Byron Bay

We went by bus that took 21/2hrs on a busy 6 lane highway most of the way. This is the Gold Coast/Surfers Paradise area of Australia very popular for week-enders and holiday makers. Byron Bay has sheltered beaches and is known locally as the Byron Bubble a sort of intangible atmosphere that seems to set it apart from the rest of the world. There are a huge variety of cultures in the Bay everything from the dedicated hippie to the ultra wealthy, from blue collar to rainbow sarong , from professional to surfie dudes. It is also a place of healing for hundreds of years. The Aboriginal people made regular pilgrimages and considered Byron a sacred place of meeting and transformation. There are a wide range of retreats and spa's influenced by ancient health practises from around the world.
We had planned this portion of our trip for R&R after our rigorous three week adventures.  We are spending alot of time on the beach and taking in the local sights and sounds by day and night. Sunday Trish and Pete (friends from Cornwall) drove from Coffs Harbor a 3hr drive to have lunch with us at The Rails it was great to see them and catch up over a few pints of Ozzie beer they return to Sydney on Friday.  Pete and Kevin are golfing in Cronulla next Monday while Trish and I swim, shop and later have supper with Helga,Woody and Ryder. By Monday Byron Bay had worked it's magic and we had a burst of energy which allowed us to tackle a hike over two small mountains along the coastline to the Byron Bay Lighthouse located on Cape Byron the most easterly point of Australia. The entire hike was 10.5km 6 of which were uphill!!  It was a tough climb with amazing views and the view from the lighthouse was breathtaking Along the way we met a few different lizards and numerous beautiful butterflies. On our 2.5km descent we walked thru pre historic rain forest and giant ferns called Burrawang which were would have been eaten by dinosaurs. An approaching thunder storm but pep in our step and we made it back to town before the heavens opened. This storm lasted thru the night with very high winds and has lowered the temp considerably so today will not be a beach day as planned but we will walk along the beach to town and have a last look around before leaving in the morning for Sydney at 7:30am on a 2hr bus ride  to Casino which passes thru Lismore (Kevin was born in Lismore Co Waterford Ireland ) then a 10hr train trip to Sydney - Kevin loves trains.....  The final 8 days of our trip will be spent exploring Sydney and visiting two of Kevins cousins Frank and Michael Tierney from Galway and my cousin Philip Quigley. Up to a few months ago I never knew I had any family in Australia so looking forward that.  MR&K