Byron Bay

Yesterday, Eric and I went with Abi, Luke & Elijah to Byron Bay - the eastern-most point of Australia. It is a beautiful town, near where I grew up. It used to be quite laid back - mostly hippies trying to escape the rat-race - but unfortunately not anymore. It now attracts all of the stressed out yuppies from the major cities looking for a new lifestyle or a quick weekend pick-me-up, but they bring their entrepreneurship and stress with them rather than leaving it behind these days.

Still, Byron is a great place to spend a day, and we had a lovely relaxing time together. It was Elijah's first day-trip (other than to the grandparents'), and he did really well.

Our first stop, was at the Balcony, a lovely cafe where we sipped chai/lattes and enjoyed the ambience. Then off to see the famous lighthouse. This old lighthouse was set up to warn ships that land (ie the island of Australia) was close and is purposely in line with Mount Warning, which was named by Captain Cook because it was his first indication of the eastern shoreline of Australia. I grew up at the base of Mount Warning, which is actually a plug in an ancient volcano. You can see it in the background of the photo below (the pointy peak).

You can also see the mountain range surrounding Mount Warning - a very lush, green, beautiful area generally, although it is winter now so everything's a bit dry.

We were hoping to see some whales, as we did a couple of weeks ago at Hastings Point, but didn't have any luck this time. It was a very windy day, and generally you can spot whales by the white water they generate when coming to the surface or blowing water out of their blow-hole. Instead, we saw thousands of white-caps caused by the wind, and so even if whales were right in front of us, we would not have known unless they jumped out of the water. Oh well, no matter - we still had a lovely day.After wandering around the lighthouse for a while, enjoying the view, we decided to walk down a small path to a rocky headland in front of us. It was quite a long way down, but a beautiful walk through some native Australian trees and shrubs, and past a large rock cliff with waves crashing rhythmically against it. We got some good photographs, even one of a rainbow over the cliff!

In the photo below of Abi and I, you can see some tiny rocks in the background behind my head. These are know as 'Julian Rocks' - and there is a bit of an urban legend that has developed about these rocks. As with all urban legends, the story is based in truth, but I am not sure how much it has been embellished over the years.

I remember first hearing the story when I was in highschool - it was in the news headlines. A young couple had just gotten married and were on their honeymoon in Byron Bay. They decided to go scuba diving, as many others had before them, at Julian Rocks. Enjoying the gorgeous marine life and the beautiful day they failed to notice a large shark approaching until it was too late. The shark headed straight for the woman, and at the last possible moment, her new husband pushed her out of the way and was swallowed whole by the immense shark. Like I said - not sure what has been embellished, but I do remember hearing about it when it happened!


We had lunch on the beach in front of the town of Byron Bay. The others had meat pies, and I had fish and chips - yum!

Of course we were surrounded by seagulls, crying 'mine! mine! mine!' the entire time.

It was a pretty cold and windy day, but there were still a brave few swimming in the ocean - in fact I believe it was probably warmer in the water than out of it (that's the beauty of the Pacific ocean)!

After lunch, we looked at clothes, art, nick naks etc in the many boutiques that line the streets of Byron Bay. I would love to go back there some time with a wad of cash - maybe in my next life as a millionaire! Just kidding...

Then, we had a coffee at another cute cafe, before heading off to Mum and Dad's.

Yet another social engagement for us to go to - and we love it! To celebrate my brother Marty's 27th birthday, we had a surprise birthday dinner for him at Montezuma's Mexican restaurant. The food was mediocre and the service was appalling, but the company was great.

Dad was too sick with the flu to go, and Fiona and family couldn't make it. So it was just Eric, myself, Nathan, Marty, Caris, Brynn and Naomi (Caris' brother and his wife). Then back to Marty's place for marble mud cake and yet another coffee.

What a day!