Byron Bay is up there with one of my favourite places up the east coast. Lovely town, great atmosphere and is situated in an awesome place. I got up to a lot of things while being there for 10 days. The first thing being the famous Byron Bay lighthouse walk. I got up nice and early and took a casual stroll up there with Mark. Walking past and through various beaches and lookout points. Managed to see my first pod of dolphins!. See the pictures below to get an idea of what the views were like. One day we caught up with our surf camp friends and decided to check out some tea tree lakes. Now at the time, I had no idea what a tea tree lake was, and tbh if I walked passed one you would think its just muddy water. After speaking to the travel agent at our hostel (Aquarius) he was nice enough to print a map and mark the way to a not so commonly known tea tree lake on the other side from the Byron lighthouse. Honestly was a nice little soak, all I know is I felt really refreshed after. We then took a stroll back along the beach.

Another day I met up with one of my work buddies from the UK who was travelling and living in Byron for a few months at that time. He took us down to Wategoes Beach for some surfing, and believe me it was a shock. From surfing the nice waves of Arrawarra to the hectic waves that day in Wategoes was a challenge, and I failed haha. Getting wiped out constantly by waves trying to paddle out was fun. Meanwhile, Talib and Mark got out and manage to meet Matt Damon and give him a few surfing tips. I decided to ride a few of the nicer white waves.

Some of the best points of Byron is the nightlife. A wide selection of places to go out, the table dancing bar Cheeky Monkeys was a fun night. We ended up at Beach Hotel another night for some big event with a drummer and DJ, Woody’s surf shack club for all your house music needs. It became apparent that I was gonna struggle finding rock bars everywhere. However, the buskers at night were amazing. Streets filled with people dancing to the many buskers lining the main street. I remember watching on down then wide alley between two shops for a while on the night. Not to mention a bakery open till the early hours for your post-drinking needs!

I will cover Nimbin and a few waterfall spots in the next blog.

Places to check out:

Aquarius hostel: Free dinner every night, has a bar which always seems packed with good vibes. Close to the beach and has a great hammock chill-out area on the roof.
Cheeky Monkeys: Known for there theme nights and table dancing dance floor, we had a few fun nights out there.
Tea Tree lakes and beaches nearby
Pie shop, open till the early hours. The best food on the way back from a night out.
Late-night buskers

- Charlie bluck