Byron Bay: Wednesday 5th January - Sunday 9th January

We arrived in Byron Bay late at night just as the monsoons had arrived. Due to the weather Aquarius backpackers picked us up so we didn't have to traipse through the wet streets. On arrival at the hostel the receptionist said she didn't have a booking for us - s***! We were still with the girls at this point and knew that it was going to be almost impossible to find a bed for all of us. Looking into the lack of booking we realised that one of the girls had the wrong phone number and we'd actually booked Aquarius on the Gold Coast - not Byron Bay. In addition to this I's also had £125 deducted from my account for the booking. Once again - s***! In a moment of panic and sheer frustration we set about calling any hostels or motels that we could find a number for only to find out that they were fully booked. Sean and I then faced the rain and traipsed around the whole of Byron Bay to find a bed for the night, by now it was about 11pm and we spent a good 90 minutes looking only to find that everywhere was either full or their reception closed at 9pm. Not a good start for our stay in Byron. We eventually found somewhere above a dodgy looking pub that was going to set us back $55 each for the night. At this stage there wasn't much choice so we went back to get the girls and our luggage, then checked into the hotel. On the plus side it was the first time we'd had our own room since arrival in Oz, shame it was damp, we were stressed and the majority of my clothes were soaked! We treated ourselves to a much needed drink and spotted Chris and Kirsty walking past, dragging them in cheered us up as Chris was pretty drunk and made us laugh. Needless to say we didn't sleep particularly well that night as we were concerned about finding somewhere for the rest of our stay.

In the morning Sean stayed at the hotel watching the cricket as he conveniently didn't have a rain jacket (as he left it in a bar in Thailand) so I set about finding somewhere to stay. We found a couple of places with two beds but they weren't cheap and just at the right time I went to Backpackers Inn who just so happened to have a room for five available at a decent rate. Awesome! This was also where Chris and Kirsty were staying so it actually worked out pretty well in the end. Backpackers Inn is another really nice hostel, very chilled, nice lounge area, pool table, barbie, tv room and a swimming pool which we didn't get to use at the weather was crap. It was also situated right on the beach which would have been perfect had the sun been shining. Byron Bay itself is a cute little town which consists of one main street of nice bars, eateries and boutique shops which lead up to an awesome beach with hostels, motels, apartments on the side streets. It's quite a hippie chilled out town which attracts Aussies as well as backpackers.

Due to the weather the day was pretty much a write off so we used the time to hunt around for a Fraser Island/Whitsundays package. Now we just have to pray that the weather improves and we get to do the both of them. We met some of the guys that Chris and Kirsty had been travelling with and spent the evening playing Scattegories before finally getting a decent night sleep after a stressful day or two.

Friday was rubbish weather once again so we headed to Nimbin for the day with Chris, Kirsty, JonJo and Miles. Another awesome group of people that we would be sad to leave. Before this day trip we moved into Chris and Kirsty's room so that we didn't have to share with strangers - walking down wet concrete steps loaded up with luggage resulted in me slipping with one leg under me from top to bottom, like a little child I shed a tear but I was in pain with several cuts and bruises over my body, luckily nothing too serious and we could get on with the day. Nimbin is a little town about 90 minutes from Byron which feels like you are stepping back in time to the 70s. Everyone had told us it was awesome but we couldn't help but feel ripped off. It was a very small street with lots of shops selling hemp clothes, wandering chickens and a bizarre museum which mentioned on several occasions that they do not believe in drugs only herbs etc yet had people popping out of rooms offering 'cookies' and 'marijuana'. Somehow I think that the quotes were just to try and fool the cops, although I think they just turn a blind eye to it. The boys decided they would try some of the local speciality whilst Kirsty and I went for smoothies and ice cream. A few minutes later the boys appeared looking what I can only describe as death warmed up and then a major bout of paranoia set in with Sean and JonJo which made the journey back seem like it took forever. If you want any more info on this day then ask us in person! After a few hours relaxing and a nap things were finally back to normal and we had an evening of goon and scattegories before hitting the pub followed by bed!

On Saturday we headed up to Cape Byron LightHouse, the weather was awful but we had to go there regardless. Although it was uphill the walk wasn't too bad, especially when you got the views that we had. I can imagine on a clear day that it would be breathtaking but in some ways the wind and rain made it that little bit more interesting, it is also up here that you are at the most easterly point of Oz. Like typical Brits we cooked up a barbie in the rain filling ourselves with some awesome meat and goon. The fun continued in our room where Sean and I kicked ass at numerous different quizzes!

Sunday was our day to move on and we were feeling sad to leave our friends, but the weather had improved slightly which meant we could actually get on the beach and into the surf for a bit. The surf here is just mental, it's easy to understand how so many people drown in the seas every year - just in the shallow parts it pulls me so there's no way I'd get out there! We had a good giggle jumping the waves but there's only so many times I can hold my bikini bottoms in place!