The Bay

Honestly, I can’t even begin to imagine what I would do in Australia if I didn’t have friends like the ones I’ve made down here. It boggles my mind to think how close you can get to people in such a short period of time. I had this revelation as I sat on the Greyhound Bus riding home to the Gold Coast from a weekend in Byron Bay. Byron Bay is a small town about two hours south of Surfer’s Paradise in the northern part of New South Wales. On Friday, Jenna, Jill, Julia, Cathy, Tanya (who the blog has yet to meet and our token Australian friend!), and I boarded a bus to make the trip down to Byron for the weekend. We legitimately had no idea what to expect when we got there or what there is to do, but we were excited nonetheless. I’ve taken two trips with Jenna and Jill and stayed in semi-creepy hostels with them in Sydney and New Zealand, but this was my first experience sharing it with Julia, Cathy and Tanya. We got off the bus around 1:30pm and were greeted by a pretty cute, but slightly rude Australian boy whose job was nothing more than to get tourists to pay ridiculous amounts of money for skydiving. Needless to say, we didn’t accept his offer. We got on the shuttle to check into our hostel, Cape Byron Lodge, but the driver never showed up (Thanks a lot, Amy.) so we decided to walk; the weather was beautiful and we had just been sitting in a bus for over an hour. We all immediately realized that Byron was an adorable town and that exploration was absolutely necessary. After we checked into the hostel (which was quite possibly the dirtiest place I’ve ever been to), we got back on the shuttle (this time there was a driver) and headed back downtown to shop and have a look around. Byron Bay is home to “New South Wales most beautiful beach” and after walking to the end of the road, we could all see why. The water was clear and blue, the sand was so fine and soft that I could have fallen asleep on it and the whole beach extended left and right as far as I could see. We shopped a little more and then decided it was time for a drink; give us a break- we’re in Australia, it’s the thing to do! We headed to a bar called The Beach and tried a beer called Stone & Wood. We soon realized this was no ordinary beer. Stone & Wood is a infused with passionfruit and I’m not kidding when I say it’s the most delicious beverage I think I’ve ever had. We hung out in town for the rest of the night, ate some dinner, danced at Cheeky Monkey’s (Byron’s HOTTEST party bar) and finally decided that we were exhausted. We had a busy day tomorrow and we needed rest.

We woke up on Saturday morning with a bit of a headache, but called a cab and went into town to get some breakfast. I don’t know what it is with Byron Bay, but just about everything I tasted there was delicious. Saturday morning’s breakfast consisted of an English muffin topped with tomato relish, roasted zucchini, goat cheese, and a poached egg. I could honestly eat that everyday and still find it amazing. After brekky, we called another cab and went up to the lighthouse, which is infamous in Byron. Cathy had been bragging about how great the lighthouse was going to be for about 3 weeks, so clearly we had to check it out. She was right. The lighthouse did not disappoint. We took a look inside and read some history and then headed down a footpath where we would eventually end up at the beach. On the way and after about a million photo-opts, we made it to the most easterly point of Australia. That’s a pretty cool accomplishment if you ask me. I raced Tanya on the way and obviously I won… only kidding, it was a tie! We walked to the beach, wrote our names in the sand and then headed to my new favorite place in the world. There’s a lookout point directly down from the lighthouse overlooking the water and rocks. I’m almost certain that we sat on the fence looking from the water to the lighthouse to the cliff for about 45 minutes; none of us wanted to leave. After dragging ourselves up the most grueling steps ever, we decided it was time to eat again… Oh, just a side note so that EVERYONE is aware: on Friday, Cathy and Tanya ate sushi. Anyways, for lunch on Saturday Jill, Jenna, Julia, and I got the most amazing chicken burgers ever from a little Portuguese burger stand. And, oh that’s right, Cathy and Tanya got sushi for lunch. After we ate and looked around a little more, we headed back to the hostel to get ready for the evening and possibly take a power nap. Unfortunately, I had a slight fever and sore throat on Saturday night so I didn’t do anything at all except lie in my bed and hope for the best. Luckily, it came on Sunday morning after taking some Advil.

Three days in Byron may have been just one too many, but then again, I had an absolute blast this weekend. Sunday morning, we woke up, checked out of the hostel, and went to get some breakfast. Jill had the “best banana bread of her life” while everyone else's meal was just mediocre. We headed to the beach after brekky where there was an ongoing protest down one end. It was kind of weird, but we embraced it by burying Tanya in the sand and shaping her into a mermaid. Later in the day, I ate the world’s best falafel- not proclaimed by the place I got it, but I dubbed them the title because I honestly think it is true. Tanya and Cathy, well, they ate sushi… what a shock!!! Finally the time came to board our bus and go home. As I said before, I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have such amazing friends in Australia. These are people that I know I will have as friends for the rest of my life. It’s trips like the one to Byron that make me realize just how truly lucky I am. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so much and that hard in such a short period of time than I did this weekend. My friends leave in less than a month and I’ll be here in Australia with my mom until mid-July. I’m so ecstatic to have my mom come and I cannot wait to show her all of the amazing sites and places I have discovered over these past 4 months. It’s an odd feeling though. I have my mom coming, which is incredible, but I do wish that my friends could stay here with me. I know that they are sad to leave this amazing country and I can’t blame them, but I know that once I get home it will be great to see them all again (except Tanya… brb crying myself to sleep). It’ll be a completely different experience with my mom than with my friends. I’ve found that the trips I’ve taken with people have helped me get to know them a lot better. It bums me out to think about them leaving so soon. Guys, you have made this experience the best four months of my life and I genuinely mean that and I can’t wait for upcoming adventures with you all. Oh, and mom, LESS THAN A MONTH!!