Byron Bay - recommended by both Carolines
Buga: 11.06.2018
Biyan kuɗi zuwa Newsletter
24.04.2018-29.04.2018
Byron Bay was my new destination. Since I didn't really have any information about Australia beforehand, I didn't know much about the place. However, it seems to be very popular among backpackers and locals alike. It's a typical surfer town. Beautiful beaches, good waves, and relaxed people =)
I arrived on Tuesday morning with the Greyhound bus. From the bus station, I went to the hostel with an English guy. We stayed at the Backpackers Inn in The Beach. The two Carolines recommended this hostel to me, as did several others. It was actually really cool. It was quite big, but still manageable. The communal kitchen was very clean, but it was also closed and cleaned at lunchtime and at night. Everyone could rent their own dishes for 5 AUD and then was responsible for cleaning them themselves. I thought that was great. There were plenty of showers and toilets. There were rooms on 2 floors, each with blue doors, and all the bathrooms had green doors, so they were easy to find. There was a huge garden to sit in and a volleyball court.
We had direct access to the beach and only had to walk across the railway tracks, then take a small path through the greenery, and we were at Bellongil Beach.
We were warned that some people live in the bushes and may even attack, but these horror stories exist everywhere. Our access to the beach was pin-secured. My room was on the first floor and I shared it with 5 other people. I left my things there and went to Aldi for groceries. I treated myself to a stylish cooler bag with the Aldi logo. Everyone here has one and they are actually practical in hostels because you can store all your food in it and put the bag in the refrigerator. Just put your name on it and you're done. When I returned to the hostel, I cooked and ate right away. Then I retreated to one of the sofas in the common room to work on my blog.
On Wednesday, I got up early because there was yoga in the garden offered by the hostel at 7:30 am. It was raining, so there weren't many of us (6 girls), but we still went through with the class. It was a perfect start to the day. At breakfast, I met Marie and André. Germans again, you just can't avoid them. But they were really nice and wanted to go to Wategos Beach. I joined them and we sunbathed there.
The beach was really nice. When we all got hungry, we went back and looked for something to eat. We found a sushi restaurant and raided the leftovers there. Then we went to Main Beach and sat there. We even saw a rainbow and the dolphins came close to the beach just in time for the sunset.
They swam among the surfers and didn't seem bothered at all.
Regardless of that, the sunset was beautiful and definitely worth it.
We had some entertainment there too, as a guy, who was probably on drugs, was dancing to his music. We got to see it all. We then went back to the hostel. They had a barbecue for everyone, but I didn't sign up for it. The three of us went out again and had frozen yogurt.
It was mega expensive, but definitely worth it. Then we went back to the hostel and watched the end of the fire show.
It was extremely crowded there, so we found a quiet corner and smoked together. I don't usually smoke, but if the mood is right, I'll join in. But that doesn't happen very often. Marie and André went to bed right away and I sat down with Kira, Lisa, and Marcel. Marcel and Lisa were both in my room and they already knew Kira from before. We drank cider and beer together until we went to sleep.
I got up early again on Thursday because we were hoping for a beautiful sunrise. I met up with André and Marie, although André joined us later. Kira also joined us, but it wasn't really worth it because it was too cloudy.
I couldn't sleep anymore, so I stayed outside with André until the kitchen opened at 7:30 am. The girls went back to bed. After breakfast, I said goodbye to André because he was continuing his journey. Marie went to the beach, but I wanted to do some exercise first, so I walked to The Pass and Fishermans Lookout.
From there, I climbed over the rocks and ended up at Wategos Beach. I witnessed a man proposing to his girlfriend there. That was cool.
I thought Marie was there, but I misunderstood. Since I didn't have a functioning phone, I couldn't ask her. So I walked back the whole way and found her on our beach in front of the hostel. We lay in the sun together for a while and then went back to the hostel as she was also leaving. I then went to the lighthouse with Kira, Marcel, and Lisa.
We wanted to watch the sunset there. Since Kira came back late from her surf lesson, we had to hurry. Unfortunately, we only made it to Wategos Beach and then decided to walk back along the beach.
We then found a spot in the hostel courtyard and talked for hours. We said goodbye to Lisa as she was leaving the next morning.
Again on Friday, I had to get up early because there was morning yoga. This time without rain. Afterward, I had breakfast with Marcel and we went to the beach together.
We watched Kira's surf lesson and sunbathed. However, we couldn't stay there for long because the wind was so strong that we were completely covered in sand. It was anything but pleasant! So we went back to the hostel and straight into the shower. Later, the three of us cooked together and drank beer in the evening. Then we went to the Beach Hotel because there was live music. The music was really good. We got drinks and hit the dance floor. Another German guy from our room was there too, but he wasn't much of a dancer and just sat on the sidelines. Eventually, he left, but we didn't mind. When the music stopped, which was unfortunately too early, we went to Cheeky Monkeys. The Dutch from our room went there and we thought we might meet them. We paid 5 AUD admission and the party started. It was like Oktoberfest. Everyone was dancing on the tables and benches. It didn't take long before we found the three Dutch people. Marit felt really bad that she hadn't messaged me earlier. I didn't really mind too much. Unfortunately, they closed at around 2, just when we had arrived. I had just ordered a beer and we had to leave already. We met some guys outside who wanted to go to another club with us. So we all went to Woodys Surf Shack. That cost me another 15 AUD or so. I can't remember the last time I spent so much money just to go to a club. And honestly, it wasn't that great. The music wasn't really my style, it was overcrowded, and the drinks were even more expensive than usual. We still stayed because we had already paid.
We danced and then it was actually quite fun. Kira had already left earlier because she had to get up early in the morning. Marcel and I stayed. We had lost the others =) At some point, it got to be too much for both of us, so we left. Marcel was so hungry that we had to stop at the kebab shop. There we met two guys, one Swiss and one German. We chatted for a long time and later went to the beach. Eventually, in the early morning, we went back to the hostel and just wanted to sleep.
Since everyone from our room was partying, it was totally quiet in the room until noon. It was so relaxing. Marcel and I eventually went down to eat. It was raining outside, fitting for a hangover day =D We both felt like having chocolate, so we put on our rain jackets and went to Aldi. I wanted to buy a cola to go with it, but it was just too expensive to be worth it. On the way back, we stopped by the beach for a moment and then returned to the hostel.
We were lying in bed again and vegetating. Unfortunately, my chocolate didn't taste as good as I had hoped, so I was pretty disappointed. I went down to the common room, but it was packed. Everything outside was wet and everything that was dry was full. Some people were playing volleyball in the rain, but I didn't feel like it. The volleyball court was never used, but now it was in the rain. Crazy! But it wasn't cold. I wanted to do something active, so I decided to go for a run. I wore as little as possible, put my phone in a waterproof case, and went barefoot down to the beach. I jogged along the beach for almost an hour.
There was hardly anyone there except for a few surfers, and it was really peaceful. I had good music and felt very motivated.
Afterward, I was exhausted but felt good after taking a hot shower. The only annoying thing was that I wasn't used to running barefoot and ended up with blood blisters on my feet. It was quite painful and looked really gross. Oh well, there's always something =)
I then rewarded myself with chocolate and a movie in bed. Even though the chocolate wasn't great. But it had to be eaten. When I got hungry, I messaged Marcel and Kira and made plans to cook together in the kitchen. We ate together outside as the rain had finally stopped. We used up the remaining cider and wine. I went back to the room early and started packing.
On Sunday morning, I quietly snuck out of the room and took all my luggage with me. I checked out right away and stored my bag in the storage room. Then I had breakfast and said goodbye to Kira. Marcel and I then walked to the lighthouse together. It was raining again, but we put on our rain jackets and went for it. The only problem was that I had to wear my sneakers because of my injured feet. Everything else hurt too much. I had been wanting to go to the lighthouse since my first day and never quite made it, so it was now or never. On the way to the lighthouse, we passed a surf contest.
However, we didn't have much time to stand around, so we continued directly. When we arrived at the lighthouse, the rain briefly stopped and we had a dry moment. Perfect timing!
We were at the easternmost point of the Australian mainland. That was pretty cool.
On a clear day, you can supposedly see New Zealand from there, but we were happy if we could see anything at all.
On the way back, the rain started again immediately. But we still went down to Little Wategos Beach, and there I saw my first wallaby.
I was so excited, and it was super cute. Then we went back to the hostel, and after a total of 10km, we were quite satisfied with ourselves.
The only downside was that I had my phone in my jacket pocket. It was supposed to be waterproof, but apparently water seeped in through an opening on the side, so my phone still got wet. I turned it off immediately and put it in a container with rice. Luckily, I still had my iPad, which I could use with Wi-Fi. So at least I could message Suzanna from the farm where I was going to go next. Everything else wasn't really important for now. I tried to dry my wet clothes, but that was practically impossible in the humidity. I didn't have much time and then I had to say goodbye to Marcel, pack up my wet stuff, and take the shuttle bus to the bus station because my Greyhound bus to Sydney was leaving at 6:20 pm. Fortunately, I didn't have to show my ticket, my ID was enough. In the bus, I made myself comfortable and hung up my wet clothes. I wrapped myself up warmly, covered myself with my scarf, and started watching a movie on my iPad. I still had cold pasta with tomato sauce that I could eat. I didn't lack anything to get through the night on the bus. When the movie ended, I tried to sleep, but it didn't really work. But I'm used to that by now.
Despite the rain, Byron Bay was really beautiful and relaxing. It was definitely worth it for me to stop there again and spend a little more time. I met great people and had a wonderful time.
Now it was time for my first job, even if it was only for accommodation and food!
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