Day 2 - Byron Bay

All my pictures lately have only been added to the beginning of my blogs and I can't move them. Enjoy though.

We started the day with a nutritious breakfast and then loaded up the paddy wagon. Before we left Coffs Harbour we went for a walk up to Muttonbird Island. It was very steep walking to the top. The only exercise I signed up for was in Sydney, so I'm going to have to speak to Sarah about that! We saw a few whales, but unfortunately my camera couldn't get a close-up. We will likely see more though on the trip. For my next trip to Turino, Italy in four years for the next World Masters Games I will definitely be purchasing a higher powered camera. Don't get me wrong; this camera takes great pictures. I have discovered though that with the bright sun here, sometimes I can't see the display so I have to use the old fashioned peep hole.

We stopped at the Big Banana to take a picture. Besides the scenery here, Australia is known for their larger than life statues so there are alot of photo ops. We drove by a field of kangaroos laying under a couple of trees. It is 9:35am and it is already too hot for the kangaroos. I put my sunscreen on before we started our walk at 8:00.

We just passed some banana trees; actually, a field of them. Australia is one of the largest producers of Bananas in the world - 175,000 tonnes per year. Oh look, sugar cane on the right. Apparently we will be seeing heaps of sugar cane mills as we get further north.

We are headed to Byron Bay today, the learn-to-surf capital of Australia. I'm going to try surfing and hang gliding. Hang gliding is expensive, but I've always wanted to fly, so I'm gonna give it a go. I don't know how surfing will go because of my balance issue. It has never taken me this long to adjust to land life. We just stopped at a look-out called Pat Morton Look-out, overlooking Lennox Head. The view was absolutely spectacular, but what's new. Sarah also just found out that the winds aren't good today for hang gliding. I'll be happy with just surfing, even if I can't get up. We're half an hour out of Byron Bay right now.

The first thing we did after setting up camp - camping, you say! Yes, I am camping some nights. I'm doing better than in Penticton though. Anyway, the first thing we did was go to the Cape Byron Lighthouse. This lighthouse is located on the most easterly point of Australia.

Byron Bay is full of hippies and you see all sorts of funny things on the beach. Aussies are playing bongo drums and just basically clowning around. It is a very community spirited town and they fiercely protect it. At one time McDonald's tried to bring in a restaurant, but people from Byron Bay fought that and won. It is a quaint little town with alot of shops along main street. I bought an Aussie towel just because I forgot to bring one big enough for the beach. I only brought two small ones for showers.

Right now Rachael, Byron, Emma and Calum are cooking supper - Spaghetti Bolognese - Mmmmm. Dessert is waffles with whipping cream and maple syrup. Emma calls it pudding - she's from England.

We are going into town to a bar called the Cheeky Monkey. I like the names of things here - they have fun.