Beautiful Byron Bay - Working on our tans

Sunday March 31 was a beautiful day in Sydney.  We had brunch at Glider, a buzzy coffee shop not far from the apartment.

Glider- had the usual large brekkie/brunch menu
Glider

We saw a number of posters looking for a "lost family member" on poles near where we are staying.  Don't know if the bird has been found yet.


Lost bird...

We took an Uber to the airport and had a short 1 hour flight from Sydney to Byron Bay.  We arrived at around 3:30 p.m. and took a shuttle bus to our Airbnb.   Marion, our host, was there to greet us.  We have a very nice room with a shared bath and access to the kitchen and dining room.   We are only a short 800 metre walk from the Beach!!

Alain at Marion's
Outdoor area in front of house


Walk to the beach

Watch out for Dolphins and Whales-- no problem!

Beach was fairly deserted at about 5:00 p.m. when we got there.
Beach has lots of sand and is very large

More beach
We walked from the beachfront closest to the Airbnb to the part of beach nearer the main part of town.  More people were hanging out there.

Closer to town

We headed back to the Airbnb at around 6:15 p.m.  Marion had said that she would drive us up to the Byron Bay Lighthouse at sunset (6:40 p.m.) and that we could walk back to town.  Most of Byron Bay is flat, but the Lighthouse is on a hill.  We were surprised to see so many folks at the Lighthouse waiting for the sun to set.  

 The Lighthouse dates back to 1901 and was built to minimise shipping hazards along the dangerous stretch of coast.  The Lighthouse was operated by resident keepers until 1989, and is now an automated light managed and maintained by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority.  Between June and November each year, tens of thousands of humpback whales pass the coast on their annual migration!!!  Sorry we'll miss the whales.

At the lighthouse, sun starting to set

Gorgeous sunset over Byron Bay

Cameras at the ready

At sunset
What a view!
We started the walk down from the lighthouse.

Clear path

Rocks below
Hey, we didn't know it was the most easterly point of the Australian mainland--- very cool
We passed above Wategos Beach, another beautiful beach where some folks were still surfing.

Surfing just after sunset

Folks on the beach
More nighttime surfers


A look back to the lighthouse
We walked some more and then came to a place which was pitch black.  We were not sure which way to go and a few people at a small car park area weren't sure which way to walk back into town.  We did not see a walkway and did not want to walk on a windy road.  We decided to call Marion, who actually had been worried about us and came and picked us up.  She later told us that there are snakes in the area.  The path we had been looking for wasn't that far away, but it would have taken at least 30 minutes to get back to town.  We were very glad she had come and picked us up.  She then drove us around town and pointed out some good spots to eat and also the most well lit route to take from downtown back to her place at night.  Another adventure in the books!  

Monday April 1 was initially forecast to have some sun in the morning and then cloud over.  We decided we better get to the beach early to catch the sun.

Passed this bird en route to the beach
The beach near our apartment was pretty deserted at about 9:45 a.m. when we got there.  However, miraculously instead of becoming cloudier, the clouds blew away and we had perfect beach weather with a high of 24C.
Morning beach
Alain went for a 3km run on the beach.  His knee had been bothering him at the beginning of our trip but it has been much better and he felt like a run.
Alain stretching

Selfie at the beach

Lots of surf
 We hung out at the beach until around 11:30 a.m. when we headed into town for a coffee and a snack at Espressohead.
Alain another Espressohead
We wandered around the town for a bit--- very beachy vibe- lots of yoga/spas and surfers.  It was then back to the beach to work on our tan and chill.

Folks working on their tans


We stayed at the beach until about 4:15 p.m. and then went for coffees and a treat at Byron Fresh Café.


                                              Byron Fresh Café- stop in the name of love


Very good vegan banana mango muffin
We headed back to the Airbnb to shower and rest before dinner.  We went downtown  at around 7:30 p.m. and heard a cacophony of birds en route.   We looked up and saw hundreds of birds perched in two trees (very Hitchcock).

Hundreds of birds in two trees
We went to Fish Mongers for dinner.  Very fresh grilled hoki fish with grilled corn and a nice salad.   We also split an order of fries.

Fresh fish at Fish Mongers

Grilled hoki fish, corn and salad

Alain at dinner
We walked back to the Airbnb.  A beautiful beach day.  Unfortunately, rain is forecast for April 2.

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