Nimbin is a small village located in inland New South Wales about 70km from Byron Bay and if you have backpacked the East Coast chances are you have been here. The town is a throwback to the seventies and the presence of marijuana could never be more obvious.
The village is a rainbow with every building decked out in a magnitude of bright colours and decorations. Spaced out hippies wander around head to toe in tie-dye and hemp clothing and chilled out music blasts from various speakers around the streets.
We were beckoned down an alleyway into a secluded park by a group of guys wearing masks, which did not feel as threatening as it sounds in broad daylight in this hippy town – all peace and love man! They produced various bags of different strains of marijuana and a mini scale for weighing accompanied by a flawless sales pitch. The group told us about how they had been caught several times by the police and were now due in court, hence the masks.
After we parted ways we met a mother who was selling some questionable cookies and several other obvious characters who definitely looked ‘high on their own supply’ – naughty Nimbin was earning it’s title. After buying a few hippy style keepsakes we had a coffee and chatted all things hemp with some locals.
I hope you enjoyed discovering this unusual town with me, I love the idea that there are unique places like this still existing all over the world, frozen in time. I would love to hear your experiences and stories about naughty Nimbin.
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