Alix Says:
Aghhh we have entered The Land of Milk and Honey: Byron Bay.

We departed Sydney on an overnight train, 13 hours, up to Brisbane. Got in all foggy eyed at 7am, went to pick up our campa, had ourselves some flat whites and brekky, then hit the road south about an hour and a half to this most, most lovely town on the sea. We are really headed north, but had been told Bryon is fab so we made a detour and it is well worth it. In fact I could detour my whole freakin’ life here…I just may, watch out!

So Byron Bay is a surf town, about 8,000 people I’d say, started by the hippies long ago (of course, hippies start everything wonderful) and seems to be one of the few spots along the coast that has remained very centered and not allowed rediculous over-development and obnoxious tourist crap. It is very chill, friendly (as all in Oz we have experienced), still very strong surf culture as well as local art scene and wholistic practices – yoga, naturpathic medicine, massage, reiki etc. But it’s not some stoned out hippie dippie town, this is what creates the draw, people are up at sunrise on their boards, there’s no 14 year olds getting high sitting on the street asking for hand outs….no no no. Small businesses, great cafes, restaurants and a huge campervan community. There are a number of beaches, the surfing is happening on the bay side beaches, the beach on the ocean side is empty and stretches 7km with strong waves. This is also the eastern-most point of Australia. Out on the point is a lighthouse you can walk up to for fantastic views and currently it’s the beginning of whale migration, humpback whales, we saw a bunch and even saw one bugger breach a couple of times! It was stunning!! Lots of dolphins too hanging out. Sunsets are incredible, heaps of people just come out to chill on the rocks by the beach and watch people surf and the sun dip down.

Every night we cook out something yummy outta the back of the campa, right along the street overlooking the beach, then head out to find a place to sleep, and in the morning we come back to the same street and everyone is doing the same thing – we see the same campas pulling in, people making brekky outta the back, organizing the inside of their “home on wheels”, reading, playing guitar, still sleeping….very chill. It’s fun the whole campervan, nomadic lifestyle. I am very into it – everything is so simple and basic, it’s like being this animal and your daily concerns are figuring out food and where you will sleep without being eaten. And being humans we have the added task of hygiene. So for food we are amazing, I mean we like good food and we are good cooks, even our PB+J’s are delish! But we have been thrifty at not eating out and cooking instead which is not only cheaper but fun! Finding a place to sleep has been pretty easy too, you just gotta keep your eyes out for a spot not so obvious to a ranger, but it seems the campa/road trip life is so big here it’s not really a big deal and no one cares as long as you leave no trace. Because we are paying for a car and petrol we are avoiding paying for the caravan parks and campsites and instead finding spots off the road to pull into and crash – generally another campa is there with the same idea! Then you just move it early in the morning to a more “legal” area. We picked up a great book ‘Camps Wide 5′ that lists all the free and priced camping/caravan parks/rest stops with an atlas and such – great purchase for anyone doing this I must say. Personal hygiene is working out alright, all these towns have awesome public restrooms at the beaches to brush your teeth, wash your face and refill water, they are way nice. Admittably free showers is harder to find, I went into the Surf Club in Byron for a FREEZING shower. Some places we are headed to have free showers, really, it’s just not presenting itself to be a problem, which is why the campervan life is totally the way to be in my book!

I am starting to run, I figure I need to keep in shape and it’s lovely, new scenery along the way. Took a run in Byron Bay along the beach and up to the lighthouse, it’s just so beautiful it keeps the adrenaline going! Clearly this was my shower day. I am aiming to take a run and do some park bench calisthenics 3 times a week – I think that’s pretty manageable.

Back to Byron, so I am already thinking to come back here in the summer season (our winter) to work and live and maybe figure out how to work here longer. I mean, I really like it. It’s a far way off I realize, considering this year long trip is only 6 weeks in, but it’s got that great of a draw. I have always been freaked out a bout surfing, but I am thinking come Indonesia I may give it a try. The waves here in Byron Bay are so chill, these guys make it look easy (I am quite sure it is not) and we have seen numerous kids like 10 years old out there. The waves are not at all like Bondi Beach – those were huge and thrashing, these are smaller and roll in slower, it seems you can ride them forever. This place is a tough one to leave no doubt….but we are north-bound, so on we go.

Colin says:
Jesus Christ Alix talks a lot. Byron Bay showed me a side of surf culture that I haven’t seen before. It was soooooooo laaaaaaaaaiid baaaaaaaaaaaack. The surf was so calm and steady rolling, watching surfers ride these waves was like watching a bird float on a jet stream; just kinda floating in place letting the gusts push and pull them around until they decided to hope off and start again. A lot of big board technique going on with the cross over steps up to the front of the board, hang five, hang ten, standing fully frontal. A lot more “stylie” in surfer speak. I’m into it. A good option for retirement byron bay is…..early retirement.

Saw this band at the local Beach Hotel. “The Hands” They were great. Some soul/funk action in the vien of Bill Withers, Ray Charles, Jack McDuff and the like. A Clavanet, Organ, Drum and Bass, kind of a cool instrumentation. Super funky double set convinced us to buy the CD. The CD turned out to be not as good as the live show? Maybe it was the beer or maybe its the cover of the Album which is terrible and for some reason a lot of the songs, instead of sounding like Bill Withers sound more like a cross between the Bee-jees and Jamiriquai –all hyper confused and rushed super jankie like. I still have some of these ridiculous lyrics stuck in my head. Anyway it was good to see some organic music live in the funk field. The Hands way to go guys.

http://www.thehandsmusic.com/
http://www.beachhotel.com.au/