Byron Bay

Byron Bay is an awesome little surfing town in the northern part of New South Wales. Unfortunately for us we arrived during school holidays (unknown to us!) and the price of the camp sites were doubled! ($46 for a square patch of gravel!!!!!!) However, the camp site did have some advantages, it was right in the centre of town - unlike many campsites which are a long way out, and it had access to a stunning beach. We spent our first day lazing around the beach and wandering through the boutique shops. That evening we went to a Japanese teppanyaki restaurant where they cook the food in front of you (delicious!) On the way home from the restaurant Emma 'fell in love' with a ring in a shop window that she simply 'had to have' and marched sam straight back to the shop first thing in the morning! (It is really pretty!!)

It had become clear that Sam has caught the surfing bug and was desperate to get back into the waves. He found a guy willing to give him a private lesson for the same cost as a group lesson, so off Sam went to hire his gear. He came back with, what can only be described as a canoe - the biggest surf board ever made!!! Kitted out in his wet suit, he had tourist written all over him!! Off we went to meet the surf instructor (Sam waddling in his wet suit and hitting anything in his path with his GIANT surf board). Brad the surf instructor was a very cool middle aged guy with a full on beard that could have easily mistaken him for a tramp!!! While Sam surfed, Emma watched from the beach, working on her tan and trying to take photos of Sam where it looked like he knew what he was doing (harder than it sounds!!!) Emma had 1 second and 1 second only to get the shot where it looked like Sam was standing and not falling!!!

From the beach Emma noticed something moving in the distance out to the ocean - it was a mother and baby humpback whale breaching so close to the shore it was incredible!!! Brad told us that if the baby whales were out it also meant that the Great Whites would be out hunting for their dinner! Sam (whose surfing ability closley resembled that of a drowning seal) was anxious to end the lesson and get out of the water, however Brad seemed totally unfazed (australians are totally relaxed when it comes to deadly creatures like snakes, sharks, crocs its really bizarre!!!)

After a 2 hour lesson Sam was exhausted and could barely carry his canoe, sorry surf board back to the shop (but he was encouraged by the fact that he had to get back his $500 deposit for the surf board - no that is not a typo - $500!!!!!!!!)

The following day we visited some nearby towns Lennox Head plus a few others we cant remember the names of! We spent the afternoon up at the famous lighthouse in Byron which is also the most Easterly point in Australia. There were a number of magpies up there - Emma screamed a little bit! The view was incredible and we also spotted a number of whales which are migrating south to antarctica for the summer!! After a bbq dinner with some lovely Swedish ppl we had met we went to bed and prepared for our next stop - the Gold Coast!