I had another good sleep last night despite the noisy fan and humid conditions, and was first one up like always at the crack of dawn. Some people I have spoken to spend so long at each hostel and I keep hopping between places on what feels like a daily basis, which means I barely unpack before packing up again. The fact everyone heads off in different directions from each location makes it difficult to properly get to know someone! At least I now have an amazing knowledge of the few possessions I am carrying.
I was originally going to book a surfing lesson for today, but the best that I could get was surf board hire and I didn't think it was a good idea for me to teach myself! I also had a little disaster with my photos which meant I lost my photos from the afternoon of the 10th to the afternoon of the 11th. I cleared my memory card assuming they'd be on my skydrive but I forgot to check prior. To avoid losing pictures of the stunning Cape Byron and surrounding beaches I decided to head back up to the lighthouse and retake pictures.
After again buying a random bag of food from the supermarket for breakfast, wafers are becoming a firm favourite, I headed back to the hostel to watch the second half of the Arsenal Man U game which was nothing exciting. Just talking about football for a second, Southampton are now 8th just 3 points behind Man U! After confirming a trip I am doing to the Noosa Everglades next week, I checked out the hostel, although the woman was really nice and said I could use the facilities for the rest of the day and store my bag here. I therefore took advantage of this to hire a bike, and I swiftly cycled to the car park at the base of Cape Byron. I would have cycled up but I don't trust the breaks on the bike.
After walking back past Wategos Beach and heading onto the rocky outlet where I found the most easterly cache in Australia, I headed back up to the official eastern point sign and then to the lighthouse. I was doing the loop round Cape Byron the other way today. I was getting plenty of pictures along the way. Whilst at the lighthouse I got speaking to this woman who came from England, and the next thing I knew was that she came from Steyning which was funny! She recommended this little bush walk I could do back to the car park, but also warned me a snake had been seen in the area too! I decided to take this alternative route along the sandy paths through the noisy forest which took me straight out to the car park where I locked the bike.
When previously walking up here I got views of Tallow beach which was the next beach from Byron. I decided to cycle down here as this is where I got glimpses of dolphins the other day. I couldn't see any today however. It was straight back to the hostel from here as you can only hire the bikes for three hours at a time. All in all I probably got a better set of photos, especially ones of me which made me happy after the previous disappointment.
Since arriving in Australia I have been using a company called Travel Bugs to help me along the way because they have travel centres all along the east coast. They have been really helpful, and when booking things I have received lots of vouchers. I thought I would try and use one today for a free lunch but after searching everywhere found out it was a club which opened in the evening. I therefore went to the gourmet pie shop and had a chunky steak pie which I had been eyeing since arrival. Throughout my exploration of the shops I found an Aldi as well which was even cheaper than Woolworths.
From here I spent the afternoon in the hostel, making full use of the swinging chairs and hammocks, as well as the beach. I even wrote my name in the sand which will almost certainly become my cover photo on Facebook! I ended up losing track of time and a few hours later down the beach at about half 4 I headed back and collected my stuff together for a slow walk to the bus stop to transfer to my next stop Surfers Paradise.
Prior to my 6 departure I went into travel bugs to check out my hostel location, as well as things to do in Surfers, which seems infinite! I also bumped into another Saints here. The bus arrived on time and after a smooth journey I arrived in Surfers at 6.45, the clock went back an hour as I crossed the state border. After checking into my new hostel called Backpackers in Paradise where I'm in a 20 bed dorm, I headed into the darkness to explore the lively area.
Where I'm staying is definitely the most tourist based area of the Gold Coast, home to many high rise buildings and modern shopping/bars which opened late. I just had a basic look round as it was getting late, but I was amazed by sheer amount of things to do in the Surfers area of the Gold Coast. This meant I had to be selective in choosing what to do tomorrow and the morning of the 15th before I leave for Brisbane. I decided to sleep on it after getting a taste of the beaches, shops and amusements in the area, ready to set off early the next morning to do what I do best... explore the area!
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