Byron Bay (Spring Break pt. 3)

Alas, the end of the mid semester break was here in a blink of an eye. This is the part of the trip where I planned to do some hiking and relaxing on the beach. I was so lucky in Hobart and Melbourne that it didn't rain when I was there, but as soon as I hopped of the bus in Byron Bay, the rain stopped by and stayed for the entire two days I was there. But the rain let up for a couple hours at a time, so it wasn't too much of a nuisance.

Sunday

Byron Bay is a cute little Hippie town that kind of reminds me of a Californian Surfer vibe/Haight and Ashbury (San Francisco) vibe. Everyone was so chill and the shops sold a lot of tie dye clothes. After I checked into my hostel, I had a quick breakfast at the Twisted Sista Cafe and decided to go on the trail that leads to the Byron Bay Lighthouse. The hike was a bit exhausting, since there were a lot of stairs to climb and it was super humid. I felt like I was swimming in the bay instead of walking! The views during the hike were incredible, and I saw many whales! I only saw the fins come out of the water; none of the whales I saw breached the surface of the water nor showed of their tail. I also found out that I was at the most easterly point of the Australian mainland (I checked that off the Aussie bucket list)! Visiting the lighthouse was refreshing; watching the whales, listening to the water crash onto the shore and taking pictures of the surroundings was very relaxing after a week packed full of activities.

 

  


The rain started to pick up and I walked back to my hostel to take a nap. Since my flight arrived in the Gold Coast at 7am and I arrived in Byron Bay around 9am (with the time change) I was exhausted! I wish I could have taken a nap on the beach, but I still have time to get tan later on in the semester. I met my roommates Heather, Cherie and Sophie from Canada, Australia, and Britain respectively. After my nap and after they spent their afternoon walking around the town, we planned to meet up for dinner. Cherie found a Mexican restaurant (that's not GYG) and I was pleasantly surprised that it was delicious mexican food. Sophie was telling me about her visit to New Zealand, since she just arrived in Australia after that part of her trip. She booked the same tour that I will take, and she was talking about all of the sights I will see and places I will visit. The whole time she reminisced on her NZ trip, she was so happy that I will be taking the same tour, knowing that I'll have an amazing trip. I enjoyed listening to her stories and it made me more excited about the trip! I had a grand time hanging out with them since they're all world travelers and many stories and laughs were shared throughout the meal. I was a bit sad they were all leaving in the morning, but I'm glad I met them and gotten to know them a little bit.

Monday

I knew there were a couple of other nearby hiking paths, but since it rained all day on Monday, I walked around town and took lots of pictures. I went back to the Twisted Sista for breakfast again, such a cute cafe. I ordered a mocha and the banana creme cake--my goodness I now know what heaven tastes like! That really made my day a little brighter on the cold, cloudy, rainy day.
Yeah I didn't do too much in BB, but if it wasn't raining, I would've taken a kayaking tour or another surfing lesson. However, walking around the town helped me learn about the area. Byron Bay is also a very instagramable town, I mean look how cute this town is! I made most of the day working on my photography skills, and I think my plan paid off!


  

  

  

  

  


As the afternoon rolled around the rain let up, and I had to wait for my bus to take me back to Brisbane. The bus ride back to Brisbane was surprisingly fast! I did have a lot of time to reflect on this journey, and I'm so fortunate I had the opportunity to experience these amazing places. Who cares if weather got in the way for parts of it, I still met many interesting and cool people and saw as much as I could in such a short time frame. This trip made me realize I do like solo travel, and that I am good at planning a solo trip. I remember walking into my room in my Brisbane apartment, fell onto my bed, took in a deep breath, exhaled, and replayed the entire trip in my head while wishing I was still hiking in Hobart or eating food on Degraves Street in Melbourne. I knew I had class the next day, so I quickly downloaded the pictures onto my computer, took a shower and went to sleep early to go back to the student life.



From the time I post this blog article I have exactly one month of school (including final exams). For the most part, I'll be studying and working on my projects for each class. Although I'll be hitting the books, stay tuned for my last couple of adventures in Australia and also stay tuned for my New Zealand adventures (starting at the end of November)! My time in Australia is flying by; I think I'm having too much fun!