I arrived in Byron Bay in the early hours after an overnight bus trip from Newcastle. Unfortunately the weather was miserable when I arrived so the first day was pretty much a write off so I spent the day catching up on rest at my hostel and getting the lay of the land.
The next day I got up early to walk the Lighthouse Trail. I walked along the beach initially in the general direction of the Lighthouse, and wow, speechless, Byron really is what everyone bigs it up to be. The beaches were the best I have seen in Australia so far by far. And the waves as well looked pretty spectacular, if I was a surfer (which I will never be), I can understand why it’s a popular spot. It’s the longest I’ve ever seen someone stay up on a board for more than ten seconds whilst out here.
And as you continue to walk you find more and more sublime beaches and beautiful coastline views. The walk was a lot longer then I anticipated however (slowed further by my own dawdling and picture taking) and I began to get towards mid day by the time I hit the steep sections. Not particularly ideal timing on my part so I did start to get very tired. But I got to the top in the end and it was worth every sore and burn.
Along the way you will come to the eastern most point of Australia, which I didn’t even know was there, so that was a pleasant surprise and a good selfie moment if there ever was one. And the views from the Lighthouse, again are amazing and well worth the walk. And they do a little guided tour of the place as well which I gave a miss as I was actually shattered after the walk.
So all in all Byron Bay is definitely one of the highlights of my stay in Australia so far. It was a bit of a micro visit and I definitely plan to go back and spend more time there as there is so much to do and so many beaches to find. A definite improvement on my previous stay that week in Newcastle put it that way!
