Well...we kept hearing about this crazy hippie town called Nimbin, and it has to be seen to be believed. Naturally, we hopped a rainbow colored bus and joined Jim's Alternative Tours for the 45-minute jaunt to Nimbin. Jim looked the part in bare feet and a fifteen-year old tank top and may well may have spent the better part of his life in Nimbin. Our creative tour guide timed the entire tour to music (soundtrack available for only $10); from Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall" when going through the Catholic town of Lismore to Australian singer Paul Kelly's "To Her Door" when passing by The Buttery. I love Australia - only here would a rehab center for alcoholics actually be called The Buttery. This is not a cute nickname, the place used to be a butter factory and retained it's cheeky namesake.
We passed through fields of Macadamia nut trees and Lemon Myrtle bushes - which smell like lemon tea heaven and resemble bay leaves. The actual town of Nimbin started in 1973 when the locals - a disgruntled group of dairy farmers hit hard by the recession - decided to host the Aquarius Festival. To their dismay, many of the festival-goers decided to stay and form communes in their search for the "alternative lifestyle."
Today, the town is a squat two blocks of rainbow-colored old Western style structures whose musty dark interiors stand in stark contrast to their brightly painted exteriors. Hippies line the streets doing seemingly nothing, and quite contentedly. We popped into a cafe for a coffee and, to my delight and surprise, it was the best cappuccino I ever consumed! Maybe I'm just deprived as coffee purchases ($6 and you think Starbucks is expensive?!) are a complete luxury for me now. The cafe patio faces the rainforest canopy and is quite beautiful.
After Nimbin, we all hopped onto the bus and made our way to a wicked local swimming hole. We hiked down a narrow goat trail to a waterfall surrounded by beautiful red rocks and a lagoon perfect for swimming. Jim jumped up to this huge rock and immediately takes a flying cannon ball into the lagoon. This reminds us of the cliff jumping at Lake Kachess back home so, once Jim surfaces unharmed, Chris and I both follow suit. The water is cold but refreshing. Most of the bus passengers watch from the rocks. Too cold for them. Back in the bus to a nearby park for a barbie lunch. Jim stopped the bus at the top of a hill and told a few tales, as he's prone to do from time to time, and then proceeded to scream down this roller coaster of a hill to the terrifying tune "One of these days" (again, Pink Floyd), just a get a rise out of the post-Nimbin crowd. This was immediately followed by a chorus of "No Worries" once we safely reached the hill's base. I think Jim may be a little crazy. All in all an interesting, sometimes terrifying, and often odd excursion.
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