Byron Bay’s reputation as one of Australia’s best beach towns had both Sarah and I excited as we made the short drive down from Brisbane. Though we hadn’t looked up the Lonely Planet review of Byron Bay before we arrived, this excerpt sums it up PERFECTLY:
“The reputation of this famous beach town precedes it to such an extent that first impressions may leave you wondering what all the fuss is about. The beaches are great, but then again there are spectacular beaches all along this coast. What makes Byron special is the singular vibe of the town itself. It’s here that coastal surf culture flows into the hippie tide washing down from the hinterland, creating one great barefooted, alternative-lifestyle mash-up.
The town centre is low-rise, funky and relaxed – in short, everything that the overdeveloped towns across the border in Queensland are not. Developers would cheerfully turn Byron into a Surfers Paradise given the chance, but locals are dedicated to preserving its essential small-town soul.
Of course Byron does get crowded and it also attracts its fair share of off-the-leash teens and drug casualties. Yet its unique vibe has a way of converting even the most cynical with its long, balmy days, endless beaches, reliable surf breaks, fine food, raucous nightlife and ambling milieu. A weekend turns into a week, a week into a month…Before you know it, dreadlocks are a serious consideration.”
Anyway, when we arrived around lunchtime on Tuesday we headed straight into town to get a bite to eat at a local café. The town was packed with people and the single road into town reminded us a lot of the potentially long drives to Montauk on summer Fridays. Most of the beach towns we’ve seen so far have been pretty quiet so seeing this many people was a bit of a surprise!
After lunch we headed to Byron Springs, our B&B for the next two nights. This place definitely felt straight out of Long Island in its décor, though our hosts’ extremely laid back attitude would probably be a little harder to find in the Hamptons.
Sarah finally found a kale salad for lunch.
Our room for the next two nights.
Byron Springs offers its guests free bikes to borrow so Sarah and I packed backpacks and headed into town to relax on the beach. After a few hours in the sun we headed to town to wander around a few shops and find an early dinner. We rode our bikes back to the B&B at dusk and called it an early night given our plans for this morning…
We woke up today at 5am so we could catch the sunrise at Cape Byron Lighthouse. This is apparently a thing that lots of people do, but rather than drive up to the lighthouse, we decided to run the 3 miles from our B&B. It was a great work out and made the views seem even more special when we made it (panting!) up to the top. A great start to our Christmas Eve!
Just before sunrise, looking down at the beach at Arakwal National Park.
Sunrise at Cape Byron Lighthouse.
The lighthouse.
We made it! (Not our sexiest shot ever though haha.)
One more of the sunrise!
After taking in the sunrise for an hour or so, we walked into town to grab coffee, then back to our B&B for breakfast. Despite our best efforts to walk, eat and converse with our fellow guests slowly, by the time we were ready to head down to the beach it was only 9am – guess waking up at 5am has its benefits! We secured a good spot on the sand and soaked up the rays for a few hours. We both decided it would be best to get out of the mid-day sun so Sarah strolled around some more of the local shops and I took Unbroken – the book that Angelina Jolie turned into a movie to be released tomorrow – to a shady spot to read for a bit.
The rest of the day was spent in a similar fashion – head to the beach, swim, lay in the sun, head into town for shade, repeat. On the last cycle of our lazy afternoon, we snapped a picture of the less crowded beach:
Byron Bay and the Lighthouse. Not a bad way to spend Christmas Eve!
We had Mexican food for dinner – which was delicious – then rode our bikes back to the B&B. Tomorrow we drive to Port Macquarie, the final stop on our road trip before concluding our time in Australia in Sydney. Byron Bay has been one of our favorite stops along the way, perhaps because it reminds us so much of the beaches (and beach towns) we love back home. We’re sad to say goodbye but glad we had such nice weather to enjoy our time here!