Byron Bay

Byron Bay was named in honor of Admiral Lord Byron by Captain Cook who stopped here on his voyages in 1770. Byron is well known in Australia for a few things. First it is the most easterly point in Australia. Second, on this most easterly point is the lighthouse, which also happens to be the most powerful lighthouse in Australia and a well worn city icon. And last, it is the supposed new age, hippie mecca of Australia.

Byron, located on the North Coast of New South Wales, is about an hour's drive south of Coolangatta. The North Coast NSW has many attributes similar to Southern Queensland such as a sub-tropical climate and similar dormant volcanic geography.

For anybody familiar with San Diego, Byron Bay is a large Ocean Beach. The hippie new age vibe is prevalent here and kind of has that grunginess to it. Lots of funky shops shilling wares from expensive furniture to healing crystals. Don't get me wrong it's nice, especially up on the Cape were million dollar homes overlook the Bay and Watego's but it's definitely been overrun by that wannabe new agey element sending rents and property skyhigh in once was probably a quaint seaside town. The influx of tourists in the season probably keeps the economy alive but also gives it a bit of a carnival crowd minus the shenanigans. People are well behaved there's just a ton of people everywhere.

Luckily we didn't really have to worry about this too much because we were staying about 5 miles east in Corabell at a lodge smack dab in the middle of a rain forest. The Peppers Causarina Resort was probably the coolest place we stayed on the whole trip. The lodges were located on an old dairy farm perched above a creek surrounded by the rain forest. The sights, sounds, and overall vibe is pretty wild. The racket from the birds was amazing. Every morning the forest steamed from the moisture rising. The little lodges were roomy and comfortable. Overall just a pleasant atmosphere to relax in.

Seeing that we were out of civilization we were pretty dependant on the lodge for meals which was fine seeing the restaurant was top notch. We did go into to town for me to surf and get beer, and for Steph to shop but minimal time was actually spent in Byron. Of course we had to visit the lighthouse and give it a gander. Impressive views from the top and I enjoyed the novelty of standing on the easternmost point of Oz.

Weather was definitely wet here. It rained almost the whole time we were here and literally dumped buckets in the rain forest.