The one and only BRYON BAY!

Day 6 (Friday)

We’re coming in hot, watch out Bryon!! We had heard so much about Bryon Bay, and so we were very excited for this day to be reality. We had even been tipped off that Art’s Factory was the hostel you MUST stay at. We drove into town and our first stop was to check out a surf shop to see how much we could get for the boards. The owner low balled us so we continued on our way. Stop two was the most eastern point of all of Australia. It was a huge lighthouse. Pretty cool light house but the view was much more breathtaking. In one direction was the town of Byron. Then as you panned around to your right, you saw the deep ocean blue was before you. Continuing right you then came across a beach filled with surfers. Far off in the distance we saw our first whale of the trip! It was splashing about and waving hello with its fin. Stop three: surfing! It was a bit overcast and I was filling a little sick so I stayed dry, but Cole fought the frost and was the only surfer without a wetty. 

After a good surf, the best thing to do is get some hot liquids in you so we head to Twisted Sister Coffee Shop. My dominating thought of the coffee place was how much my mom would love this place. It was colorful and quant with a touch of cheesiness. I spent my time blogging about the first half of the trip (as you probably know, I never finished blogging until about a month later, aka now… oops!).

 Just before the sun was beginning to set we headed to the beach to grab a shore side parking spot. Out came the lawn chairs, table, and grill. We threw some snags (sausages) on the grill and sat back for the sunset show. It was a delicious dinner with a grand view. We then rolled to the famous Art’s Factory with an attached brewery. The combination of Cole, me, and good beer is a deadly one. To our surprise it was reggae night with a live dj. We spent the rest of the night enjoying ourselves and what we do best… dancing the night away. I think the bar tender is the only who knows how many jugs (pitchers, but a touch smaller) we went through until we called it a night and rolled into the reliable, old Sheldin. 

BRIS-VEGAS!!

Day 5 (Thursday)

A late night didn’t hold us back. By 10am we were in the waters surfing again. The paddle out seemed like miles, but hey, it was a good workout. Once we were past the break, I realized I was the only girl. Cha ching, props to me! Though, I will admit, I couldn’t keep up with the boys. All the guys were tearing it up and I was tired, a bit hung over, and am really just not that great of a surfer. Even with all that, I was having a blast. It’s always fun being in the water even if you don’t catch a wave all day. It’s very peaceful to sit on your board bobbing up and down and gazing off into the never ending blue. The ocean looks like it goes on forever. There are always a few small chats with the surfers around you, but really it’s all about the connection between you and nature.

Around one we headed south searching for more waves. We checked out a few beaches, but nothing was breaking well so we settled with an hour nap on the beach. After being well rested we hit the road and Bris-vegas here we come!! We rolled into the city looking fly in our hippie-mobile. A few U-turns later we found ourselves outside Rhyannon’s apartment. Meeting Rhyannon is a cool, but goofy story. I met her in the airport in Cairo. We chatted for awhile and were on the same flight from Cairo to Bangkok and then Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur. We exchanged facebook information on the slight chance we’d cross paths again. Sure enough she was our connection in Brissy. It was amazing hanging out with her! We both were still in awe that we were together again. Rhyannon is a very generous, great sheila. She grew up in a small town a few hours north of Brisbane and now is going to school in the city. Her apartment was gorgeous! It had an amazing view of the skyline. We chatted it up and then grabbed some grub.

That night we met some of her friends and pre-gamed in the apartment. Not long after, we were strutting down the streets of Brisbane. We had walked out of reality and into a 90’s movie. I felt as if I was an extra on “10 Things I Hate About You” or “SLC Punks”. The east cost style is separated into three categories. You have the hipsters of Melbourne, the classy and stylish Sydney, and the 90’s grunge of Brisbane. The bars were even playing to 90’s music too! Rhyannon said it was just the bar, but I’m a tad bit skeptical of that idea;  I thought it was most of the city. We danced and danced until sweat covered our faces and then continued to dance. After awhile we popped in a taxi ready to pass out. The next morning was a short goodbye and Cole and I were off to Bryon Bay.

NOOOOSAAA

I apologize for the delay, but here's some more of EAR... and there will still be more to come!

Day 4 (Wednesday)

We woke in the morning with a delightful surprise of not being ticketed for overnight parking in the park. We drove into the town of Agnes and had our first surf sess. SO MUCH FUN! No wetty, nothing; Just us, our boards, and the waves. I loved it! I named my board (6’ 10”) Bernice. She was a lot of fun and the perfect size… not a long board but a long short board. By noon we were back on the road Noosa Heads bound.

Just before sunset, we drove into  the town of Noosa. Cole was driving like a mad man in a hurry to get to the beach. I thought it was because he was so excited to surf, but really he just had to pee very badly. We pulled up in the parking lot, dropped our clothes, grabbed the boards and hit the waters. We only had about 45 minutes of surfing, but it was so worth it! Sunset surfing is hands down the best. It’s absolutely beautiful!

After checking out our options of hostels (we camped in their parking lots), we settled with the  one closest to the beach. Cole was exhausted so he hit the sack pretty early. I, on the other hand, met some friends at the hostel and then hit a bar. I trampled in with a crew of about 10. The bar wasn’t packed at all… actually pretty empty, but it was filled with fun people. We danced the night away. After dancing was over, myself, a friend, and the bar tender continued our adventures at the beach working on our moon tans. We frolicked with the waves and then went pool hopping through all the beach front hotels. It wasn’t until 5 am when I scrambled back into the camper.