While driving up the east coast of Australia from Sydney to Brisbane, my friends and I, like many other backpackers before us, decided to stop by a village called Nimbin, which is about 40 miles inland from Byron Bay.
It’s a tiny village (population 352!) but famous in certain circles for its relaxed attitude towards drugs. Apparently in the ’70s a bunch of hippies descended on the village to hold a festival and now, since the 90s, there is a Mardi Gras festival held there every year that protests against the illegality of cannabis.
Many artists, writers, environmentalists and other ‘alternatives’ settled in the area (and Byron Bay is pretty hippy too) but when I wandered through Nimbin, all I saw was a bunch of vacant-eyed, ancient stoners littering the streets.
The locals sat around outside cafes practically dribbling and muttering incoherently. I stumbled into the range of an irate hippy woman’s tirade about Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard. Instead of denouncing the PM’s policies, the basis of the hippy’s argument was that Gillard is a “ranga” and that in her opinion all red-heads “should be shot at birth”.
Whatever happened to all that peace and love stuff, man?
Needless to say, Nimbin did not leave a very favourable impression on me. I knew it would be full of hippies and I was expecting hemp clothing and maybe even fire poi. But instead what I saw was just a load of pathetic addicts, obliviously watching busloads of gawping tourists roll through their village. And despite the cheery rainbow flags draped everywhere, I found Nimbin a sad and depressing place.
18/12/2011 at 11:24 pm Permalink
Every year there is a big mardigrass cannabis festival in the valley for two days, it is big gathering of people in thousands.
17/02/2012 at 9:28 am Permalink
The endless adventures and depth of travel offered in this region makes it a great place for young budget travelers and backpackers to explore.