Stopping off at places like Newcastle, Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie and funnily enough Port Stephens for a dinner break for anybody who needed it en route, we finally arrived into Byron Bay by about half 7. I had an awful nights sleep if you can call it sleep, as the limited leg room and also the fact there was big gap between the window and seat meant I struggled to get into any sleepable position throughout the night. There were brilliant views of the coast as we entered the small town of Byron Bay.
After almost the whole coach emptied, I think everyone had the same idea, I sat down on the nearby bench just getting myself completely organised before walking off in search of my hostel without any idea of where I was going. After walking down what felt like every street, I finally asked someone and they pointed me in the right direction. I was lucky upon arrival as well as I managed to check in straight away, which meant I could leave my stuff in the room before going out to explore Byron Bay.
My plan for the day was always to go geocaching and I had planned to find the 6 geocaches here prior to leaving Sydney. I always think geocaching is a good way to explore an area as it takes you to places you wouldn't otherwise go, and it also allows me to enjoy a day out for very little money. It is one of my favourite hobbies after all. One of the many things included staying in my new hostel was free bike hire, so I hired this very basic bike, first stop Belongil Creek which was more out of town. Upon arrival I got a brilliant view of the river and railway line, picking up my first cache in the process, before setting back into town. On the way back I went down to the beach and experienced the stoney white sands for the first time, getting views of the lighthouse in the distance.
Byron Bay basically revolves around a roundabout, with shops and restaurants going off this, and then the accomodation surrounding this. It used to be a quiet town, before being discovered by tourists, but despite this influx of people has kept its small buildings and has prevented any serious development. For my next cache I headed to the railway, which is now derelict although there are lots of petition signs to reopen it, and made a swift find. It was then further out of town for my next cache, and after winding through the residential roads, my gps device took me 300m away at the foot of a hill. I decided to tie the bike up here and walk. Walking through sandy paths and grasses, I soon found the cache which came with aerial views off the town. It was so quiet here and it just reminded me of the reason I went geocaching today because I wouldn't have otherwise come here.
I then headed back into town, going via the travel company I am booking things with to book a few more hostels up the east coast. I am now sorted until the 26th, fingers crossed! I was also told that tours didn't run in my next two stops, Gold Coast and Brisbane so god knows what I am doing in the coming days, probably beaching it up! I then dropped off the bike back at the hostel, as it was annoying me because it had no gears and the brakes worked by pedalling backwards. From here I started to walk up to Cape Byron. One thing I haven't mentioned is the fact I've got blisters on my toes, which remains a mystery as they won't go away.
Following the winding road up to the lighthouse, and finding a cache en route, I was treated to many brilliant views of of Byron Bay below, and also the coast in the other direction. I also managed to see dolphins from up top! After a quick look round the visitor centre and lighthouse, I headed down to what was the most easterly point of Australia. It felt very surreal standing here thinking about how far I've come over the last few weeks. It was then down the rocks below for my 5th cache find of the day, again getting brilliant views of the area this time from a lower perspective.
After a short walk along the paths which were full of diverse plants, I found my 6th and final cache, this time taking me up through these palm tree woods to another peak! Once getting back down I headed along the sandy beach, and then past the shops for a quick browse back to the hostel in what turned out to be quite a jam packed day! By now it was late afternoon so I spent this time relaxing in the hostel which has hammocks and quite a modern common room, and I also checked out the beach which could be accessed straight from the hostel.
I then headed back into town for the evening, realising at this time I'm not going to see a sunset as I'm on the east, to find out dominoes did a cracking $5 deal on pizza. I had to take advantage of this as this was cheap compared to most of what I've seen since arriving in Oz. Sitting on the beach I managed to get myself completely stuffed with food for the first time since Thailand, before heading back to the hostel via the local supermarket for a couple of things. I stayed at the backpackers inn which has 4 bed dorms, my smallest yet! Due to my lack of sleep on the bus I was feeling zonked out by now, so swiftly fell asleep ready for another busy day tomorrow.
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