BYRON BAY
Byron bay, the kind of place you want to hate before you even arrive due to the sheer amount of people who have told you “Ow your going to love it!”, every backpacker has been here, is on their way here, or can't leave here. And to be honest.. we liked it, a lot! The beach is the towns obvious appeal, a seemingly endless stretch of golden sand, shimmering mountains sitting on the horizon behind a vale of sea mist carried by a steady, cool breeze. And lots of surf, for everyone, even us. “lessons?! We don't need lessons, Jaimie grew up next to the ocean, I've lived in Cornwall, course we know how to surf!!” And we do, we just haven't done any in long enough to forget that the ocean WILL punish the unprepared. And we we're definitely unprepared, running in a frolic skip to the ocean like lambs to the water. Only to be regurgitated like bad mutton. However, we we're determined and with a brisk change of strategy (stop trying to surf with the pro's, swallow your pride and get in with the beginners) and a regained (after a solid beating) respect for the power of the ocean we eventually catch some waves.
We're lucky. We arrive just before the tourist hoards swarm upon town. It's busy whilst we're there but we manage to dodge the traps by bumping into a friend from Melbourne, Leroy. Like me Leroy was somewhat disillusioned by the management team where we we're working in Melbourne, so grabbed a van and headed for the coast and lucky for us, has just set up as the bar manager of a bizarre Mexican joint and needs guinea pigs to sample his new cocktail menu, well we're happy to help a friend in need!
Meeting Leroy is great as we get an off-the-beaten-track taste of Byron and spend an evening jamming a didgeridoo through a loop station in a carpark (Leroys home for evening), trollied on his latest sangria concoction and infused tequilas. Helps to have friends in strange places.
Byron bay, the kind of place you want to hate before you even arrive due to the sheer amount of people who have told you “Ow your going to love it!”, every backpacker has been here, is on their way here, or can't leave here. And to be honest.. we liked it, a lot! The beach is the towns obvious appeal, a seemingly endless stretch of golden sand, shimmering mountains sitting on the horizon behind a vale of sea mist carried by a steady, cool breeze. And lots of surf, for everyone, even us. “lessons?! We don't need lessons, Jaimie grew up next to the ocean, I've lived in Cornwall, course we know how to surf!!” And we do, we just haven't done any in long enough to forget that the ocean WILL punish the unprepared. And we we're definitely unprepared, running in a frolic skip to the ocean like lambs to the water. Only to be regurgitated like bad mutton. However, we we're determined and with a brisk change of strategy (stop trying to surf with the pro's, swallow your pride and get in with the beginners) and a regained (after a solid beating) respect for the power of the ocean we eventually catch some waves.
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