Byron Bay (part I)

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Byron Bay. Where to start.Here is what the Lonely Planet has to say about it:



“Byron Bay’s reputation precedes it like no other place in Australia. It’s a gorgeous town where the trademark laid-back, New Age populace lives an escapist, organic lifestyle against a backdrop of evergreen hinterland and never-ending surfable coastline. With such a heady high rap in mind, the pitfall lies in arriving in this utopia along with every other backpacker on the coast, and wondering what all the fuss is about. Never fear, the sensation doesn’t last long. Byron’s unique vibe has a way of converting even the most cynical with its long days, balmy weather, endless beaches, delightful accommodation, delectable food, delirious nightlife, ambling milieu and the charisma and hospitality of the local community. It’s an addiction that’s hard to kick and many simply don’t. A weekend turns into a week, a week into a month… Before you know it, dreadlocks are a serious consideration.”



Well, I certainly had high expectations of Byron Bay, but I had also anticipated that those expectations wouldn’t be met. Sadly, on this occasion, I was right.



There were certainly a lot of dreadlocks, several organic cafés and HEAPS of travelers. What Byron Bay really misses is warmth and originality. In a way it’s not much different from the touristy part of Bangkok where every shop sells the same wood/shell jewellery and the average age is 18-21. Coming here, you’d expect big love but people don’t smile much and they’re not very friendly either.



I expect that Byron Bay probably used to be unspoilt and genuine, but I fear that time has made it a commercial and slightly soulless place where there are more tourists than locals. Harsh but true.



We stayed at a place called the Arts Factory which offers every kind of accommodation from the Backpackers Lodge (dorms, teepees, camping, $20 sleeping in a van in their car park which is what we did) to Garden Burées (luxury Balinese style chalets at up to $550 per night). I would describe the Arts Factory as a self contained village within Byron Bay. It has so many facilities and activities that there really is no need to leave: travel booking desk, swimming pool, café (we would strongly advise against the $6 curries), didgeridoo workshops, onsite brewery, bar/restaurant and a funky cinema. We went to see Norwegian flick ‘The Headhunters’ (fantastic!! watch it!!) and really enjoyed relaxing in the cosylounge cinema with a glass of vino and a beer. There’s also a nice lakeside deck (mega mozzie alert) with picnic tables and a few hammocks. In true Byron Bay style, they claim to run sustainable eco tourism but I couldn’t find a recycling bin for paper/cardboard anywhere, and you have to run their showers for 4-5 minutes to get any hot water… The smell of weed is present 24 hours a day, whilst the town has the more pleasant smell of incense.



It’s a little hard to plan your day in Byron Bay as schedules are unpredictable. Things that are advertised simply don’t happen when you turn up at the advertised time. We weren’t able to book a surfing lesson either so in the end we just hired a surf board and gave it a go by ourselves. And it was a lot of fun! As a seasoned windsurfer, Dean started getting the hang of it pretty quickly and had the time of his life. I think it’s safe to say we’ll be getting a surf board and spending a lot of time in the ocean :-)



Byron Bay almost redeemed itself when I discovered the wonderful Fundamental (or ‘Fundies’) café/store that has every imaginable item of delicious, healthy and eco friendly product on offer. They even had a divine frosted carrot chai cake which, being wheat and dairy free, was Jackie-friendly.



That afternoon we went for a cycle up to the lighthouse and watched this guy fulfill his dream of hang gliding. It was his birthday and his family had pitched in to buy him a massage and a hang gliding session before he moves out to Bali to build a resort – wow! Minutes later an old dude wearing a long beard and a synthetic flower garland declared that I was a gorgeous goddess and was never allowed to leave Byron… half an hour after that another old dude narrowly missed knocking me off my bike and, instead of apologising, gave me an earful of abuse that I can’t possibly repeat here.



Seriously, I can see how this town would appeal to a twenty-year-old backpacker but I can’t imagine what would possibly possess anyone to actually live here. Of course there is a lot of fun to be had in Byron but, overall, you can probably tell that I’m not really a fan. I feel the need to leave all the angst, rage, weed and lack of manners (yes, I know I sound like your granny) behind and move on to somewhere happy and peaceful. I’m sure that for some people Byron Bay is nirvana, but it takes a bit more than linen bandanas, skateboards and marijuana to impress us.



The next day we went for a snorkel around The Wreck. This popular surfing spot is the site of the Wollongbar which sunk there during a cyclone in 1922. We can see why surfers love it here and had to be careful not to let the waves push us into the wreck where apparently two people had died the previous week… It was low tide when we went out so it was almost possible to walk out to the wreck. The rudder and the boilers were both visible from the beach. The water was pretty cold though and after 20 minutes of snorkeling (in a rash suit and a wetsuit) my lips were blue. We have decided that it’s definitely time to step up our travelling pace and get further north! After a hot shower we cooked up a lovely warm curry to keep us toasty and in the afternoon we went on a local bushtucker walk to learn about edible plants, how to find water in the bush and how to throw a spear! Our guide, Cockatoo Paul, is an established institution in Byron Bay and could be described as Australia’s answer to Bear Grylls. As his name suggests, he had his very own cockatoo, Mr Pickles, who lives on his shoulder. Obviously there is always a fair amount of poo down his back… He is actually a musician but much of his time is now spent developing a centre for Aboriginal people near Kangaroo Creek. When he talks about that, you can tell how passionate he is about it.



That evening our backpacker hostel hosted a talent show / open mic night. There were some very gifted budding guitar musicians as well as some not-so-gifted individuals. Again, there was a healthy dose of rage and angst. The highlight was, without a doubt, Cockatoo Paul’s performance of a superb guitar/didgeridoo number.



On our last Byron Bay day, we headed out to the dropzone to get some air time. We had jumped there about four years ago when we travelled up the east coast on Grant & Robyn’s honeymoon. It was just as amazing this time round: stunning views, fab aircraft, great height, chilled atmosphere and nice setup. My skydiving mojo has been in decline for the last year or so, but that jump reminded me so much of my first one and brought all the excitement and joy back. I can’t wait to do it again!



On our way out of town, popping into Fundies proved to be too much of a temptation. Luckily there was one last piece of chai carrot cake left for me :-)

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Comments

[Agate from http://www.byronbeachresort.com.au/]

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