Keepin’ Busy in Byron
As a Canadian seeking advice on where to go up the Australian East Coast, other backpackers would always feel the need to tell me I had to visit Byron Bay and Nimbin. After looking at pictures of Byron, I thought I was heading to a really chill hippie town. When looking at Nimbin — a quick 70km away from Byron — I thought I’d be stepping into a time machine to the 60s drug era. Apparently Canadians are known for our lax attitude with weed and this was the reason I had to get there…but Byron was so much more than what was mentioned by other travelers.
I gave myself a few nights at the Backpackers Holiday Village hostel, expecting to relax everyday on the calm beaches lined around this beautiful bay full of dolphins — but somehow the days ended up being the most action-packed of my entire trip. The first night I arrived, the hostel summoned me to the famous “Cheeky Monkey’s bar” across the street for a cheap dinner, and I later somehow ended up on an onstage competition of heads and tails, luckily winning myself 2-for-1 skydiving and a north island New Zealand bus pass. Byron Bay was off to a great start and I was excited for what the next day could bring.
The next morning I somehow managed to wake at 4:40am to catch the hostel shuttle to the sunrise lighthouse walk. When exiting the bus I had no idea what to expect but the further we walked up the hiking path, the more obvious it became that I was in for an amazing Australian sunrise. Over the ocean there was a line of clouds where the sun would be rising (clouds always make for better sunrises), and the more time that passed, the brighter and deeper the red-orange hue behind the clouds became. The hike up to the lighthouse was quick and exciting, and I realized that this must be one of Byron’s “must-do” activities as there were several other tourists and locals sitting next to the lighthouse waiting for the 5:50am sunrise. The pictures and videos of this occasion don’t do justice to the beauty whatsoever and this isn’t something to be explained by any words other than for you to not fear an early wakeup…surely witnessing one sunrise will leave you craving several more before you leave Australia.
The shuttle dropped us back at the hostel where I quickly went to the main bus stop (a short 100m away) and caught my Mojosurf bus to my first surf lesson. The staff are incredibly friendly and made sure everyone had help learning how to ride the whitewash (harder than it looks!), or the more intimidating waves for those on their 2nd and 3rd lessons. Another experience not to be missed, especially as it was in Lennox Head, a very famous 7 mile beach and home to the notorious break at Lennox point. A quick 2 hours later and I was feeling much more confident on a surfboard and heading to the black tea tree lake right next to the ocean for a swim.
The rest of my day in Byron went by quickly, exploring the small town and beaches, and inevitably ending up at Cheeky’s after the hostel provided a cheap and amazing all-you-can-eat BBQ. The hostel itself is something worthy of a notable mention — I was in an apartment with AC and its own kitchen and bathroom…I felt like I was in a hotel. All the public main areas of the hostel made it easy to feel at home — a comfy movie room, a volleyball court, a pool, free bike rentals, and the BBQ area with several picnic benches pushed together where all the good meals and conversations with new friends began every night.
The next morning I was on a 5am bus to take me to Skydiving Australia’s Byron Bay site. Nothing in the world can explain how happy I am to have done something I had feared my entire life, how exhilarating it was, and how accomplished I now feel. This one needs a post of its own but it is something you need to do.
When I got back to the town three hours later, I was on an 11am bus to the alternative lifestyle capital in Australia — Nimbin. Our hilarious driver Jimmy stopped us at a bar on our way there (at noon!) to buy beers that are normally illegal to consume in vehicles, but we were “in a competition to see how many illegal things we can do in a day…driving a full school bus of people drinking alcohol and smoking weed while driving with the door open…” In Nimbin we were given tips on where to buy “yummy cookies” and directions to the hemp museum. A short hour later we were off to a park for a delicious BBQ, and then we were taken to the top of a beautiful 150m waterfall where I felt I no longer had the right to be scared of looking down after having skydived earlier that day. Back in Byron that night, the hostel had another fun evening planned before taking us to Cheeky’s bar, and this time Woodie’s Surf Shack bar as well.
The next afternoon my time in Byron was finally over but I made sure to borrow a free bike from the hostel to get myself snorkeling at “The Wreck” (a shipwreck visible from the shore), and to the very edge of the bay where you could see dozens of dolphins slowly surfacing for air in the near distance. Byron Bay had been truly magical — from the sunrises to surfing and skydiving — I had definitely enjoyed Byron for more than the hippy vibe the chill town gave off and was left with the certain thought that I had to get back there one day.
