Byron Bay!! One of my favourite places along the coast I have now decided looking back. It was very chilled out, a true hippy place with really nice shops, a good beach and not too commercialised (there was no McDonald's!) Gillian got dropped off miles out at a place called the Arts Factory - stay in a teepee very hippy! We got to our hostel and got checked into an apartment. We had to pay a 10 dollar deposit for a top sheet! We said er...no! Towels and jumpers work just as well! Or our sleeping bag liner we remembered after our first night lol! We went out for dinner with Disco and the Irish at a place called Cheeky Monkeys. A brilliant place with really good cheap food. We were on the OZ Experience bus table - although we took up 3 huge tables! We were told the more noise we made throughout the night the more beer we would get for free...so we did! There were competitions all night, some more rude than others! Needless to say, Kyle volunteered for them all, as did Clare and Aileen! You can see the photos for photographic evidence :) We did well though as a group! Before too long we were suddenly all dancing up on the tables...it's the thing to do in OZ clearly! It was pretty dangerous, but very fun! We all got pretty drunk that night and decided a trip to the 23 hour bakery could cure this...so we sauntered up the road, seeing random hippies everywhere and a lot of pastry items were purchased and consumed that night! Fantastic bakery, best in OZ! The next morning Amber, Kyle and me found a nice place for brekkie and I had pancakes...AMAZING! We then decided we wanted to give Sea Kayaking a try, so we booked it, got back to the hostel and got ready. We got picked up, paid up and got kitted up with a fetching helmet and lifejacket! Me and Amber lugged the 2 man kayak all the way to the beach and through what can only be described as a sludgy red water creek...disgusting and you just did NOT want to know what it was. Kyle got stuck with a Canadian girl who had decided that she would cry if we didn't see any dolphins on the trip and he had to paddle her across this creek as she jumped on the kayak like a proper princess! We had a quick talk through kayaking, then got straight into the waves. It was pretty choppy, but we coped "left right left right" we shouted the whole time! Amber was the power at the front and I was the steering at the back. We paddled about 5km all in all (including back to shore) and didn't see a sausage. We were welcome to paddle again for free but we ached so much and felt we had got the 'experience' now! Half way through, Amber said to me, "Katie...do you feel sea sick?" The minute she mentioned it, I started to feel funny! It must all be psychological just as I keep saying! The instructor told us to wet our faces or even get in the water for a bit, but Amber wasn't keen, certain she wouldn't get back in the kayak if she got in the water! This is partly due to me...the instructor said earlier to try and stand up to look for dolphins, Amber tried, her little legs shaking away, bum high in the air, holding onto the kayak with her hands! That is as far as she got! I tried after this, a bit too confident, the second I let go I fell straight in! It was a really nice dip though! We paddled back to shore, falling out in the waves which was a bit of a shock, but we got back ok. We played a penguin game to keep warm (I can explain this better in person!) and they gave us biscuits and sweets to get our energy levels up, just as well as Amber was as white as a ghost! Look out for the photo where it is me, Amber and Kyle and Amber looks pretty ill next to us bless her. We got back to the hostel, showered, and went over to Cheeky Monkey's again for tea. Kyle had got 'the cold' and was pretty ill, but he came over for tea too then perked up after a few drinks (surprising that!)so much so he and Amber started to volunteer for everything going again! They won a pop the balloon competition together (very rude!) and then both took part in a find the object hunt where Kyle came 3rd and Amber won! She did really well, and won a Whitsunday Islands trip worth about 250 pounds! Amber being so kind, just gave it away to a girl we had literally just met who was going up the coast. Afterwards I think she regretted not even asking for 100 pounds for it. The girl didn't even buy her a drink! How rude. Of course no night in Byron Bay was complete without the bakery run, so we all went up there, and got some good food! Me, Lynn and Gillian were sat on some steps up the street just having a giggle and all of a sudden an old man lurched at us, flies open, claiming he was called "Wombat the Pirate...the most dangerous serial killer in Australia"! Crazy crazy crazy place! We just moved on, seconds later we met the "best can-can dancer in Oz" who had just been punched by a 6ft 5 hulk of a man...the woman said did we want to meet this man and we did not stick around! Byron Bay was really turning out to be FULL of characters and great nights! The next day we got up for about 10am, and left Lynn in bed recovering after the night's antics! We hired some bikes from the hostel for free and got going up to the famous lighthouse. It was pretty entertaining watching Amber cycle...the first hill we came to did her (and me!) in and we decided to park halfway up to the lighthouse and walk the rest of the way. We chose the 1.5km rainforest walk which probably couldn't have included more steps if it tried! So Liam led, on snake watch, I followed, on spider watch, Amber hobbled behind and Kyle brought up the rear, constantly calling Amber "crazy lady"! We finally got to the top and it was a gorgeous lighthouse! Really stunning and the views were very worthwhile too. We got a much needed drink and chilled for a bit. We made our way down the beach route, me and Amber certain that we were going the wrong way but the boys excelled and got us back to our bikes. We biked to a food garage and got strawberries and a drink! A bit later the boys decided to hire a body board for free from the hostel so I joined them and Amber and Lynn chilled a bit. Liam was addicted to the waves! Body boarding was pretty difficult, but wait till we tried surfing! We got back, and cooked fajitas for tea in our apartment which was very nice :) We tried to play drinking uno but no-one was too bothered about drinking so it turned into another bakery outing, then bed! Friday...the boys visited Nimbin (where you can get minor drugs and the police sort of turn a blind eye). Lynn and I went to the beach to do some much wanted sunbathing and dipping in the sea whilst Amber and Gillian did some much needed retail therapy! It was a very nice day. We had a girly night out as the boys decided not to come out and Amber was getting Kyle's cold so she felt rough...so it was just Gillian, Lynn and me! We went to a club with free entry but it was rubbish so we came back to the trusty Cheeky's :) We had a boogie on the tables for the last time then made it to the bakery for the last time. The next morning...an 8am start...we were Surf Camp bound!!!