Surfing the Lighthouse
- Oct 11, 2016
- 5 min read
Location:
Byron Bay & Nimbin, NSW, Australia
Our bus journey down to Byron Bay was met by a very interesting driver who was very chatty and just for good measure, there was the odd puzzle thrown in for myself, Jason and a woman from New Zealand to figure out. He definitely wasn’t your usual kind of driver, which was good! Without even realising it, we had crossed an international time zone as we crossed from Queensland, who doesn’t observe daylight savings, into New South Wales, who do! It’s all very confusing. I don’t know why Queensland can’t just follow the other states! Why must you be different? The journey didn’t take too long. Thankfully we were only a short walk from the bus station to our hostel ‘Backpackers Holiday Village.’
When we arrived, the weather wasn’t the best and it stayed that way for most of the day, which meant a stroll up to the lighthouse would simply have to wait. With the lighthouse and the beach both comprising of the two main things to do in Byron, our next option was a stroll down through the town all the way to the beach. The weather allowed us to have a look at the beach for a few minutes, it just didn’t allow for a swim, and sunbathing, well that was seriously a no, no! When we reached the beach, we simply sat on the grass having a gawk at all the surfers and who could stay up the longest. After a while, it wasn’t so entertaining. In the end we decided to go for a nice coffee and a cheeky little craft beer! We are on holiday in a very chilled out little town, I mean, it would be rude not to!
As random tours go, our tour to ‘Nimbin’ was probably one of the most random ones out there! All I know about Nimbin is that it is a hippy town for stoners. Even though smoking weed in Australia is illegal, the police seem to turn a blind eye to it. Apart from that, I have no idea what the day holds for us, which makes it all that bit more exciting. As myself, Jason and Fiona waited to be picked up, an old bus pulled up with loud music and a middle aged man who was extremely chilled and easy going. It was a bit of a drive to Nimbin, but at least we had good music to keep us entertained! During a toilet break, we stopped at a bar, allowing everyone to stock up on beer and whatever else they wanted which made Jason very happy. While we shared a few beers between us, mad-bitch Fiona got the same amount all for herself! She is crazy! Proper Irish!
When we arrived at Nimbin, we were given around an hour to do what we wanted, and there was only one thing that everyone wanted to do, and that was to get stoned. A few of us ventured off in search of some, until we found ourselves in a little park being approached by this old, skinny lady who stopped to ask us if we would like to buy some. It was so random! She was definitely old enough to be my granny! Happy with our purchase, we all sat down a few puffs with the old puffs! After all that excitement, it was back in the bus and on to our next destination. Another scenic drive through rural Queensland to keep us amused for a short while.
At long last, we had arrived! We able to stretch our legs and enjoy a nice lunch. Before lunch, some of us went for a short trek down the hill to have a look at the dam. Of course, Jason was having none of it. He wasn’t going to sacrifice his beer! Mind you, if it was a choice between me and his beer, the beer would win every time. Oh well! Eating our lunch, perched on the tree were three stunning ‘Kookaburra’ birds which are native to Australia. I have only ever seen one at a time before, but three together is something you don’t see every day. As one of the girls was about to take a bite out of her burger, one flew over to her and snatched the meat out of her hand. Naughty birds! They were so brazen! As each of us got up to fill our plates, the birds were there looking for food. After the first attack, everyone guarded their plates closely! Nevertheless, they are beautiful to see and they do have to eat, it is just unfortunate they have gotten used to begging for human food rather than looking for their own food! Strangely enough, when you have high expectations of something, it very rarely lives up, but when they are low, well, that is completely different. We had a brilliant day out! It was certainly up there for being different!
The hostel where we were staying was certainly one of the better ones along the East Coast. They provide surf boards for guests to use. Even though we checked out that morning, we were still able to take some down to the beach where we would try to find some waves and see if I could stand on a surf board. Unfortunately, there wasn’t many waves and the board was a little bit too short for me and even though I stayed out in the water with my board even after Jason gave up, I still didn’t manage to stand up, but some day I will. Afterwards we discovered that there was a shark attack the day before! It’s scary to think someone died exactly where we were the day before. Our angels are definitely doing a good job keeping us safe! Later on that evening, we met Catharina and Lucas at a bar that had a comedy night. What better way to spend your evenings?
Like I said previously, the main thing to do is to walk up the lighthouse and explore ‘Cape Byron.’ It’s a nice walk up along the coast. When you reach the top, you are greeted with a 360º view of the whole area. Me being me, I always like to explore, so I made Jason walk down the hill to the easternmost point of the Australian mainland, which was stunning! There was this very cool whale not too far from where we were standing. It was amazing watching him breaching out of the water. It was fine walking down, but walking up was slightly more difficult, but it was worth it!
As our Aussie adventure nears the end, I made sure to enjoy our favourite Mexican, ‘Guzman Y Gomez.’ The food there is amazing and all the free sauces are what makes it! When we went home last year, I really missed the place! What is heartbreaking, is that there are no Guzman’s in New Zealand. How terrible is that! Maybe myself and Jason need to bring it over to the Kiwi’s! We might even expand all the way over to Ireland. Wouldn’t that be nice!
It’s crazy to think not only is our East Coast adventure coming to an end, but also our Aussie adventure. At least we have one more place to visit before we say goodbye. We enjoyed Byron over the last few days. It’s a good place to chill after an intense few weeks of travelling. If you want to recharge the old batteries, this is the place to visit! If I ever get the opportunity again, I would love to come back and spend more time enjoying Cape Byron and to see a beautiful sunrise from Australia’s most easterly point, but for now, there are other places much higher up on the list!
By Andrew
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