Byron Bay

June 14 – Byron Bay

We were especially lazy this morning since we didn't have to get out of the caravan park for 10am. So we slept in. We made egg and sausage burritos for breakfast, showered and set up the tarp to dry out since it looked like we might finally have a nice day. We eventually made our way out of the park around 1pm. Once in town we stopped into two dive shops to see if we could go out. The dive spot here is a marine park at Julian Rocks which is rated in the top 5 dive sites in Australia. Since the weather had been pretty bad up until today there were huge swells in the bay and both dive companies thought they wouldn't be going out until Saturday at the earliest. And even then they wouldn't be making that call until Friday afternoon. We also checked out a surf school since Byron Bay is the place for learning to surf. They have also been struggling with the huge swells since it's not safe to teach people to surf when the waves are too big. We headed up to Cape Byron for the 4km walk around the point and over to the lighthouse. At Clark's Beach there was a look out atop a big rock and you had to walk through the water a little ways to get out to it. From the look out we observed a multitude of surfers. We continued along the path to Little Watego's Beach where there was another lookout on a point. Our next lookout stop was the most eastern point of mainland Australia. We reached the Cape Byron lighthouse just in time for a free tour. The lighthouse was built in 1901 and still had it's original lens in use. There was an awesome view from the top but the ocean was too choppy for any whale spotting. We followed the path back to the van then headed into town for some late Subway lunch. We made some phone calls and then headed to the visitors center to find out more about the surf schools in the area. We found a surf school that goes to a different area than most and was also the cheapest at $44 for a 4 hour lesson. We booked it and then headed to the brewery for a happy hour schooner to celebrate. After our beer we came back to the caravan park and made some dinner. We also decided that since we were going surfing tomorrow and had high hopes about diving we would stay at least another night. We decided to make it two nights since we got another 2 for 1 deal.

Surfers in Byron Bay

The Light House

Point Byron, most eastern point in mainland Australia

View south east

June 15 – Surfs Up Dude

We got up early then yesterday since we wanted to do some stuff before our 2pm surfing pick up. We made egg, sausage and vegetable grilled tacos for breakfast then headed into town to the arts and industrial park. It's supposed to be a cool/trendy area with lots of artisan shops. We went into an amazing glass blowing studio. The artists made some incredible sculptures and vases out of glass. There also thousands of dollars. Unfortunately there wasn't going to be any glass blowing until 1:30 and we were going to have to miss that since we had our surf lesson later. We then went into a wood working shop with some great looking furniture. They also sold unfinished pieces of wood that you could take home and work on yourself. Pretty cool! The lady there was very nice and was already putting her two year old to work oiling the cutting boards they sold. After that we went into a jewellery studio they sold some awesome pieces of metal working. Made me itch to get my hands on some tools and wire! We then went into a leather place that smelled great. It also had some beautiful purses and Beau was eyeing up a leather notepad cover. We didn't find too many other shops after this so we decided to head back. Once back at the campsite we set to work applying the waterproofing spray we bought as well as fixing our leaks. We should be now ready when it rains again which hopefully it won't since we have done all this work. We made some lunch, threw a bag together with towels and such and went out to meet our surfing pick up. The van picked us up, there were 6 other people plus the two instructors. The older guy was very entertaining in a zoned out surfer sort of way. We headed south to Ballina where we were in a protected bay. The waves were pretty small, ankle snappers in surfing lingo, but they were big enough that we could learn to surf without getting tumbled by the waves. We wet suited up, did some beach work first then set out in the water. Beau and I got up our first try but our first try also had the instructor supporting the board and giving us a boost to get up to speed with the wave. After a few of those starts we started trying the catch our own wave. We were in waist deep water so we had to push off the bottom, jump on our board, paddle paddle paddle, then once we were going stand up. We were both successful but I think Beau caught more wave than me. The sun was starting to set and we were all chilly and ready to go in. By the time we got back to the caravan park it was dark and we were cold, salty and hungry. We had a steamy hot shower and decided to go in to town for dinner. We were feeling much to lazy to cook. We had seen a place advertising $7 burgers so we thought we would check that out. Once in we saw there was fish and chips for $9 and for an extra $3.50 you could add more fish and chips. We decided on that instead of a burger and also got a jug of beer. The Aquarius Bar, where we were, is attached to a hostel and had a little buffet dinner for the residents it also meant there was going to be “entertainment” later in the form of karaoke. When our meal arrived it was huge! There were 6 pieces of fish, a mound of fries, and salad. We were stuffed when we finished our meal and karaoke was about to start. They were offering free beer to the first 10 performers. I said what the hell and “sang” Tracy Byrd's “Drinkin' Bone” which nobody knew and Beau sang “You've lost that loving feeling.” We had some fun and got a free drink out of it. 

Our surf area

June 16 – Lazy Day

We had hoped to go diving today but the swell in the bay was too big so they didn't think it was worth going out. So instead we had a lazy day. We slept in and had a toasted egg, avocado and tomato sandwich for breaky. Beau skyped his parents and then I skyped Mom and Dad (we have free wifi at the park). Afterwards we had a nice walk along the beach and then came back and had some guac and chips for lunch. We lazed about in our arm chairs reading until the sun went down. It cooled off pretty quick without the sun. We made dinner and then did some computer updating. It's hard to do much at night besides sit in the van when it gets dark at 5:30. Our day was uneventful but enjoyable none the less.

Our Beach