Australia - Byron Bay

  Byron Bay, Australia
Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Day 1

With the bus to Byron at 8:00am and needing time to; return the hire car, finish packing, have breakfast and catch the group taxi to the bus stop, we were forced to drag ourselves out of bed at 6:30am.

While waiting for the bus we spied a freaky looking spider (PIC) sat on the framework of the bus shelter - it drew a few uncertain stares from the other brit tourists, none of whom wanted to get too close.

The 5 hour trip to Byron Bay included a one hour stop at Ballina (famous for a big plastic prawn on top of a restaurant there! (PIC)) which we could have done without as we were eager to get to Byron and did not appreciate the 30 minute wait for two cups of coffee!



The journey also gave us time to catch up on a bit of sleep and phone around a few places to find some accommodation. If all else failed the master plan was to head to the tourist office at Byron and book a hostel through them. All else failed.

Unfortunately the tourist office idea failed as well as they don't book hostels!!! We spent the next couple of hours ringing around all the hostels, motels and private B&Bs with little success - ALL the hostels were full, even dorm rooms (apart from one self contained apartment for $180 - 72 GBP per night!!!! For a hostel!!!). We finally reverted to an offer we had earlier in the morning (8am while still on the bus!), from the Sunseeker motel of $130 a night for a self contained cottage. We hadn't realised at the time what a good deal this was especially as it was only about $20 more than most hostels.

Thankful to finally have somewhere we jumped in a taxi to meet and greet our new hosts; Diane and Pete. To our immense relief Diane and Pete were great and the cottage was even better! It was perfect - a one bedroom cottage in quiet surroundings with it's own bathroom, living room, TV, fully equipped kitchen and a dining area (PICS). We also had use of the lovely pool (PIC) and BBQ area (PIC).

It dawned on us that this was the first time we had felt completely relaxed and comfortable in a place since we had left the UK. We spent some time unpacking our things and settling into the new place before chatting to Diane and Pete for a while about our travels and their recommendations for things to do in and around Byron.

We then decided to take the 20 minute stroll into the centre of Byron where we meandered in and out of the quirky shops and wandered along the coastline (PICS) before popping into the 'Hogs Breath' for a bite to eat.

As we were planning on staying in Byron for 5 days, had our own kitchen AND access to a BBQ, we took advantage of the cheap steaks in Woolworths (it's a supermarket over here!?) and stocked up on lots of fruit.

Back at the cottage we vegetated in front of the television for a while before retiring to our quiet, comfy bed at 12:30.


Day 2

Our main intention for Byron Bay was relaxation so we made a good start by getting up at 11:00am, bumbling around the place and then heading into town for a casual look around. At some point our hyper-active alter egos kicked in as while we were there we booked a surf lesson, snorkeling trip and hired a car for a day trip to Nimbin.

We had planned to walk up to the lighthouse (most Easterly point of Australia's mainland) but were well advised that it was a long way and a crazy idea in the current heat. Instead we continued to mooch around the town before returning to the cottage. After a late lunch we took advantage of the deserted pool and whiled away a couple of hours playing about with our newly purchased frisbee and chatting to a few Aussie guys who were enjoying a 'lads' holiday.

Suitably relaxed, showered and refreshed we ventured back into the centre of town to attempt to update the website and grab a pizza. What we eventually ended up doing was getting frustrated with the 30 minute queue for a PC and buying a giant ice-cream dinner from Baskin Robbins instead.



Despite feeling slightly queasy from the over indulgence we still couldn't resist the draw of a bargainous big $6 (2GBP) caramel and coconut cake from the 24 hour bakery on the way back to the cottage. It was going to have to wait until another night though as we really couldn't face it by the time we got back. Instead we relaxed for a while and jumped into bed at 12:30.


Day 3

With our surf lesson starting at 9:30 we got up at a respectable 8am and walked into town keen and eager to get started. The surf lesson was a very reasonable $55 (22 GBP) each for 3 hours. Luckily our group only consisted of two other non surfers so it was a small group and meant that we would get lots of one on one attention. At the beach we started the morning with some stretches and practicing our technique and moves on the sand before taking our efforts to the water.

What had seemed relatively easy and straight forward on the sand suddenly got A LOT harder in the water with the waves crashing up behind us. What we hadn't bargained for was all the effort and energy that was going to be required just to get out to the instructor and onto our boards before we even caught a wave....especially when Verdi got caught in a rip!

Overall we both did pretty good and better than we had expected; neither of us got injured, both managed to stand up a few times and our fitness didn't let us down like we were worried it might. Sadly we were advised not to take any valuables to the beach so again there is no photographic evidence. Another lesson beckons.

Back at the surf club we stripped off our attractive rash vests and bumped into another couple that were about to embark on their lesson...they were from Croesy!!! We couldn't believe it. We didn't recognise them but the lads sister had even been to the same Comprehensive school as us (albeit a few years older).

On leaving the surf club we decided to spend a bit of time on Byron Main beach enjoying the surf and soaking up some sun before catching a taxi back to the cottage for a much needed shower and spot of lunch.

Later in the evening we popped back into town briefly to update the website and buy some beers before settling in at the cottage for our first DIY Aussie BBQ (PICS). The food was a triumph (leaving Andrew very pleased with himself) even though our eyes were too big for our bellies. The great aroma of our juicy steak and sizzling sausages was enough to attract a couple of little visitors to join us in the gazebo! (PICS).

The remainder of the evening was spent relaxing in front of the TV nursing our stuffed stomachs and letting the food go down before retiring to bed at 1:00.


Day 4

Wanting to make the most of the hire car we got up at 8am and headed into town to collect it. The hire car cost a bit more in Byron than it had in Coffs Harbour, mainly beacuse we paid for an excess waiver so that if any accident occurred we only had to pay $500 instead of $3000 (200 GBP instead of 1200 GBP). The car rental place in Coffs neglected to tell us anything about this waiver so who knows what would have happened had we had an accident!

Our first stop on the road was Ballina - 30 mins away and where we had stopped off on the way to Byron (home of the giant shrimp!). It is the nearest place to Byron to have large superstores in an out of town complex where we could stock up on essentials; suntan lotion, aftersun and flip-flops (thongs as the Aussies call them!) for Andrew.

The main reason for hiring the car was to travel to Nimbin to see what all the hype was about; Nimbin is a renowned hippy village where youngsters and travelers flock to as the local police turn a blind eye to drugs. There are plenty of 'organised' day trips to Nimbin but we had decided that we wouldn't really have much in common with the other 'partygoers' and wouldn't be as interested in staying there as long as everyone else - the car gave us the freedom to escape at will.

The car was an excellent idea as after parking up, spending 10 minutes walking up and down the ONLY street there and getting offered 'smokes' 3 or 4 times we jumped back in the car and headed for the mountains. There is very little to see or do in Nimbin, so unless you fancy having a 'lost' day or week there we wouldn't recommend it, especially not the $50 the organised trips cost.

Our initial plan was to visit a couple of waterfalls in the area after Nimbin but having looked at the map in Nimbin visitor centre we decided that it was too far out of the way to warrant the extra money it would cost in mileage (an extra $0.22 for every km over the initial 200km). We therefore headed back to Byron, past Nimbin rocks (PIC) and instead drove the steep incline to Byron Lighthouse ($6 - 2.50GBP for parking at the top) to take in the panoramic views of the bay from Australia's most Easterly mainland point (PICS) which included the beach where we had done our surf lesson and Julian rocks where we were due to do our snorkeling.



The views were impressive and made all the better by the pod of Dolphins that made their way around the cove while we were there (PICS).

Returning to the cottage for the evening we grabbed a Subway meal on the way back and spent the evening watching a movie - a pretty good foreign subtitled film but no idea what the name was.


Day 5

Our snorkeling adventure was due to start at 10am but we needed to be there at 9:15 to get kitted out and have a quick tutorial about the area we would be snorkeling, what to expect from the waves and currents, and what marine life to look out for. The snorkeling was also a very resonable price, at $50 (20 GBP) each.

We had to fill the car up with petrol and return it before we got to the Dive Centre and this resulted in an early wake-up call at 7:30am. Fortunately the car hire place doubles as Byron Transit Centre and this allowed us to book our Greyhound bus from Byron to Surfers Paradise the following day.

At the Dive Centre we decided to invest in our own snorkelling equipment. It was a recommended investment by Ryan, Jen and Steve who said that there would be plenty of opportunities to use it, both in Oz and when we get to Thailand / Bali / etc. It would also pay for itself very quickly as the cost of hiring the gear for 1 day is about half the cost of buying the equipment ($70 for the equipment). It does however mean that we have even more to carry round with us - perhaps an investment in a camel to carry all our stuff would be a good idea!

After the briefing and being wetsuited up we travelled in our group of 6 people (again a nice sized group) to the same beach that we had previously done our surfing lesson, Clarkes Beach. We jumped aboard a high-powered dingy to Julian Rocks, holding on for our lives as the boat leapt over the waves.



On arriving at the rocks we had about an hour to explore the waters around the rocks. The rock itself is very jagged and a protected marine reserve so we could not touch them or stand on them for a rest but the wetsuits aided floating so it wasn't much effort to stay afloat. Around the rocks we spotted a few large green turtles, a number of huge leopard sharks, an enormous sting ray (about 2.5m diameter) and its baby, a couple of bulky 'Hairdo' fish as spotted in the Sydney Aquarium, and numerous other brightly coloured tropical fish.

The clarity around the rocks was excellent and there were thousands of fish in some areas, it really was a spectacular sight. Apparently the scuba divers who also dive in the same area saw no more than we did (and paid a lot more), and even a couple in our snorkeling group said that they had seen more during the snorkeling than they had seen scuba diving in another area of the coast.

Sadly we had to leave Julian Rocks and get the boat back to the shore, we will definitely be doing some more snorkeling when the opportunity arises, and investing in an underwater disposable camera to get some snaps of what we see down there.

Back at the cottage we washed away the salt water in the motel pool and tucked into a huge fruit salad, trying to use up all the fruit we had bought earlier in the week (PIC). Fruit is one of the cheaper items of produce in Oz so we have been making the most of it.

With fruit-filled bellies we wandered back into town to spend a bit of time on the internet and swap Verdis goggles, she had of course managed to get a dodgy pair which broke as soon as we got back to the cottage!

Our supposed 'relaxing' time in Byron Bay was about to take a little more shape as we made our way to Osho's House, a homely style massage parlour and spa. There are loads of these places in Byron Bay, going hand in hand with the hippie background of the town. We had decided that we wanted to get a flotation tank treatment and a deep tissue massage while in Byron and Osho's seemed to give the cheapest combination of the two; $70 (28 GBP) for 1hr in the flotation tank and a 1hr massage. Verdi had the flotation first as Andrew went in for the massage, we then swapped after an hour. Both treatments were excellent in there own way. The flotation tank is basically a 7 by 4 foot pod with a foot of body temperature water in the base saturated with epsom salts which means that you float in the water in complete darkness. It gives a surreal feeling of weightlessness as you can't feel anything touching you and you steadily drift off into some type of semi-consciousness - never sure whether you are sleeping or just in a daze.

Feeling totally refreshed and perhaps a little too relaxed we returned to the cottage and managed to resist falling asleep on the bed and instead enjoyed our second BBQ - a smaller portion than the first! We spent the remainder of the evening watching Oceans 12 in the cottage and packing our bags ready to leave the following day. We finally collasped into bed at about midnight, satisfied that we had had at least relaxed for part of our stay in Byron Bay.