Byron Bay

I arrived in Byron Bay about mid-afternoon and proceeded to check out the town. It has certainly grown in the last 12 years but I was still able to pick out a few familiar spots. My first day was a bit of a downer - I was in a bad mood and nothing seemed to click for me. I felt somewhat like a fish out of water - the population consists of university aged backpackers and ageing hippy locals. Paul likes to refer to the latter as "ferals" which may be a bit unkind but still strikes me as somewhat accurate (despite my politically correct tendencies). I spent most of the evening with a book for company.

The next day I took in a bit of the town. There are plenty of places to rest your head and fill your belly but if you actually want to shop in Byron Bay, you better be interested in bikinis, boardies or flip flops as there is nothing else on offer. Of course there are some services like massage, crystal treatments, tarot readings etc. It actually reminds me somewhat of Southern California, but not quite as upscale as the Laguna Beach/Newport Beach areas. I spent the rest of the day on the beautiful beach enjoying the sunshine and surf.

Later that evening, I went to what was to become my regular spot, the Rails, so named as it backs on the tracks and is located next door to the railway station. They have live music every evening and that night a fabulous singer named Toby from West Australia was on stage. I joined a rather interesting young man named Josh who had driven up from a town a couple of hours away to catch the Violent Femmes who were playing in another bar in town. Unfortunately for him, the VF had actually played the night before so he missed the show. It took me a very short time to realize that this was pretty indicative of the type of character he was, and I suspect that he was plagued by such misfortunes on a pretty regular basis. The good news is that there were also two guys from Sydney sitting at our table who would prove to be my salvation for the remainder of my stay in Byron Bay. Their names were Michael and David, and while I didn't see as much of David, Michael kept me very well entertained for the next few days. He is very funny and a great conversationalist. I have to admit that this pair started off on the wrong foot in my books, as they left the Rails that night leaving me alone with Josh who was very determined to escort me around town that evening. Their excuse was that they felt I was very capable of handling myself and that I would surely be able to safely extricate myself from Josh's clutches, which was indeed the case.

The next day I walked around the cape and enjoyed the views of coast. It is a truly beautiful spot and the beaches go on forever. From the cliffs around the lighthouse you can see dolphins, sea turtles and stingrays in the clear water below. I spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach. That evening I went back to the Rails, saw another great band and ran into Michael who I coerced into buying me a drink to apologize for deserting me the night before. We did a bit of bar-hopping that evening and contributed handsomely to the economy of the community.

David was diving the next day, so Michael and I repeated my previous day's hike around the cape, and spent the afternoon playing in the surf on the beach. Paul and Nicole arrived that evening so I joined them at the campsite at around dinnertime. We went out for dinner and had a fairly early night, as both of them were coming off long work shifts and we had plans for the next morning. We got up early and drove to Mount Warning, about 40 minutes inland from Byron Bay. We hiked to the top of the mountain and back, a round trip of about 9 kms. It was a really nice hike and it felt good to get the exercise. Unfortunately, we didn't get great views from the top, but the clouds did part long enough for a few glimpses of the cape and the sea. We all napped for most of the afternoon. That evening was another night out at the Rails for the five of us.

The next morning, Nicole and I went sea kayaking. The purpose of the trip was to see the dolphins and turtles up close but we didn't have any luck on that score. Still, it was an absolute blast, and a whole lot different than kayaking around Lac Maskinonge. Trying to get past the breakers was quite the chore, but I'm proud to say that we managed it without getting dumped. The return trip wasn't quite so successful and after a bit of a surf in on one wave, we got overturned by the next one to break over us. All it all, it was a really great morning and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I'm thinking I'll try to get out sea kayaking when I head back up to Thailand.

We returned home yesterday afternoon so that Paul and I could attend a concert in Brisbane that I wanted to see. I had seen this musician, Teddy Geiger, on a TV show and really loved his sound. Our first clue that this wasn't going to be the concert we expected was the queue of young teenaged girls outside the venue. We sat through the concert, which was mediocre, amid a cacophony of screams and squeals and "I love you Teddy"s. The music was okay, but hardly seemed anything like what I had heard of this musician previously.

This week will be spent making plans for Tasmania and helping Paul and Nicole prepare for their house-warming party this weekend.