Byron Bay
Disembarking the night bus from Sydney I was glad to be greeted by the representative and minibus for Backpackers Inn. The driver gave us a tour of Byron before heading to the hostel. Unfortunately we were unable to check in until 1pm and after such a long night with no sleep the morning was definitely a struggle.

We explored Byron and found a lovely cafe with free wifi (they were charging $20 a day to use it at the hostel) and we sat and planned what we are going to do for the rest of our time in Australia. Afterwards, we passed a greyhound wicked travel agency and with a couple of questions to ask about the bus and the tours we popped in. We were greeted by Steph and he was great and literally helped us with everything up the coast, booked all our tours and busses so all was left to book was our accommodation. I couldn't thank him enough, we even managed to fit in a day of diving in the Great Barrier Reef which I am really looking forward too.

We were given more good news when we managed to check in to the hostel, included in our 'surf and stay' was a free dinner and breakfast! All we had to do is meet at the surf school at 6.15pm. Unfortunately there were too many of us to hop in the bus and head to the light house to watch the sun set so we chilled in the hostel gardens and got to know some of the other travellers. We met Kealey and Charlie who were both from the UK also travelling up the coast.

Day two in Byron - our first surf lesson!
We were ready looking forward to giving surfing a go. The cyclone Winston, was not helping us as the waves on the beach were so big with lots of water movement I am surprised the lesson was not cancelled! I didn't quite make it to standing but It was great fun and would like to give it another go further up the coast.

We met Kealey later on that evening, she went hand gliding and we were able to watch the video, it looked amazing, the views of the coast were incredible. I have now added that to my list of things to do whilst in Aus!

Surfers Paradise
A couple of hours up the east coast we arrived in Surfers Paradise. We spent time exploring the market, walking along the beach and cooked a delicious dinner.
Along the beach front were incredible sand sculptures of Shrek and Madagascar. I can really see why some people would stay in surfers a little longer.