The Planet of the Hippies

After Byron Bay we decided to spent a day or two in Nimbin, the "Hippie Capital of Australia". This village is beautifully located in quite a hilly area. We arrived at sunset, found a great campsite/hostel and were taken away by the beauty of this place. We went for pizza in the only restaurant open at night, and Italian Pizza and Pasta place and got our first insight of some locals of this place. Most of them where happily bouncing around or jumping and hopping like little elfs. Or kangaroos. Or rabbits. Whatever. They were telling us about religion, astral travels and hemp.

We decided to go to the local travel agency the next day and book an astral jouney... :-)

Some guys where hanging out at that place for 30 years already, and are probably going to stay there the end of their life, and maybe until the end of a few of their following lifes, too....

Nimbin was a "normal" place, a village like any other, until in 1972 students decided that this is the ideal spot for the Aquarius festival, to protest against the Vietnam war. Some little, non-profit shops were opened and hippies start to live there. The amazing thing about Nimbin, compared to other "hippie towns or villages" I've been, is that most of them stayed! The village is full of people in their fifties. And the "original" shops are still there as such, too. Plus a lot of places where tourists can by crystals, spiritual books, alternative medicine and hemp products.

I think that everyone in that little village is on something. We were watching locals the next day in the morning, as well as tourists, and had a good laugh. Every 5 meters you can be sure somebody is asking you if you want to buy some weed. The whole village smells of marijuana. You go in a shop and the guy at the counter smokes a joint. Well, I think you get the idea....

In the afternoon we went to a water hole, a few km's our of the village. It was full of water turtels, and I think it was very deep, it was kind of weird to jump off some rocks into pitch black water. Stef decided to climb up a tree and sat there for half an hour. She wanted to jump, but didn't at the end. The tree must have been about 20 meters above the pool... :-) understandable...

We left Nimbin the next day.

Oh, yeah, I forgot: Stef jumped down a rope which was 10 meters hight. She's not a "fear rabbit" (German translation for fraidy-cat?) after all! Well done, Stef!

Btw, she canceled her ticket and is going to stay 3 more months! Yeah! We are on our way to Cairns together! Yesssssssss! Exellent!!!!!!!!!!