On Tuesday morning, I took a bus from Newcastle to Coffs Harbour. Coffs Harbour is a beach town and I stayed here for 2 nights. Unfortunately, I didn't have great weather here which was the start of a trend for the rest of the trip. But, I did get to spend a day at the beach and I met a good buddy Nitzan from Israel. Nitzan is on the left in the pic below. He is one of the most well traveled people I have ever met so I enjoyed talking with him.
I also got to enjoy a $7 all you can eat pizza night at the hostel on Tuesday night! I had forgotten what a joy this was for cash strapped young 20 somethings. They were pumped!
Byron Bay, Feb 12-15
On Thursday, I met up with my friend Anke again and we took a bus to Byron Bay. I traveled with Anke for the next week and it was great to have a travel companion.
Byron Bay is supposed to be one of the best beach spots on the east coast so I was looking forward to this trip.
On the first day, we walked up to the Cape Byron lighthouse which is supposed to be the most easterly point in Australia. There were some great views from up here. Once we got to the top, it started pouring rain and we had to take a cab back down. I got some good pics but they would have been sooo much better if it had been sunny.
On Friday, I went sea kayaking! This is one of the things I had really been looking forward to. The trip was scheduled for Friday morning and there was a light rain when we arrived. We decided to go anyway.
Have you seen the movie Castaway? Remember when Tom Hanks makes his escape from the island and he has to get his raft past the waves before he can set out to sea? Well, that is what sea kayaking was like. We started on the beach and then went straight into the ocean taking the waves head on. It was awesome! It was like going up a steep hill, then you are lifted up, and then you fall down with a thud into the sea. We did this through about 5-6 waves before successfully reaching calmer waters.
That's me in the green shirt in the back of the kayak.
Here is a good pic of some other people.
We had to cut the trip early because it started storming pretty bad and the waves were getting rough. When you bring the kayak back to shore, you have to navigate the waves again. Its a bit like surfing.
Our trip to shore didn't turn out so well! We almost made it in but then capsized in a wave. You can see our kayak below but we're under water at this point. It was fun!
From this point, it rained continuously until Sunday morning. So, I didn't do much except hang out in the hostel and enjoy some of Byron Bay's nightlife. Sunday morning was beautiful and I tried to kayak again but they canceled the trip because the surf was too rough. :( Oh well, at least I got to hang on the beach.
Surfers Paradise, Feb 15
On Sunday afternoon, I took the bus to Surfers Paradise. Surfers Paradise is on the Gold Coast and it is really commercialized unlike the other beach towns.....lots of high rise hotels, nightlife, etc. I was only in Surfers Paradise for one night so didn't do much.
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