Monday, February 22, 2010

The Byron Bay Leg

After a nice, long 14 hour OVERNIGHT bus to Byron, we got into this little surfer's town around 8am. We couldn't check into our hostel, the first of the trip, before 10am, so we stored our backpacks and headed down for a walk along the beach. It wasn't long before the weather turned shitty, so we headed back to the hostel to wait for our check-in. Our room was an economy dorm - 10 beds, all bunks. I was able to score a bottom bunk, but you should have seen the room. It was obvious that it was the party room as there were sacks of empty "goon bags" everywhere (goon is cheap wine in a plastic sac - gross stuff, really) and this was confirmed when we met our first hostel buddy, Markus, from Germany. It's the party room he tells us, and I'm preparing myself for 2 long nights!

The afternoon in Byron Bay was rainy, so instead of lying on the beach, the three of us decide to walk to the lighthouse and the most easterly point in Australia. Had we known it was a 7km hike, I'm not sure we would have been so keen, but we set out in the rain and stuck to it. Not eating a full meal that day, it was a long hike for me, but we made it and I have photo proof of my efforts! That evening was a quite one, surprisingly, the three of us eating out at a nice Balcony restaurant and then home for an early bedtime. We were lucky in the fact that the room was relatively quiet, and the partiers decided to party it up at the clubs before coming back to crash around 3pm. I was able to get a great sleep!



The second day in Byron was a beach day. We spent some time lying on the beach, going for walks, picking up some grocery snacks and just chilling out having picnics. I've included some photos of the beach - which in nice weather is really spectacular! We decided to postpone our surf lesson until we reached Surfer's Paradise....only for the chances of better weather!



This night, however, was not a quiet night. Derek, Andrea and I all started drinking about 5pm, had a hostel BBQ with Sangria at 7pm, then headed to the beach with a bunch of new-found European buddies at 9pm. We kept up with the booze until about 11pm, then headed out to the infamous Byron Bay club - Cheeky Monkeys. It was SO sleazy that instead of a dance floor, they have multiple tables to dance on. Yup, you read correctly, TABLES. What does Danielle do? Dance the night away, of course! And in doing so, I wowed the crew with my "Thriller" dance moves and the good ol' steps to Cadillac Ranch. I DID go there and totally pulled out the line-dancing. I mean, I really have to represent my country!! 2 of my friends, Niel from Ireland and Takko from Holland were especially enthralled, and wanted to dance with me until 3am, but around 2:30am I left with Andrea and Derek since it was probably the better option. Seriously though, it was a GREAT night and I had so much fun dancing. Almost fell off a couple tabletops, but nothing my family (Auntie CC if you're reading this, it's for you!) hasn't seen and/or participated in themselves.



After stumbling home and getting into bed at 3am, we awoke the next morning for an 11am bus to Surfer's Paradise. Apart from feeling a little sore from all the dancing (and possibly the drinks!), it was a relatively quiet morning. 


That was pretty much the extent of our stay in Byron - beaches, sleazy clubs and classic hostel friends. A good place all-around and one town I would definitely return to if given the chance! Next stop = Surfer's Paradise!!

All my love,

xoxo Danielle

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