BYRON BAY - BRISBANE

BYRON BAY

After an eternally long drive on the bus (8 hours) we finally arrived in Byron Bay. My memories of Byron Bay were different from what I saw when we got there. It was already dark when we arrived but I could clearly see the changes this former laid back village has gone through in the past 10 years. I was in a shock when I saw the development of this place, which has grown into a touristy place, totally commercialised with all sorts of travel agencies and tour operators on each corner of the streets.

This might sound a bit cynical but this was just the impression I had when I stayed there over New Year’s. My memories of Byron Bay from ten years ago are lovely. I can still see this sleepy town in front of me as I get off the bus, in July 1997. I travelled on my own and I met this lovely girl from Birmingham, who also happened to travel on her own. We stayed at the same backpackers and went out for a game of pool and a couple of drinks that night. I can still picture this nice pub we went to and the lovely atmosphere there. We met a few interesting people, some of them were artists (painters, musicians etc.), who kept us entertained by telling us stories about this place. We had a tremendous time in Byron Bay.

Back in 2006, John and I only stayed for 2 nights as it was far too busy to hang around and relax on the beach. I have to admit that Byron Bay has lovely beaches. If you want to enjoy this place and make the most out of your stay, I would recommend to go there is in the winter time (June - August) when it is quieter.

Byron Bay has plenty of tour operators where you can book your sailing trip to the Whitsunday Islands. Don't go for the first best offer - shop around and you will find some good deals.

There is a lot to do in Byron Bay, depending on what you are interested in. Perhaps you prefer to spend some time on the beach or you might be keen on walking or hiking - there are more than enough activities for everyone to enjoy your stay there. Accommodation is easy to find off season but should you happen to travel anywhere in Australia during school holidays, I strongly recommend to book your accommodation in advance. This also applies to YHA's and Backpacker's, especially in popular places.

John and I continued our trip towards Brisbane on January 1st, 2007, again with Grayhound.


BRISBANE
A lovely house somewhere in the suburbs of Brisbane was our ‘home’ for the next few days. My hubby and I stayed at a friend’s house It was very quite there and we managed to get some good sleep for the next 3 days. We even saw a couple of Wallabies next to the house, just a few meters away from us.

I have visited Brisbane in 1997 and did not think it was an outstanding place. For me it was just another city. The main reason we stayed a few nights was to visit John’s friend and his family and to recover from those sleepless nights in Byron Bay. That's why I currently don't have any relevant photos of Byron Bay and Brisbane but I will try to scan some of the photographs I took in 1997 and upload those if that's of interest to you.

The following post will cover my travelling from Brisbane to Noosa and further to Hervey Bay from where we hired a four wheel drive and took off to Fraser Island.