Bugs live in Byron too...

Conrad and I made it safely to Byron Bay. We've been here for 2 days now... but beforehand we had another night and one more day to search and discover Brisbane. We went down to the South Bank Parklands... we took a pointless 2 second bus. We didn't realise how close the park was and laughed once we got off at our stop. The ticket lady didn't say anything! The bridge we crossed looked a lot bigger on the map... Anyway, the South Bank Parklands run all the way up along the Brisbane river. Its a nice stroll, full of vegetation, cafe's, and government buildings, including museums and ART GALLERYS!! We scoped out the scene and made a note to come back the next day. We both took some inspired photos at dusk. On the way back we saw Conrad's building... well, not quite. They have a casino called Conrad's Treasury. It was quite an impressive building. He got right up on the step for a territorial photograph. I told him to pose with a look of importance! haha, why not!

We both got up bright and early. I went to the Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA), they had an exhibit of Andy Warhol's work. This was the only photo I was able to take in the exhibit. After which a security guard came and told me there were no photos permitted. So, here you go guys I hope you enjoy the Warhol cameo... here you see one of his prints, its an electric chair, from the Death and Disaster series. This print was hanging amongst his cow wallpaper. They also had a floor of aboriginal artwork and another with works from there permanent contemporary collection. Both were interesting to see... a lot of work from Asian and surrounding tribes on the east coast of Australia. Conrad checked out the adjacent museum while I was GoMA hopping. He didn't think the admission price would be worth it for him. Turns out the museum admission was free. Things worked out in his favor but now he seems to think everything is poisonous. "If you don't know what it is, stay back and assume its poisonous." -Conrad Nickel.

Another interesting feature in Brisbane, and presumably the rest of Aus, are their scavengers. These giant birds, called Ibis, are commonly seen rummaging through garbages and consumming any food dropping that crosses there paths. They are so much bigger than our bird scavengers. It shocks me that these huge, odd-looking birds just roam around and no one seems to notice them. After sighting them I made an effort to carry along an extra piece of toast from our continental breakfast at the hostel. However, my attempts in aiding the wildlife was a failure because there are 'DO NOT FEED THE IBIS' posted everywhere... sorry guys, the toast went to the crows instead.

[aw, I was just informed that I cannot upload images from my camera... apparently, it slows all the computers down so they have a "no uploading or downloading" policy. That sucks... you won't be able to see any more pictures for now. sorry. :( ]

Since being in Byron, Conrad and I have caught a lot of sun. Even on the first day, it was overcast with little tropical downpours. Regardless, at the end of the night my nose was red from the rays. We quickly settled into our place. Its a great location, just a walk down from the beach and right off the main strip in Byron. We've been cooking all our meals there. Conrad is a great cook... I like that feature very much! Today we went on a bit of an adventure. There is a lighthouse just outside of Byron. From the beach it doesn't look very far and you pass the most easterly point of Australia. We decided to seek it out today. The hike was way longer than I'd thought. Probably a good 3 clicks from our place. You go up, down, around and back again on these pathways with frequent steps. Right at the beginning of the hike I got bit on the bottom of my foot by a giant ant. Those buggers have killer bites; it stung, I cried, we trekked on. By the time we made it to the lighthouse we were so pooped. We pretty much said, "Fuck the view" and sought out shade and a rest. All humor and exaustion aside, the view was great. We saw a pod of dolphins passing in the distance. There was also a little ice cream seller, which must make a killing on hot days like today. We slowly made our way back to the town. No more bug bites but a lot of breaks on the beach. There are three separated beaches on the way back. We stopped for a refreshing dip as often as we could. By the time we got back to our place we had been out for 6hrs. The quick little day activity turned into a day mission. We ate, guzzled back some precooled refidgerator water, then passed out.

Now, we're looking into taking some surf lessons. Although, I've been a few times it might not be a bad idea. The surf here is constant and they always look difficult. The beach is always full of sun bathers and surf soakers.... we're both just doing our part to fit in!