Surf Camp and Byron Bay

After spending a day recovering in the hotel, we got up really early to catch the bus up to surf camp on the way to Byron Bay. It was such a long journey and the bus was really hot but we finally got there after a few stops to re-fuel on the way, but it was too late to surf. We had been stuck in traffic, it was so busy because on the 2nd January everyone starts heading up the East coast! We spent the night in surf camp sat round the camp fire talking to some Swedish girls and some Belgium girls who were heading the same way as us, they were really nice! The next morning after breakfast we put on our wet-suites, did our stretches and headed for the beach with some more crazy surer guys! The sea was really warm, unlike last time, and I managed to stand up on my second try so I gave up trying as hard, it was far too early to be in the sea, but it was a lot of fun!

When we got on the bus again to go to Byron we all had to get off again as the bus was strangely leaning to one side! We had to all rock the bus for it to start which was quite worrying, but in the end we hit the road and within a few hours we arrived!

Byron bay is such a cool and quirky place. There are hippies everywhere and the lifestyle here is just so relaxed! The first night out was spent at a bar call cheeky monkeys where we got a meal for $7 and a free glass of cheap champagne which led to a few more drinks and dancing till early hour of the morning! Me and Caz were the sober ones and so woke up feeling fine the next day and hit the beach. The beach was absolutely beautiful, the sand was white and the waves were huge, they literally knocked you over in the water- well me anyway, I'm only little! We chilled on the beach all day and watched the surfers who made it look so easy! I wish I was better at it!

For the last few days we have literally just chilled on the beach and roamed around the small town exploring all the quirky little boutiques and cafes. We got up at 5am to got and see the sunrise at the most easternly point in Australia and saw the famous lighthouse. It was so nice despite being far too early! They say on some days you can see whales and dolphins jumping and watch turtles swim! We didn't have much luck, but it was still really beautiful! We also had a day trip to Nimbin- which was literally a mini Amsterdam! We spent the day with a guy called Jim who took us to the famously weird town and then onto his friends house, Paul. He was so funny; a sixty year old guy with hair as long as mine, silver nail varnish on his fingers and ties, a huge beard, stains all over his clothes, wandering around with no shoes on. He owned 80 acres of land which years ago was literally empty but now it like a rain forest. He planted a huge forest which is now riddled with wildlife! We actually saw a koala bear in the wild, it was so amazing! We ate watermelon and chilled out in his garden listening to his views on the creation of the earth; he was so trippy!

The weather was ridiculously hot, 41 degrees at one point, definitely different to Sydney! Last night we sat outside the beach hotel, had a few drinks and packed ready to move on to Surfers Paradise!