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  • Tag: byron bay

    • wategos beach: australia

      Posted at 8:00 am by jasminedesirees, on November 11, 2014

      During our weeks in Byron Bay we would walk the 2+ kilometers up the lighthouse path almost every day. We had sold our car by then, and we were eating $5 Domino’s pizzas for supper most nights, so it seemed like kind of a smart move to get as much exercise as possible.

      watego's beach

      watego's beach

      The views are amazing, there are benches along the viewpoints so you can sit and watch the surfers, and we were there during whale season so we hung out up there for hours trying to spot whales and dolphins.

      watego's beach

      watego's beach

      watego's beach

      The first time we made the trip, I was so enchanted by the view of Watego’s beach that I didn’t see the stair in front of me, and I stubbed my toe so hard that I thought it was broken.

      After several long minutes of fuming and general hatred toward the entire universe, I was able to keep walking, but about 5 steps later I was looking out at the beach again and I almost stepped on a big lizard.

      watego's beach

      watego's beach

      watego's beach

      I can’t remember what they are called, but I was told by the guy at the Billabong Sanctuary that they have one of the strongest bites in the animal kingdom and that one bite could easily take off a good chunk of finger or toe.

      I saw it just in the nick of time, and almost flung myself over the cliff trying to avoid stepping on it. I managed to keep my gaze firmly on my feet after that.

      watego's beach

      watego's beach

      watego's beach

      By the time we got to the bottom of the hill, to Watego’s, I was hot, sweaty, injured and grumpy. But the beach was so beautiful that it didn’t take me long to get over it.

      On our last trip to Watego’s before we left, we happened to have front row seats to a wedding with the cutest flowergirl, and the most epic balloon in the history of the world, so I had to throw in a picture of her just to share the joy.

      watego's beach

      watego's beach

      Posted in Australia, beach, travel | 1 Comment | Tagged Australia, beach, byron bay, travel, wategos
    • graffiti

      Posted at 8:00 am by jasminedesirees, on November 10, 2014

      On the way into Byron Bay coming south from the Gold Coast is a huge graffiti mural on the backside of one of the buildings. I saw it the first time we arrived in Byron, and was immediately obsessed with it.

      I kept telling myself I’d get over there to take pictures of it, but I kept putting it off, mostly because the traffic coming back into Byron on that road is kind of a nightmare.

      It wasn’t until we were driving out of Byron for the very last time, on our way to sell our car before jumping on a bus to Brisbane that I finally was able to stop and see it up close.

      It was even more stunning up close, and made me feel sad and talentless. I can’t even draw a straight line (not really sure why people say that, if I could choose something to be able to draw, I would probably aim a little higher than just a straight line), and I am violently jealous of people who are artistic.

      graffiti graffiti graffiti graffiti

      Posted in art, Australia, travel | 1 Comment | Tagged art, Australia, byron bay, graffiti
    • clarke’s beach

      Posted at 8:00 am by jasminedesirees, on November 7, 2014

      Clarke’s is the main beach in Byron Bay. It stretches all the way down through the whole cove, and it’s a popular hangout for locals and tourists alike.

      clarke's beach

      clarke's beach

      The beach is very long, and very wide, but pretty flat and even, so it’s basically the perfect running beach. We stayed at the Aquarius Backpackers in Byron for a couple of weeks, and I went for a run on the beach nearly every morning.

      clarke's beach

      clarke's beach

      It’s also a popular beach for surfers and swimmers. Unfortunately, while we were there a man was bit by a great white shark and died from his injuries. It is pretty unusual in Byron, but I was terrified to go into the water after that, even after it had been confirmed that the shark was no longer in the area.

      clarke's beach

      clarke's beach

      At the very end of the beach is a rocky outcropping, and a little lookout platform where you can watch the surfers or checkout what is happening in the next bay over at Watego’s Beach.

      clarke's beach

      clarke's beach

      It was a little bit cloudy the day I brought my camera along to take these pictures, but most of the time we were there it was sunny and gorgeous. We had picnics for at least one of our meals, sprawled out on Clarke’s Beach, nearly every single day we were there.

      clarke's beach

      clarke's beach

      Posted in Australia, beach, travel | 1 Comment | Tagged Australia, beaches, byron bay, clarke's beach, sharks, surfing, travel
    • byron bay

      Posted at 8:56 am by jasminedesirees, on October 14, 2014

      We loved Byron Bay almost as soon as we arrived, it’s just such a cool, laid back surfer town, with lots of art, music and interesting people from all over the world.

      DSC_2591

      DSC_2593

      DSC_2596

      My love for Byron was solidified permanently when we stopped in at the Aquarius Backpacker’s for lunch, and they had poutine and Caesar’s on the menu, a legacy from having so many Canadian travelers staying and working there over the years.

      DSC_2597

      DSC_2599

      DSC_2603

      We actually ended up coming back to Byron Bay a month later and staying at Aquarius for a week, and it was a great experience. We met some awesome people, and had a blast, so if you are looking for a fun, cheap (relatively) place to stay in Byron, definitely check it out.

      DSC_2608

      DSC_2610

      The beaches in Byron are gorgeous and huge, so even when there are a ton of people there, you still don’t feel like you don’t have your own space. There are some really nice hikes in the area, including the lighthouse trail, and there are lots of good bars and restaurants.

      DSC_2614

      On our way through Byron the first time, we had beach picnics every night to watch the sunset. We also met a really smart dog that kept trying to catch seagulls, and then bring them back to us so he could share in our picnic. We gave him a bit of chicken, but decided not to try any of his seagull. He seemed kind of offended.

      DSC_2615

      DSC_2617

      I really wanted to spend a few more months in Byron, but I also didn’t want to have to sell one of my kidneys on the black market, and that would have been the only way we could afford to stay. I’m glad we got to spent a few weeks there at least, it is one of my favourite towns on the Gold Coast, which was my favourite area in Australia.

      DSC_2621

      byron bay

      Posted in Australia, travel | 4 Comments | Tagged Australia, byron bay, gold coast, travel
    • byron lighthouse

      Posted at 8:16 am by jasminedesirees, on October 13, 2014

      The Byron Bay lighthouse is up on top of a cliff, surrounded by the most beautiful turquoise water and green hills. We had just gotten into town, and were cruising around getting the lay of the land, when we saw signs pointing toward the lighthouse, and we decided to check it out.

      byron lighthouse

      byron lighthouse

      byron lighthouse

      There is a walking/jogging path all the way up to the top from town, with offshoots leading to different beaches, and the most Eastern point of Australia, which is pretty close to the lighthouse.

      I was feeling kind of lazy after spending most of the morning at the hospital (I had touched some fire coral while diving in Komodo the week before, and my hands were a mess) so we drove most of the way up and stopped at the last parking lot before the top.

      byron lighthouse

      byron lighthouse

      byron lighthouse

      As soon as I got out of the car I was besieged by this sweet older guy who was a hang gliding instructor, and was wondering if I wanted to try hang gliding off of a nearby hill, landing on the beach below.

      byron lighthouse

      byron lighthouse

      byron lighthouse

      I’ve never been hang gliding before, or really had any urge to go, but the sheer beauty of the hills and the beach was kind of overwhelming, and I wanted to go as bad as I’ve ever wanted to do anything in my life.

      Unfortunately my hands were basically just decorative at that point, so I wasn’t able to take the leap, but we stood there and watched the gliders for a really long time.

      byron lighthouse

      byron lighthouse

      byron lighthouse

      Then we made the last hike up the hill to see the lighthouse. If you know me, you know I kind of have a thing for lighthouses, and this one was stunning. The view from the top of the cliffs was amazing, and I could see surfers and whales enjoying the water down below.

      byron lighthouse

      There is even a cute little cafe at the top, so you can reward yourself with an ice cream cone if you make it all the way up to the top.

      byron lighthouse

      byron lighthouse

      Even if you are just passing through Byron Bay, be sure to take the time to stop in for a visit, you won’t be disappointed.

      byron lighthouse

      byron lighthouse

      Posted in Australia, beach, travel | 4 Comments | Tagged Australia, beach, byron bay, lighthouse, travel
    • crossroads

      Posted at 6:03 pm by jasminedesirees, on September 19, 2014

      As most of you probably know, we’ve been traveling for the last four months, through Thailand, Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia, and then about 6 weeks ago we arrived in Australia.

      Our plan was to do some traveling around Australia, and hopefully find jobs so we could actually set up shop and live out here for the next few months.

      We started in Sydney, and drove all the way up to Cairns (stopping in lots of neat places along the way, tons of posts to come) but eventually we made our way back down to Byron Bay, just south of Brisbane, because we loved it here so much.

      Now we’re kind of facing a tough choice. Australia is really expensive, and it’s been a lot harder than we thought it would be to find jobs here. I guess that makes sense, because what employer wouldn’t rather have someone long term than someone that will only be around for a few months?

      Before we left for this trip, we were putting away money every month into a separate account for a really long time, so we had saved up enough for our trip, plus we figured we’d be making some money once we got to Australia.

      We have about half the money we saved up left, but we’re trying to figure out what we want to do now. It’s basically the age old question of choosing between being responsible and sticking to the plan you made, or taking off on a wild crazy adventure.

      We kind of have two choices. We can stick to our plan, keep trying to find jobs here, and we can spend the next few months working and hanging around in Byron Bay, hopefully making enough money to support ourselves and then spending a couple of weeks in New Zealand before we go home.

      In option A, if we find jobs, we hopefully wouldn’t really be spending anything else from our vacation fund, so we’d have it to put towards our next adventure.

      Or, we can say screw it, catch the next flight back to Indonesia, and spend the next month diving and traveling around Bali, Gili and Lombok, then fly to New Zealand for a week or so and then fly home earlier than we’d planned, maybe sometime in early November.

      In option B, we would basically be spending everything we have left in our travel fund, and we’d be home earlier than we’d planned, but we’d be doing a lot more, and having a lot more fun, which is basically the reason we spent all that time saving money, amiright?

      Sooooo….. decisions, decisions.

      Nobody knows what to do.

      Posted in Australia, Indonesia, travel | 5 Comments | Tagged Australia, byron bay, Indonesia, jobs, life, travel, traveling around Australia
    • farm hand

      Posted at 3:53 am by jasminedesirees, on September 3, 2014

      image

      Currently spending a few weeks living with an Australian family on a farm just outside of Byron Bay.

      The work is hard, but fun, the family is wonderful, and the benefits are numerous, including fresh eggs everyday, veggies straight from the garden, and the opportunity to finally wear a wicker cowboy hat in an unironic way.

      Posted in Australia | 1 Comment | Tagged Australia, byron bay, farm, travel, work
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