a serial killer. But neither this or the drizzle could dampen our spirits and we set up camp as usual. We brought the fiesta to Dorrigo and took out all the stops… a Mexican fiesta we did have… the cerveza was flowing, the tacos were crunched, the garlic mac and cheese was born and the commercials were made. We went a little stir crazy in the camper having to eat inside this night because of the rain, but a good time was had by all!P.S. Way more pictures to come and the rest of the summary from this past week. We have had very limited access, basically none, and have not been able to write/post until now. Sorry for the delay :)
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