Byron by the Sea, or "we discover surfing"
27th to 31st January 2017
How to describe Byron Bay? Hippie, hipster heaven. Beachy and achingly stylish. Full of good food and sunshine. Home to a million coffee shops. Picturesque to the point of ridiculousness. Jam-packed with activities both in and out of the water. Yes, I think that's about right.
We had great plans for a range of things at Byron Bay - hiking, snorkelling, yoga, and maybe a quick surfing lesson.
However, after our first surf lesson, pretty much everything else went out the window for our short stay in this trendy New South Wales beachside town.
Black Dog Surf School looked after us so well and gave us easy-to-follow pointers for standing up on our boards. Our first lesson was so much fun that halfway through, as we dragged our surfboards back through the waves, we turned to each other bedraggled and smiling and said "let's go again tomorrow!".
You see, they hook you in on your first lesson by pushing you into waves so that all you need to focus on is trying to stand up. You think you're great, a natural born surfer after the first lesson.
They make you work harder for it on your second lesson, but it's just as much fun. This is where you begin to try and spot your own waves, and paddle like crazy to try and catch them.
Addictive stuff this surfing, even when you spend more time falling off than standing up!
Now, although we didn't really fit in any other activities, we did have time to wander about the gorgeous town of Byron, taste some of the fantastic food here, and enjoy live music.
Our hostel was about 20 minutes' walk along the beach from the centre of town, meaning we caught morning sunshine, sunset, and once, even pitch black skies as we headed home.
We had just 3 days here, but as we headed off on the early morning Greyhound bus, bound for Brisbane, Byron Bay was firmly on both of our "visit again" lists.
Byron Bay Snapshots
- Emergency hat buying on my part after walking the beach on the first morning and scalding the scalp off myself.
- Coconut margaritas at Miss Margarita Cantina (if you ever visit Byron, do a very nice thing for yourself, and please have a coconut margarita here).
- The fan in our hostel dorm doing feck all to kill the summer night heat.
- Traipsing back from our surf lessons with salty hair, sunburn, and giant smiles.
- Listening to Madison Kat belting out great music at the Beach Hotel on a Sunday afternoon.
- Spotting bluebottle jellyfish all along the shore.
- The joy of standing up on a surfboard for the first time!