It's all about the rain in Byron Bay...

Afternoon All! Now I can actually write from the right time! I just had so much to tell you about the last few days I could never have put it all in one post. But I'll just carry on where I left off.

Yesterday morning a few of us got up early to go horseriding. There was only about half the coach doing it, but Bogan had hyped it up so much and it was only about 12 quid for 2.5 hrs so it was bound to be worth it. Anyway it started raining really hard as we were munching breakfast, and after some deliberation it started to die down so luckily we still got to go out. We had to sign a waver to say that if we injured ourselves or died or something it wasn't their fault, so that really didn't fill me with confidence! And then I was put on a really big horse and I was higher than everyone else, so I didn't feel much better! Once we set out though it was good, we followed the river and crossed it in places and did some trotting. I'd totally forgotten how to do it though, so I got some help from a leader who showed me how to canter too. It was lots of fun, the only problem being that my shoes kept slipping in the stirrups and it was really painful and uncomfortable while I was trotting. We stopped by the river and got the chance to strip to our bikinis and ride the horses bareback in the water. I hate to think how dirty and full of horse poo the water was but I didn't really care it was so much fun! It was well worth it.

We came back to the pub, showered profusely and hopped back on the bus by 11:30am to start making our way to Byron Bay. We stopped in Inverell for dinner, and after attempting to hunt down the elusive Subway we resided to a quiet cafe for a toastie and milkshake. We got back on the bus and since we had a long journey (about 485km altogether) Bogan put on his skydiving and bungee videos for us. I'm feeling very inspired into doing a skydive now. If Claire and Martin can do it I don't see why I can't! Apparently the cheapest place is in Mooloolaba at about 80 quid so may look into it there. We also watched Finding Nemo and Shrek 2, and had a fuel stop in Grafton so the journey felt quite short.

We arrived in Byron Bay at about 7:30pm and it was chucking it down. The town looked really dingy and dark in the rain. After a quick tour we got dropped off at our hostel that Bogan had arranged, the Holiday Village Backpackers. After waiting 45 mins in the queue to check in we were told they only had the TV lounge left, which didn't close until 10:30pm and with nowhere for us to change or secure our bags until then. I was absolutely livid, and really wished I'd sorted my own accommodation out as they were really taking the mick, especially since they were still charging us $22 a night for it (a 3.00 pound discount). The only upside was that they could get us in a dorm (but separately) the next night, then together on Wednesday. We had to put our bags in Helen's room (a nice girl from Taunton) as the TV lounge was full of people and got changed to go out in there too.

We went out in the evening as Bogan had sorted an night out to Cocomangas for food and cavhorting (a bar / restaurant / nightclub) and after a few of us had some food we moved on to the Rails Bar to see where everyone was. There was some of the coach crew there but no sign of Bogan all night, so we had no one to moan to about the state of the accommodation! I phoned Mum and moaned to her, then we went back to the hostel about midnight to catch some kip.

Anyway, the whole thing doesn't seem so bad today, we've been put in appartments tonight but separately, and I'm sharing with a couple. I hate that cos it's like I'm gonna be intruding now and you just know I'm gonna walk in on them or something! But the staff say they'll get us together in a dorm tomorrow so hopefully it should be ok. A lesson has definitely been learned - I'll be booking our accommodation for Surfer's Paradise as soon as I finish this post!

We hope to stay in Byron until Monday, and the plan is to just mooch around the shops, chill out and not burn! on the beach and walk up to the lighthouse at some point. I'll post sometime later this week and let you know what's been going down!

Thanks for listening!