Byron Bay Adventures

I have now been somewhere other than the Gold Coast in Australia! This past Wednesday, I joined Extreme Adventures for an excursion to Byron Bay. While there I enjoyed many different activities and further bonding with my fellow international students.

The trip began at the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. While there we got to see all the wonderful animals that are native to Australia. I loved seeing all the animals and I have got to say that a lot indigenous Australian animals are pretty precious. At first we rode a train to one side of the park where we didn't see very many animals, but felt a lot of Mosquitos! We finally found the Dingos and they were very cute. They reminded me a lot of the dog breed, Shiba Inu. While we were looking at them something must have been bothering them because they kept howling at something.

We next discovered the kangaroos! I loved being able to be so close to them. I even got to feed one of the younger ones! We next saw the koalas, which I have to admit, were my favorites. I held one and it did get a little frisky...

Num Num Num

Kangaroo Selfie

Nico getting funky with an iguana

After leaving Currumbin we headed straight to Byron Bay, which took about an hour. The drive wasn't too bad and we saw a lot of Australian countryside. As soon as we arrived in Byron we checked into our hostel, put our stuff down, and went straight on a hike. It was a nice but very exhausting hike. There were a lot of stairs involved and not many breaks so I did get a little winded. It was all worth it though when we reached the lighthouse. The views were breathtaking and almost seemed unreal. It is also exciting to say that I have now been to the Eastern most part of the mainland of Australia!

Perfect opportunity for a Titanic pic

After the hike, we ended up getting lost trying to find our way back to the hostel, but on the plus side we got to see some of the city. After finally making our way back (with some bonus blisters on my feet), we headed to the beach. As soon as our group got to the beach we went to the water to cool off and then passed out on the beach. After about an hour resting we learned that there is actually a time difference between Byron Bay and the Gold Coast and that we were running late. We hopped off the beach and got ready to go to the Cheeky Monkey. Back at the room I realized I forgot to bring my other pair of shoes, but luckily Maria (from Denmark) was nice enough to let me borrow a pair of her flip-flops. It worked out because apparently it’s the style in Denmark to wear tennis shoes out. At the Cheeky Monkey, a restaurant that turns into a bar at night, we ate food and socialized until the music started. As soon as the music started everyone jumped up onto the tables and started dancing. Cheeky monkey is known for having tables that double up as dance floors. It was a fun night and my group established our party anthem, which is “Trumpets” by Jason Derulo.

The next day we kayaked and the guides definitely took a fancy towards me. I think it was because I was the only one interested in buying their shark repellent. We had a great time kayaking in the ocean. Maria was a terrible partner though!!! (She was actually awesome; I kind of was the bad partner) Maria and I were nice enough to show the group how to get back in the kayak after you flip over and we most definitely did this on purpose... We were also the first to flip over because we didn’t want the others to feel bad if they flipped over. After kayaking a little we took a break, and that is when I volunteered Nico to compete in the Tim Tam challenge. The goal was to eat 16, but he only managed to eat 8. At least he tried! Overall, kayaking was incredible. I was a little disappointed that we didn’t see dolphins, but we can go back for free since we did not see them. Also just a fun fact, it is really hard to kayak onto the beach.

After kayaking, we spent the day shopping and exploring. Byron Bay is an incredible place and is full of hippies. Everywhere we looked were hippie vans! When we got back from shopping we had dinner at the hostel and I was lucky enough to have two dinners because I might of accidently spilled the first one all over myself….whoopsie. As fellow blogger Joyce Lansky always says, “you can dress me up, but you can’t take me anywhere.”
The next day I learned how to surf and I actually managed to stand up on the board for a wave or two! I’ll have to try again another time. Someday maybe I’ll be good enough to enter the Quicksilver surf competition that’s going on at the Gold Coast right now! Hey, I can dream! After getting back from a tiring surf lesson a group of us played volleyball at the hostel. Luckily I don’t think my team realized their disadvantage of having me on the team. We actually managed to win 1 out of 3 games. It was a tough competition though!

So Determined!

Not so Determined!

Overall Byron Bay was an amazing place that I recommend anyone and everyone to go to. It is full of beautiful scenery and crazy hippies!

I will now leave you with my groups party anthem, Trumpets!

Lots of love,

Erica Not In America