Byron Bay

This past weekend my friends and I took a trip Byron Bay trip organized through our housing company Semester in Australia. The trip started with flying to Brisbane Thursday, March 14th, the flight was in the evening so we took an uber from our house to the airport. We got there in good time (after having an Uber driver who took the long route through the suburbs) and went through security with ease. It was one of the laxest securities at the airport, we didn’t need to have to take our shoes off and there were barely any security people there. Once through we waited a little bit then boarded the plane, it was set to be a 2 and a half hour flight but it got delayed and we sat on the tarmac for 40 mins before departing because of storms in Brisbane…not even in Melbourne! Once we were off the ground all was smooth sailing (or flying) until halfway through when I noticed out the window a couple of thunderstorm cells. These were pretty cool as there were lightning flashes every second or so (I find thunderstorms interesting). A little later through the flight, we were flying through a thunderstorm as it was right over the Brisbane airport. This was one of my weird crazy bucket list things so that was nice to check off but there was a little turbulence and lots of flashes outside the window as we flew straight threw. Once we made it to the ground alive it was a short Uber ride to the place we were staying for the night and as we settled in there was much to look forward to in the next couple of days.

Once we woke up in Brisbane we had to meet the bus at 8 am sharp (as they say)…the meeting spot was not far so we walked there and got there for 8 aaaand the bus wasn’t there for another 20 minutes. Once we were picked up it was a 2-hour drive to Byron Bay where we checked into the hotel dropped our bags and had an hour to explore before our surfing lesson began. We took this time to explore the beach in the sun. It was much different than the Melbourne beaches! We then went back, got changed, and then we were off to our surfing lesson. I had surfed before but none of my friends had so it was very exciting. I got more information about different ways to pop up on the board and learned how to catch a wave all by myself. Before I knew it I was catching a wave and standing up all by myself! After that, I was able to catch waves and stand up about half the time. After surfing we were headed back to the hostel to get changed for dinner and a night out.

Dinner was interesting, it was at a bar/club where they served us an option of fish and chips, curry, or a burger. There were also small games on the tables we could play, we enjoyed playing multiple games of connect 4 (1 in which I won!) and after dinner the theme of the night was paint. There was an option to get splattered with paint, which of course we partook in. And then enjoyed hanging out with friends for the rest of the night.

The next morning we woke up at 5:30 am in order to catch the sunrise at the most easterly part of Australia. It was supposed to be beautiful and spectacular but sadly it was a rainy morning and all we saw was the sky turn from dark blue to light blue through the rain. After the not so nice sunrise we walked an hour back to Byron bay and saw a couple of lizards along the way. We also walked beside a surf beach that looked amazing and if I could go back I would explore that beach more. Once back at the hostel it was a breakfast of toast, yogurt, and fruit and then nap time as lots of us headed back to bed. I hung out in the hostel lobby where they played music, had free wifi, and comfy couches.

Fast forward a few hours and my friends and I were venturing out into the raining day to rent some surfboards and enjoy the water, cause rain cannot affect you if you are already wet from the ocean! There were 4 of us and we got 3 boards as one person was in charge of playing with the GoPro (it was also cheaper this way). We got some good footage but sadly none of us standing up (even though it DID happen). This day of surfing resulted in tired sore arms and we attempted to stand up and catch the waves. This proved harder than yesterday because we had smaller boards. Usually, a beginner surfer will get an 8-foot board, this would have been ideal but the shop only had one. The rest of us had 6/7 foot boards and even though it may seem not that big of a difference the size actually does make a huge difference on the waves. So we didn’t stand up as much as we would have liked but it was still a fun day and my first time renting a surfboard and standing up without lessons! After surfing we were back to the hostel where we rested before dinner.

Dinner tonight was unknown until 5 minutes before it was time to eat. We walked into the meeting spot at the hostel to find at least a hundred small dominoes pizzas set up on a table and plenty of salad and fruit. There were about 35 of us so this much food was a little bit of overboard but we devoured it. I was starving so I ended up eating 9 slices of pizza and at least two bowls full of fruit, it was delicious. One of my friends ended up eating 16 slices! (but the slices were smaller than normal). After dinner, we noticed it had stopped raining so we ran (yes we actually ran) to the beach to see the sunset over the water/mountains and it was beautiful. We then took a nice stroll along the beach until not even 10 minutes later it started to downpour, back to the hostel we went for free wifi and comfy couches. That night was quieter and we strolled along the town at night listening to the buskers along the street and got some ice cream. Then it was back to the hostel for the night and off to bed as we were leaving the next morning.

That morning breakfast was at 9 am and we had to check out by 10 so we quickly ate some toast and fruit. We then packed the last of our bags and left them in the lobby (with everyone else’s) as we took one last stroll through town and down to the lovely beach. It wasn’t raining today so we enjoyed the last few minutes we had with sunny Byron Bay. Then it was off to a small town about an hour out from Byron Bay called Nimbin. This very small town is known for being Australia’s hippie capital and had lots of marijuana advertising and lots of tie-dye colours. Here we got lunch (I got garlic bread) and we also stopped for milkshakes before boarding the bus and heading to the Brisbane airport.

We made it to the airport with a couple of hours to spare so we spent that time charging our phones near the gate because they were very low and we needed them charged for the flight. Of course, there was another delay but at least this time we had not already boarded the plane and were able to stay in the couches for an extra 30 minutes before it was time to board the plane and fly back to Melbourne. The flight back was smoother and when we left it was raining but no crazy thunderstorm this time! We got into Melbourne late (or very early) and I got back home around 1 am Monday morning. Luckily I did not have class the next day so I was free to sleep as late as I wanted and rest from an exciting weekend away.