G'day from Australia!: Byron Bay Adventures!

G’day! 12 March 2012

I am finally settled in back in my apartment after a long and amazingly fun weekend in Byron Bay. The trip planned was through a club on campus. The club focuses on hosting events and trips mainly for international students. So this weekend wasn’t only fun, but it was a great way to meet people from Australia and from all over the world. I went on this trip with 2 other girls from my program, and we had a lot of fun!

We left on late Friday morning, and got to Byron Bay at around 3ish. We stopped at a liquor store on the way there, which I thought was cool and interesting. Back in the states I feel like a school-run-event would not encourage drinking. Here they are all for it! I went to a party a few weeks ago at a college (aka a dorm on campus), where they were selling beers and wine right at the party. It’s more acceptable to do that here because everyone is almost legal to drink, as the drinking age is 18. But once we finally got to Byron, we got settled in at our hostel, changed into our bathing suits and left for the beach! The walk was about 15 minutes and once we got to the beach the site was breathtaking. One of the things I couldn’t wait to do here before I came is to see and swim in crystal blue water. The water is so beautiful here and the waves can get pretty big! The water was full of surfers and people. Even though it was almost 4 in the afternoon, the sun was still pretty strong. We laid out for awhile, grabbed dinner, and went back to the hostel to get ready for the night.

A glimpse of the hostel we stayed at.

The beautiful beach!

A lifeguard and his rescue board.

On Friday night, we went to a place called Cheekey Monkeys. It was so much fun! It was full of backpackers and people from all over. The Byron locals like to stay away from Cheekey Monkeys just because it is full of tourists. The next morning (at 5am!) I woke up with a few other people from the club that set up the trip and we walked to the lighthouse to watch the sunrise. It was a little tough to wake up so early, but I knew I had to wake up because it would be worth it. The walk there was about 3 miles, and all uphill! It always seems like the way there is longer than it seems because you don’t know where you’re going. But once we got up to the lighthouse on the hill, it was such a breathtaking view. One of my favorite times of day is the sunrise, and the sunset is my other favorite time. Skies before the sunrise are always so pretty because the light is shining through the clouds and the moon is still out as the sky brightens. I’m glad I woke up so early to see the sunrise. I also found out that the point at where the lighthouse stands is the most easterly point of land in Australia. That lighthouse also has the strongest light in the Southern Hemisphere. Pretty cool! The walk back to the hostel also seemed like a long walk. That was another 3 miles. I had walked about 6 miles before 8:30 am which I was pretty impressed with.

5:00 am

The most easterly point in Australia!

Favorite time of day!

On Saturday, we spent the day at the beach. The town of Byron Bay had a lot of little shops and places to stop into. I of course had to buy postcards (I buy some whenever I’m in a new place I’m visiting), and some souvenirs for my friends back at home! After a day of some shopping and beach, I got ready for the night. I went to hang out with my roommates that I lived with in the hostel. I didn’t know them coming into this trip, so it was nice to meet some new people. We all got along great, which is pretty lucky for living in a room for a weekend with 5 other people. That night, we had lots of fun dancing and meeting new people.

On Sunday, I wanted to snorkel with turtles and take surf lessons but those were all booked up for the weekend. So instead we took a sea-kayaking trip into the ocean! The company guarantees that you see dolphins in the ocean when you are on this 3-hour adventure. We all got into 2 person kayaks and paddled off into the ocean. We had to leave from the beach, so getting over the 5-foot waves in a 2 person kayak was pretty interesting. Sara and I were the first ones of the group to get into the water and the first wave that hit our kayak tipped us over completely. Once we rowed out into the ocean, it was beautiful. The water was so clear and even away from the land the waves can get pretty big, so it was fun to ride them in our kayaks. We were in the water for about 2 hours until we finally saw dolphins. It was such an exciting moment when we finally saw them! It was amazing to see such beautiful animals in their natural habitat. I know I sound really cheesey right now but being 5 feet away from a family of dolphins in the ocean is a pretty cool experience. They liked to ride the waves. When Sara and I were going over a wave, a family swam underneath us which was so cool!! Although swimming with dolphins is on my bucket list, and this weekend I only got to row with them, it’s still definitely something I will remember. Once the sea kayaking adventure was over, we had tea and Tim Tams (amazing Australian treats) on the beach and left for the hostel. It was a great weekend and everyone was passed out on the bus ride back!