Thursday 19th - We were given orange wristbands on the bus which will get us VIP entry into a bar in Byron and gets us special discounts up the East Coast. At first I didn’t like the idea of constantly wearing a bright orange wristband for 2 months but now I’m thinking it’s a nice memento and I’ve met so many people with orange wristbands, it feels like we’re part of a club! It took 3 hours to drive from Surf camp to Byron Bay and our driver Sparrow dropped us off at the Holiday Village hostel where me and 6 of the OzExperience girls got an 8-bed apartment between us. It was nice and had a kitchen with a lounge area. Only problem was they didn’t provide plates, cups, pans, cutlery or duvets unless we put deposits down for everything! Rip off! Sparrow told us he booked us all a table for Cheeky Monkey’s that night. This is a very popular backpacker bar which does competitions every night and gives away tons of prizes ranging from free drinks, $300 cash, free skydives and even sailing trips around the Whitsundays. It was right opposite the hostel so that was convenient and in there I met up with Helen and Rachel from my OzIntro group! It was so great to see them again – even though it had only been a week and a half since I last saw them!
Friday 20th – I met up with Helen today and had a look around town. There’s lots of quirky shops selling handmade jewellery and vintage clothes. It’s a small town and I didn’t really find it interesting at first. I found out they do flying trapeze classes at a Circus Arts school nearby so I signed up for that for the next day! As the sun was setting, we hung out on the beach and around 4.30pm quite a few people had gathered to sit on the beach and listen to a man play the bongos.
It was really cool and chilled out – everyone just seems to gather at one part of the beach called “the rocks” and just sit there chatting and enjoying the scenery. Not the type of thing that happens on English beaches on a Friday night! That evening we went out to Cheeky Monkey’s and I took part in a competition to identify different countries’ flags and I won a free surf lesson worth $65! I met a girl called Margot and we hung out together all night with one of the OzExperience girls (Louise) – we had a really good time. Originally I thought I would spend 3 nights in Byron Bay, but because of the surf lesson which I wanted to do on Monday, and the amount of fun I was having that night, I decided I needed to spend longer in Byron. One thing that’s annoyed me though is that I left my trainers at Surf Camp under the bed in my accommodation! I called to ask if anyone found them but no luck. It’s annoying because trainers are expensive here and I will need some soon so that I can carry on running, which I’ve been enjoying!
Saturday 21st – Had my flying trapeze class today which was so much fun!
There were about 8 women in the class and we all got 5 go’s on the trapeze after having a practice on the ground. First, we learnt how to do a “knee-hang” where we hang upside down on the trapeze by our knees, then we learnt to do a backflip somersault landing, and after that we were given the chance to try and do a “catch”. This means that an instructor is swinging from a trapeze opposite you and whilst you are hanging upside down, you reach over so he can “catch” you, and you let go and swing from his arms. I tried twice but I just missed the instructor’s hands by a couple of inches the first time, and the second time I did not get my leg in the knee hang fast enough. But I really enjoyed it and will definitely be doing it again when I go back to Sydney! I checked out of the Holiday Village hostel and moved over to the Arts Factory Lodge where the other OzExperience girls had checked in. The Arts Factory was recommended to us by OzIntro and it’s really cool. It’s in the middle of a swamp and looks like a hippie commune. It has a pool, Jacuzzi, yoga classes, didgeridoo lessons, bushtucker walks and a generally chilled out atmosphere.
I hung out with Helen the rest of the day; we walked around town, and watched films in the evening.
Sunday 22nd - Today, along with the new ozintro girls, I took a day trip to Nimbin. Nimbin is about 60km from Byron Bay and is a hippie community made famous by the Aquarius festival that took place to celebrate the end of the Vietnam war. The driver was a bit mad – kept telling us stupid jokes and expecting us to laugh. We stopped at Bangalow market for an hour – but to be honest, because it was raining so much that day, it didn’t feel any different to walking around a market back home and none of us were impressed. We then drove to Minyon Falls which is in the nearby rainforest and that was lovely, and saw some Kookabara's sitting in a gum tree!
When we got to Nimbin, we were shocked at how small it was, it was just a tiny street with some hippie shops, and a small museum. It was interesting to look around but I wouldn’t bother going to Nimbin again. In the evening, me and 3 of the other girls went for a lovely meal at a Tapas restaurant – it was so nice to treat ourselves to a nice meal!
Monday 23rd – Today was the day of my free surf lesson. Unfortunately it was raining so much it was freezing! The waves were really rough too and we were all really knackered because it took so long to walk out to the water because the currents kept pushing us back. Me and one other guy gave up and just decided to go back and wait in the warm van after the first hour. I didn’t mind as I had done surfing twice before and the lesson was free anyway. The people in my surf group were nice and I arranged to meet one girl (Virginia) at Cheeky Monkey’s that night. We had a lot of fun and it was Mexican night so Nachos and margaritas were $5! They also brought out free potato wedges after 11pm. Don’t know how this bar makes any money!
Tuesday 24th – The Arts Factory offers free yoga lessons every morning so I did that and chilled at the hostel in the morning. Then in the afternoon I met up with Virginia and another girl from her hostel and we went for a long coastal walk to Byron Bay’s lighthouse and the most easterly point in mainland Australia. We saw some stunning scenery along the way, and also saw dolphins swimming in the ocean. It was beautiful. That evening I got ready to leave Byron and booked my bus to Surfers Paradise for the next morning.
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