Byron Bay at Last

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We finally hit the last overnight stop of the world tour: Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia. If any place had an immediate magical feel to it, this place did. We touched down in Brisbane a little after 10pm, did the slow crawl through immigration and customs (these guys were the nit-pickyest, yet*) and finally got into our rental car shortly after midnight. Then we hit the wrong side of the road for a two drive to Byron Bay. We got there in plenty of time, but spent another 45 minutes trying to find the beach house, which we finally did after 3 am. After catching up with Rob and Jolanda for about an hour, we went to sleep.

The next morning (or close to afternoon) we went to the beach and had our breath taken away. Of all the places we had seen, the sky here was bluer, the sand finer, the trees greener, the water clearer than other spot on the planet. At least that's how it felt. Or maybe it was the relaxation that over came us of being in relatively familiar surroundings of an English speaking western nation. Not that we didn't enjoy the other spots, it's just that the going would be easier here. Six and a half weeks and five countries was starting to take its toll.

We spent most of our three days at the beach, though we tour the local lighthouse, hit a bohemian crafts fair (which seemed soooo expensive compared to India, Sri Lanka and Vietnam), and stopped at the eastern most point on the continent of Australia. That point is significant because it means that the migrating humpback pass very close to the shore here. And for that magic moment, on the last hour on the last day on the beach we saw about five of them breaching off shore. (Sorry, no photos). It was amazing. I grew up in Alaska and had never seen a whale in the wild until that day. Now I can check that off my life list as well.

If there was one thing we could have changed about the trip is that we would stay longer in Australia. A lot longer next time.

*The customs guys asks how long we're going to be in Australia. "Three days" I reply. "You come all the way down here for just three days?" he asks. "It's a long story. It was supposed to be longer," I said.

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Photos

One of many beaches
Byron Bay has many beautiful beachs, including this one seen from the light house.

Lydia at telescope
Lydia's on the lookout for migrating whales. We didn't see any that day.

Rachel and Lydia Blue sky
Rachel and Lydia juxtaposed against the blue, blue sky.

Group at lighthouse
This is another angle on the group shot in front of the Byron Bay Lighthouse.

Colorful Bird
The fauna was quite colorful. I chase a bird similar to this for 20 minutes trying to get a good photo. Nam got this shot in about two.

Nice Beach
At the end of a long walk, the boulders break up the monotony of endless fine white sand (and it's still gorgeous).

Us
A self portrait taken at arm's length while we wait for the sun to set on another perfect day.

Surf Sun
Nam catches a few final waves as the sun sets over the bay.

Pelican
This guy didn't spook easily. We got quite close and he didn't move for half an hour.

Didji Deb
That's not a pipe! At a local crafts fair, Debbie gives a go at a didji, an Aboriginal instrument. It's that low buzzing thing on the Outback Steakhouse commercials. Overall, we were shocked to see western prices again after having spent weeks exploring Asian bazaars.

Comments

[travellingmum]

loved your blog
I am from Brisbane and most people here love Byron too. And YES 3 days for Australia... unheard of!! ha ha. I have enjoyed reading your adventures. I have 3 kids too so found it entertaining. I have always thought about adoption and loved reading about your family and how happy you seem at making it work.