I boarded the Greyhound bus at 10pm on Tuesday night from Sydney bound for Byron Bay. The estimated arrival time was 10am Wednesday morning and in true-to-myself style I think it is fair to say I slept almost the entire journey (reminiscent of my school ski trips onboard a 26-hour coach headed for the Italian or Austrian mountains).

My eyes slowly opened around 9.30am as we were approaching Lennox Head (which has recently suffered at the fate of a cyclone), but from what I saw of it was truly beautiful. After not too much further we were in Byron Bay and I am pleased to report after the relentless rain Sydney has recently thrown down that the sun was shining brightly. I travelled to Byron with a guy called Dan that I met at The Blue Parrot and we were both staying at The Arts Factory after numerous recommendations from fellow backpackers and friends.

We found the rep from the hostel at the coach station and boarded the mini bus for the short journey to the hostel (as if we hadn't seen enough of buses). The hostel is set in 5 acres and comprises dorm style accommodation along with camping and tee-pees. Since it is winter here, despite the sunshine, I opted for a dorm and arrived at reception ready to check in, take a shower, drop my bags and start exploring Byron. Unfortunately the reception staff had other ideas and thought perhaps I might prefer to spend my first morning in Byron sat on a bench opposite them for an hour and a half whilst the cleaners, in no particular hurry, cleaned the room!

Eventually around 1pm I was ready to venture in to the town centre and given the welcomed warmth and sunshine I decided to spend an afternoon at the beach and even braved the water for a quick dip. I came back to the room for an afternoon sleep before getting changed and heading to The Buddha Bar (attached to the hostel) for a couple of cheeky glasses of vino.

The following day I explored some more of the town of Byron, sat on the beach again to read my book (aptly about Australia), and then walked to the 'Most Easterly point of the Australian mainland' and the famous lighthouse. I returned to the hostel and got changed, and at 7pm returned to the beach for a spot of yoga. As it was pretty quiet in Byron there was just three of us plus the instructor which meant that we got some individual assistance. I hadn't done any yoga for years and it was really nice to get back in to it - and what better place than hippie Byron.

My final day in Byron was mostly time-wasting as I was certainly done with the place. I had heard so many good reviews of the town, but for me it was a let down. I am glad I have seen it, but I certainly wouldn't hurry back. That evening, I watched others get drunk, then snuck off to pack my bags and get an early night.

At midday on the Saturday I jumped back on the bus heading for Brisbane.