Trip to Byron and Nimbin

Last weekend, a fellow Floridian and I decided to make the trek to Byron Bay. Byron contains the most eastern point of Australia. It's also known for whale-spotting and just being a laid back hippie-esque sort of place.

Our adventure started when we hopped on the bus. We were quickly informed (after just taking a bite of our respective snacks) that there was no eating on the bus. Also, we had to buckle up. This is on a charter bus... No drinking either. No smiling, we thought, and surely, no having fun. Unless you count the blaring Johnny Cash tunes as fun. The bus cost $10 and took off from Surfers bus station. Two hours later, it was about time to arrive in Byron. We stopped at an "info" sign which looked like it could have been Byron, but by the time we debated about getting off the bus, the bus was already taking off again. The driver had made no announcement that we had left Byron. Finally, we figured it out and got him to stop along the highway. There had been random stops along the way and we were expecting to arrive at a proper bus station. Leave it to the Americans to miss the bus stop!

After walking back to town, we stocked up on supplies for the night (vodka) and located our hostel shuttle. The hostel was located about 15 minutes outside of town (walking). Byron has such a laid back feel. It is touristy but not in the same way as the gold coast. From my understanding, the artists went there and then it became "cool." Now, as a result, people are flocking there and driving the starving artists who made the place cool right out of town. Funny how that happens.

Anyhow, it's been a while since I've been in a hostel, but i was impressed. It was clean, laid back, and cool. We took the free shuttle into town and had dinner at a nice restaurant called "The Balcony" which overlooked one of the main streets in town. I tried kangaroo (an aussie delicacy) which was delicious. It was served seared with goat cheese, a sort of sweet brown sauce and a thin wafer. We ended up at the the Beach Motel listening to a live reggae band that was awesome. Byron was definitely colder than the Gold Coast, but the walk home wasn't quite as bad as expected.

The hostel had free bike borrowing so we jumped on and went to the lighthouse. I've been going through some serious biking withdrawal and the beach cruisers just whetted my appetite for more. The hike around the bay was fairly serious. Ok, maybe not so serious if you're not wearing $3 Locals slippers! Anyhow, the beach was pretty, large, and totally white sand. The water was absolutely beautiful. It was too windy (therefore too cold) to actually lay out on the beach. On the way to the lighthouse, we passed another beach with a few surfers. The waves looked really long and perfect for beginners. At the lighthouse, we spotted dolphins, but no whales. We also spotted some guy proposing to his girlfriend. It reminded me of a guy I met while climbing Mt. Chirripo in Costa Rica. He proposed to his gf at the top and she had no clue. I think the key element to a great proposal is surprise. It should be when least expected and without an "engagement photo crew."

On the loop back to where we parked the bikes, we walked through the "coastal rainforest." It was really quiet and quite peaceful. Upon returning to town, we had fish tacos for lunch. At this point, I'm seriously craving some good Mexican food despite all the great Asian food. We checked out the shops and ran into the alpaca that we saw from the bus. It probably wasn't the best idea to give him $1 and get a picture taken, but I think he's ok. He looked well-fed and well taken care of. And he was so furry and soft that I couldn't resist.

Saturday night, we went out to an Italian restaurant for dinner. Apparently there are 3 or 4 places to go at night in Byron. We went to one and it was terrible. Hardly anyone was there, but it was small, hot, stuffy, and expensive. We tried Cocomongo's a few times, but it was full and we weren't in the mood to wait in line. As I get older, my tolerance for a) waiting in lines and b) paying cover charges has pretty much completely gone away. It just doesn't make sense to me. Is the club really offering such a great experience that i want to pay to be a part of it just to pay for watered down drinks? I think this defies the laws of supply and demand. Shouldn't the bars be enticing us to come in by offering freebies? (i.e. $10 cover, all you can drink). I think this is like the case of bathing suits. Someone just decided one day that we should pay $80 for 1 sq. ft of fabric and we (as dumb consumers) said ok.

Anyhow, we ended upback where we started at the Great Northern Hotel. The beer was decent. I might have stopped for a lamington on the way home, but at least it wasn't a kebab!

By Sunday, the late nights were starting to take a toll, but we persevered. More free pancakes!! And onto the Nimbin tour. The bus arrived at 10am sharp. The only way to describe Nimbin is as a small alternative style hippie town of roughly 500 inhabitants. There was some land deal decades ago in which the hippies scored big. As a result, things happen in Nimbin that aren't allowed to happen in other places. I enjoyed driving through Lismore (flood central), passing the sacred rocks, the park, and the waterfall. The market was fun too. Things were way more expensive than expected but I had some juice and satay chicken that hit the spot. Healthy juice is very big here. I usually get some sort of mixture of carrot, celery, apple, beetroot, lemon, and ginger. It's great because you see them actually put the fresh veggies and fruit into the blender.

I have mixed feelings about the Nimbin experience though. The people there make their livings from the tourists. That's fine, but the tourists are buying things that are normally illegal. I'm just not sure if it's good policy as a tourist to support this way of life. Not just from a legal perspective but from an economical incentive perspective. Why work hard to make an honest living when you can rip off tourists? On the other hand, if it works and no one is getting hurt, why stop it? I was sort of surprised to see flyers for an "independence from America day." The Nimbin-ites are serious!

Completely exhausted (after a hot dog and white bread barbie) and ready to get home, we decided to forego the "no fun" bus and went with our Nimbin tourguide's offer of a free ride back to the Gold Coast. He was leaving immediately whereas the bus was leaving in a few hours. We climbed aboard with 20 american students studying at the Uni and I quickly remembered why I dislike large groups of American travelers.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my weekend. I could have spent a ton more time talking to folks in Nimbin and I would love to actually swim at the beach in Byron. The water was too cold this time, but maybe next time