Byron Bay just keeps getting better!

Hey Y'All! The weather is so much better today, and now I'm really starting to like it here!

Yesterday we went for a mooch around the shops down the main street after we posted on our blogs. There's a real laid-back, hippie culture to Byron, so there's loads of shops selling things like crafts, trinkets, incense and floaty clothes, and we even found a shop selling a range of bodycare products with 'marijuana essence'! You also tend to see an abundance of tanned, oldish, skinny guys with long dreads, no shoes or shirts and an aroma of patchouli oil about them stalking down the main street, as well as buskers of the same appearance with pipes and didgeridoos. We walked all the way down to the beach and to Captain Cook's Lookout - a tall rock set in front of the cliff face which you can walk up - and watched the surfers for a while. I'm thinking I may go down with Claire on Thursday and give it a go too! We're going on a 3 hr surfing lesson with Black Dog Surfing and it's only costing us 20 quid so it should at least be a laugh if nothing else! In the evening there was a barbeque on that we couldn't really afford (we're so poor!) so since everyone was going to that and not really going out round Byron we decided to stay in Claire's appartment with some pasta, a bottle of wine, chocolate and The Shawshank Redemption on rental. It was nice to have a cosy night in for a change. Plus I didn't really want to go back to my appartment early and disturb the couple I'm sharing with!

Today we swapped rooms again after breakfast and we're finally in a dorm together now - yey! After settling in we set out walking to Cape Byron Lighthouse. It was a longer walk than we anticipated, and although it was cloudy we still managed to get burnt! We really should've packed some lunch, but what we did instead was have a lovely ice cream once we got to the lighthouse to keep us going! There was some stunning views though, and there's just something about being high up by the sea that no feeling can match. It was fantastic. We also saw our first snake(along the path) and some dolphins (in the water - obviously!). We walked back the opposite way to which we had come, so we walked around the peninsula to Captain Cook's Lookout, passing Australia's Most Easternly Mainland Point, where you can see the first sunrise in Australia, if you're feeling inclined to drag yourself out of bed for 4:45am! We walked back along the beach, and the surf looked so good we decided that after we'd had some lunch we would go back down to the beach and play in the sea! We did, and it was so much fun, though the rips are really strong and you get knocked over by waves (or they knock me over, at least) even at only knee depth!

The plan for tonight isn't too hectic; we're gonna go back, eat, shower, do some washing, and if some of the guys from the coach are going out we may tag along, or we might go to the cinema if it's not too expensive, I'm not sure yet. I'm really starting to love it here though; I can see why so many people come here just for a couple of days and end up staying a week. It's just so laid back and the beach is gorgeous, especially now it's a bit sunnier! It's a shame really cos even though we're moving quite quickly up the East Coast, there's loads of places we want to stop at between Brisbane and Cairns so there's not really much lee-way to stay here longer. We're booking our Cairns to Darwin flight tomorrow, hopefully for the 23rd February (Louisa's feared 20th! Ha Ha!) which leaves us exactly 5 weeks to travel the East Coast. It seems a long time but when you think we've already been here a week and a half it's not really!

For the rest of this week we haven't really planned much; there's not a lot to do here by way of sightseeing so we'll probably spend most of our time chilling out. We're going for our surfing lesson tomorrow (where they "guarantee to have you standing up" by the end - not sure whether it'll be in the water or not!). We're also hoping to take a day trip to Nimbin on Sunday, as then is when they have a market on. Nimbin is apparently the Amsterdam of Australia, where up until recently you would be offered drugs every two minutes as you walk the main street, and where virtually everybody is stoned, but currently the police are cracking down and it's not really advisable to be making any purchases whilst your on the trip. Not that I was planning on doing. No, seriously! I just want to go for the sheer amusement. Claire's the one who wants to get wasted! ;o)

I'm gonna go now and nurse my sunburn. At least I've got a bit of colour now! I just wish I didn't have obvious white strap marks where my top AND my rucksack have been!

I'll let you know how the surfing goes (or doesn't go, as the case will probably be!) in due course. Hope everyone is well and all is good up there. Let me know what you're up to!