B-B-Byronn Bay
- Elle Richards
- Oct 30, 2020
- 4 min read
Ah, the world-renown Byron Bay. To be completely honest, I’m not a huge fan. Don’t get me wrong it has some beautiful sights, friendly people, good beer, and is so cool because there are more vans than cars. But ultimately it was crowded, heavily commercialised, expensive, and just overwhelming. There’s an irony to the lifestyle here as EVERYONE is unbelievably individualistic and put them on the streets of Adelaide, you’d 100% be on the highlight reel of shitadelaide 2020 but because of this, no one really stands out despite the quirkiness. I feel like it’s the type of place some absolutely thrive in and others (me), just plug in music to tune out the constant hustle bustle and TRY to enjoy the lively town.
We arrived on the evening of the 6th and went straight to bed after dinner. total fluke - found out in the morning we were parked about 200 metres away from the beach in the suburbs. So whilst Emi and Prati slept in, I wandered off to the beach for a much-needed swim. The van quickly heats up in the morning so to quickly cool off, I jumped in the ocean and watched the waves for a while. But the water was deceiving as it had a few too many rips and weird pulls which wasn't smart to challege alone.
Emi and Prati eventually joined and from 12ish to 3 pm, we were napping, sunbathing, and swimming. A bit but not enough sunblock was applied oops! We had sandwiches for lunch which has become a go-to meal and I’m not complaining especially since we make our own hummus on the road. A sad discovery was made that we had absolutely no dishes for dinner so I headed into Byron’s main street to smash 3 days worth of dishes. Got a couple looks but was rather calming to just plug in a podcast and watch the world go by as I cleaned. I finished up as the sun was setting and headed back to the beach. Me being stupid, whilst getting out of the van, stood on a fat chunk of glass and blood was properly flowing. Luckily, Nurse Emi and Prati came to my rescue and I sat with my foot elevated for the rest of that evening.
At around 11.30 pm, we got a firm knock on our door, and me being stupid again, yelled “come in!”, thinking it was Emi or Prati. Turns out it was a friendly security lady who told us we were on private property (despite being in this carpark for the whole day), and were risking a hefty fine. At this point, I was really mastering the role of the naive and apologetic 19-year-old girl who had no idea and will of course move along. We ended up parking on a suburban street though it was still illegal!
The next day (8/10), I wandered the main street, curious to find out what all the fuss of Byron Bay is about. There were long lines (COVID restrictions), a ridiculous amount of people everywhere, and shopping alone, it was a lot to handle and rather lonely. I had high hopes for the Op shops as it’s such a wealthy area and the turnover of people's clothes would be high, but it was also disappointing. I joined Emi and Prati at Tyagarah National Park, (it has become one of our home bases little did we know at the time), and having not documented the eventful past week, I planted myself on a table and just wrote. Tyagarah actually has some questionable reviews and a few too many lone, middle-aged men just rocking up and chilling as 200m down, it becomes a nude beach. Just a little alarming and uncomfortable….
We gave Emi a haircut, I got to do the fringe and Prati the proper chop. There were serious chunks of hair on the floor but props to Prati, he actually did a decent job. We drew a big mandala on the beach with sticks in the wind which was surprisingly therapeutic.
It was my turn for dinner and with what was left in the fridge, I made a weird combination of roasted vegetables, ginger rice noodles, fried tofu for me, and beef for the other two. I called mum and we chatted for a few hours on the beach. I was having a bit of a moment, and needed to hear her voice and wished my mum was there with me. Later, we all lay on the carpark gravel observing the starry night sky and occasional shooting stars with a quilt and a skateboard as a pillow.
The 9th of October was rather uneventful as I just did another round of dishes as Prati and Emi roamed the streets and later meeting up for lunch at Kinoko Sushi. We all ordered Donburi bowls, traditionally made with meat, rice, and pickled vegetables. Very tasty!! A quiet evening for me chatting away with Matt, Steph, Joshua, and Emma, quite nice (as Steph would say!). On the 10th, we hit up the iconic Cape Byron Lighthouse. This lighthouse is still running and if you look closely at night, you'll see the spotlight circling the harbour. A couple of lone whales, a few dolphins, a potential shark, and some super spectacular beach views was worth the walk to the top. We stood on the “Most Easterly Point of Australia” and some cool kid had brought a rock from Steep Point, the most Western Point of Australia, to the lookout. What a funky idea.
We ran back to the vans as our parking had 10 minutes left on it, made sandwiches for lunch then headed for the highly recommended Lake Ainsworth at Lennox Heads. Keep an eye out for the recap of that one :)
Love from Byron Bay x
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