When we finally arrived it was like instantly driving back to the sixties! There were hippys everywhere! Loads of old fashioned hippy shops, loads of people with long hair wearing no shoes and just generally looking scruffy! It was all very odd! You could tell as soon as you arrived that this town was full of travellers! Actual backpackers that leave home with one bag and. No money ! We got our shuttle bus to our hostel the "arts factory lodge". It was part of the nomads group we had stayed with them before and they were good, and we had read the reviews and the were good that's why we picked it,we had booked a Four bed islander room. When we arrived we had to wait two hours to get into our room and they had no where to store your bags or valuables, there was small lockers big enough to fit one of our day bags but not our suitcases/backpacks but there was none left and you had to pay for them! So we just waited in the common area and people watched and it was very entertaining! This hostel was full of hippys we looked quite out of place! There were lots of hippys that quite literally hadn't washed for weeks or looked like they hadn't, there were hitchhikers getting there signs all ready for the next part of there journey, there were multiple girls walking around with no bras on and tiny tops on so there boobs were waggling about all over the place with there nipples just there! And they also had no underwear on wearing loose shorts so when they crossed there legs etc you could see right up there shorts ! It was all very odd and the oddest thing was that no one had any shoes on! And all of there feet were black not just dirty but black ! It was so disgusting ! I felt like saying to them did you leave home with no shoe's? Surely not ? It doesn't make sense especially for British people because we are not taught to walk around bare foot all day it's not our culture when I say all day I mean .....going to get your food shopping, going for a bike ride or a walk to the lighthouse they literally love with no shoes on! It was the weirdest oddest creepiest place we had been to so far! We would put our stay down as experience!
......over crowded fridge!
This is just a tiny piece of hippy ville !Whilst waiting for our room we went to put our food in the fridges! ......no chance it was sooooo packed ! I hadn't seen anything like it before in all our travels and in all the hostels we stayed in! So we had to give It to reception as it had been out since 9pm the night before as we left so early and the kitchen was closed when we left so we had to get it the night before! So they put it in there fridge for now! On arrival in our islander 4 beds share which was basically a tent held up by wood instead of pegs! And which by the way had a double bed on the bottom bunk of one of the beds which we were so pleased at as we would get to sleep together! It wasn't to bad he actual rooms looked worse,it had a fan and was relatively clean, but there was obviously mozzies in there as we were quite literally hanging over the most disgusting pond :( but we used the mozzie doors unfortunately not everyone was so careful so it was operation kill the mozzies when we got in everyday ! Anyway we were thinking it was good that we could get away from hippy ville!
It was still raining but only spitting now so we decided to go out and explore the town of byron! It was quite a nice town lots of old fashioned hippy shops which were quite interesting to look around! And there were many odd people walking around which were also quote interesting to look at! We got a pizza from dominos and headed to the beach to eat it :) and to watch the surfers!
Heading back to our hostel wondering what it would be like in the evening ! It was load and people were singing around a person playing guitar! We went to our "tent" and just chilled played some games and looked at our trip stuff! I had earplugs that night thank god! But lukee didn't ! However we were both so tired we fell asleep really quickly ! But we woke several times throughout the night! We woke when our roommates came back in the early hours, we woke from the constant music being played until around 3 in the morning the noise and shouting from the other travellers it just went on and when we woke in the morning we were still tired! But we decided that today we would walk to the most easterly point in Australia's mainland and to the light house! But first for a cup of tea! We went to the kitchen which was even worse then we had remembered the day before! There was no cutlery, plates or bowls, it was fifty like you could see the dirt :( there were flies everywhere and the sinks were full up to the top with dirty water :( we would not even imagine cooking in here :( which was so annoying as we were cooking all our own food to save money, anyway there wasn't a cup in sight so we had to go and rent them from reception! When we did we couldn't find a kettle! Eventually staff found one! This all took around 30mins! We were so pissed off by this point ! Luke made the tea and I decided to use the rest of our bread (3slices!) and the two eggs we had left and quickly make scrambled eggs! It only took the use of a microwave and toaster and even that made me cringe :( we made it quickly then ate it even quicker as there was nowhere really to sit and there was mozzies everywhere! And then we got the hell out of there! It was so annoying because we liked making our dinners and we also made our lunches and picnic for the next day so we were loosing out on saving money :(
......moving on...... So we had decided on this walk today :) we didn't really no how far it was so we packed our day bag for all kinds of weather and all kinds of activities! We had swim stuff, umbrella, loads of water! Snacks, a jacket! We were well organised and we planned on being out all day so we wouldn't have to return to our hostel until late!
We started our walk and first stop was the post office I had to send the postcards I had written ! And then we began we just followed the signs and as we began to walk up hill we saw some lovely views, lovely views of byron bay and the beaches, it was a nice walk it was quite long around 3-4 miles round trip but it was nice it wasn't up hill all the way there were benches along the way you could sit at and take in the view! It was lovely and we saw a family of dolphins again! Including a baby one they were all swimming together in a big group it was so nice to see :) when we got to the most easterly point we had a rest, took some pics thank god it was an overcast day it made it slightly cooler! And I got burnt on my forehead :( just my forehead :( we continued our journey towards the lighthouse which was much smaller then We thought it would be! And on the way to that we saw a wallaby it was so cute it was eating and then it bounced off into the bushes and we saw some more dolphins and some huge stingrays and manta rays! We were being pretty lucky with our sightings so far!
The lighthouse was built in 1901! Wew as thinking how could this be history let alone have a museum attached ! Anyway it was quite pretty and we took some good pics with the sea in the background etc ! We decided that we would head back to the beach as we had been out for 4 hours!! The walk back down was much easier then the walk up but still just as nice! We finally reached our local beach but by the time we got there we wasn't so hot and bothered! We decided to still go for a dip tho! I went in To my waist and luke went for a full swim! The water was actually quite warm ! Even at 17.00 ! It was really nice on our aching feet! We stayed there around an hour and half! And then decided to get something to eat,we had pizza again! It was the cheapest thing for us to eat! We were annoyed we were eating so healthy and were feeling really good and now to eat pizza two days in a row was a bit annoying ! Just before getting it we went to a travel shop to use there free wifi! We couldn't be there for long as you just get hassled to buy tours and trips etc! But it was our little princess Millie's 2nd birthday! We had already sent a video message for her to look at on her birthday just Incase we couldn't get wifi, hope she liked that :) and now we had some wifi but they were playing music and it was so load and we didn't have our earphones with us :( so it was going to be really hard to FaceTime Millie :( but we decided to give it a go anyway ! And we got through! We spoke to Her for only around 8 minutes and we spoke to chester and sammie aswell but it was so hard to hear them, but we got to say happy birthday to Millie and see what she got for her birthday which was really nice I miss so much being able to see them on there birthdays and Xmas, and am so jealous of everyone at home who gets to see them regularly ! And chester asked how many days it would be until we get home :( it makes me tearful. As I have said before thank god for FaceTime and the internet so I can still speak to them ! And I cant wait for a day when we have proper wifi and I can speak to them and my parents properly! I quickly sent mum and dad a message on what's app just to update them and to let them no we are still alive! And then we went for pizza! We went and sat down on the beach to eat it and it was really nice actually the sun was just coming down some people were still surfing and it was a really lovely view :) and there was a dog on the beach playing ! Which of course was great to watch!
We headed back to our little hell on earth! It was around 20.30 by this time so it was shower and then bed for us! We was quite knackered after our long walk ! We both put ear plugs in this time! Good job to because the noise was going on until 04.50 !
In the morning we just chilled out I very bravely ventured to the kitchen to make us a cup of tea! You really do have to be brave to go in there! And then we chilled out because at 13.15 we were going for a 4 hour surf lesson ! It was included in our oz experience ticket! I was quite excited about this And couldn't wait to have a go at surfing ! Luke was a little paranoid about the sharks and how we were going to look like seals in our wet suits! We got picked up from our hostel and made our way to the mojo surf shop, we had a little chat and then all boarded the buses to Lennox head where we would be surfing today. When we arrived we put on our tshirts grabbed a board and headed to the beach when we got there the waves looked pretty scary Infact the sea looked quite scary and the current looked strong! I was a little scared ! We had a demonstration and some practice on The beach then it was all in!
I on the other hand couldn't get the hang of it! I was trying so hard and I was determined to do it but just kept failing which was disheartening me :( I just couldn't stand up! I could surf on my knees like a pro! But everytime I tried to stand up I fell off, plus I was basically getting beaten up by my board! The current was so strong i couldn't keep hold of the board and as it was attached to my leg! You could quite imagine what was happening! It took me ages to get out to where I wanted to try to surf and seconds to get back and tangled in the board wire! It was beginning to be not fun! 
......seconds after this pic was taken I was in pain :(
So I tried for about an hour! Still couldn't get it and then the nice instructed came to give me some one to one lesson! After the first go she could see I was not able to stand up so went and got me the beginners board! Called "tinkerbell" (my sister will like that!) and to my surprise I stood up and had a little surf!is told twice and Luke ran to get the camera I tried about four times after that to stand to get a pic and just couldn't do it typical! And on the last go I got nearly to a stand and then fell off :( and unfortunately I fell off wrong and came down on my left ankle completely wrong and it turned over and snapped :( and OMFG the pain it just ripped through me :( I was crying my eyes out it was so so painful, poor Luke was so worried he said he hates seeing me in pain as he can do nothing about it, he carried me to the beach and put me on the floor and the instructed got some ice packs and I rested while the others finished surfing.....
......seconds after this pic was taken I was in pain :(When it was time to go back to the bus Luke carried me and then someone offered to help and so I got carried by two people it was so embarrassing :( I hate not being able to walk :( plus I am not light and trying to walk across deep sand carrying someone I can imagine is not easy :( we got in the bus headed back and then they offered to take me to the local hospital .......off we went ...... On arrival it was a small town hospital we checked in discovered it was free as we were from the uk! Thank god ! And unfortunately we were told it was a really busy night ! Which was really unusual for this emergency department! So the wait would be a while! They Gave me some ice and s ent Luke back to the hostel so he could get washed and changed we were both covered In sand and had our wet bathing suits on, they said the wait was going to be longer then one hour and our hostel was around he corner so he may aswell have a shower and put some clothes on! While he was gone I had a X-ray and waited and waited for the doc! Luke came back just as the doc saw me, he quickly told me in the waiting area it wasn't broken....thank god......and that he wanted me to rest it for a week or so, elevate it etc etc that it would be painful hahahahahahaha we were leaving tomorrow to Go to a new destination! It was going to be so hard to rest it :( but I had Luke with me and I knew he would make me rest it! They bandaged me up and off I hobbled home! Luke took me to dominos first tho! It was about 20.30 and all we had had all day was a cup of tea! We were starving! We got back I had a shower I don't no how it was so,awkward! And Luke packed up our stuff and we just went to sleep we was knackered and just wanted to leave this place. On reflection I just couldn't believe I had hurt my ankle! It's like an ongoing joke that I am accident prone! But it really annoys me :( I really hate hurting my ankles and wish they were stronger :(
When we woke up my ankle was massively swollen :( and very painful I hobbled around getting ready to leave, we were super excited we were leaving ! We got out if there as quick as poss and headed to th bus stop and can you believe it our bus was1 hour and a half late! Oh well we found some free wifi and caught up on stuff, we cannot wait to get to the next place !
.....we really loved the town of byron bay it was unusual but nice :) a bit different from the other places we had been in the world! It was defo an experience! But was sooooo disspointed with our hostel :( we are always really careful about where we stay and look at reviews and location etc I don't know how we got it wrong this time! We can't believe that this hostel is part of the nomads group, the. I ads we stayed in at queenstown New Zealand was amazing and we expected the same standard we were wrong to do that! We have booked more nomads up the coast so I hope they are better. We think the problem is that this particular hostel was so overcrowded there was a building with dorms in that housed around 150 people then there was two massive tepees next to that that housed ten people each then there was all the islander retreat tents we were in there was around ten of them 4 people in each then there was the camp site! Which had god knows how many tents in! For all of these people there was only 4 toilets and showers! A tiny kitchen which clearly cannot house everyone's food! Only 3 fridges! And generally just not enough space! When we asked some of the staff tips on the best things to do here there response was get drunk and stoned! Which appeared robe what most people did in this hostel despite the no drugs rule! No one enforced the no noise after 11pm rule! In every hostel we have been in there has been a Rule about noise and generally they have all had someone to enforce it and it's not been to bad but here no one did that and it was awful! As for the drugs they should understand that's lot of people that come here don't come here to get stoned they come to see the town! Also there was no lockers in our room so,etching very important to us as we have a lot,of valuables with us so including Luke's fishing rod and we had absolutely no where to store them :( which was a worry everytime we left the room. Anyway I could go on but we were just disappointed this was the first real bad place we have stayed since we left England and we have Roughed it quite a lot! But we did enjoy the town and the activities we did ! So in the end we liked byron bay as a town just be careful where you stay!
Next stop coolangata!
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