Bex Takes On…Byron Bay

In a blink of an eye, we were saying goodbye to Sydney and heading to Byron Bay. We stumbled, bleary-eyed, into Sydney airport around 5am for our morning flight. Our tour leader went to check us in, only to come back minutes later to tell us the flight had been cancelled! A huge storm the night before had meant our plane had been unable to land in Sydney.

Luckily, there was another flight two hours later that they could fit us on to. But it meant we were going to miss our much anticipated surfing lesson. We resigned ourselves to an extra two hours in the airport and made the most of the free refreshment voucher the airline had given us. And our tour manager was able to whip out her magic wand and reschedule our surfing lesson for the following day, keeping our moods lifted despite the early hour!

We finally boarded a plane and made it to Byron safely. After a short coach ride from the airport, we arrived at our cute hostel right by the beach. A small nap was needed before I hopped on the shuttle bus into town to look around the boutique shops. I even made a couple of purchases!

That evening the plan was to have a picnic on the beach, however the wind was not our friend and so to stop everyone eating so much sand we headed back to the patio area of our hostel. There was live music playing and a buzz in the air that created a really lovely atmosphere.

The next day was a busy one…sea kayaking followed by surfing! We’d been told that during the kayaking, if we were lucky, we might see dolphins and sea turtles. But I never could have anticipated just how amazing it was. After getting through the initial waves and kayaking round the headland, we were suddenly surrounded by a large pod of dolphins. There were fins popping out of the sea, dolphins jumping out of the water, swimming underneath our kayaks and surfing on the waves. Seeing so many dolphins, up close, in the wild was absolutely breathtaking. Certainly an unexpected highlight of my trip.

Once dropped back at the hostel, we had about an hour to grab some lunch before our surfing lesson began. We headed to the cafe next door where I ordered a bowl of mussels. I had been craving some for a few days and was chuffed to see them on the menu. They were in a herby, garlicky tomato sauce and they tasted amazing!

The afternoon was spent surfing. I was keen to give it a go but I had a feeling I wasn’t going to be particularly good! The instructor taught us some techniques to stand on the boards before we took on the waves. I started by just laying on the board before managing to get on to my knees. I got one foot on the board on my third attempt but fell off immediately.

It was good fun but such hard work, especially after kayaking in the morning. Once you’re on the surfboard it’s not that bad, but it is a real battle to get out far enough with your board in order to catch a good wave.

I spent the next few days with bruises decorating my lower arms from bashing into the surfboard. It was worth it though! A true Aussie experience.

Next stop Noosa!