It was only a 2 hour bus ride down the coast to Byron Bay but it was bloody raining when we got there, typical! For the first 2 nights we staying in The Arts Factory Lodge which was mean’t to be an island retreat next to a little lake but turned out to be a awful backpackers with smelly, dirty tents next to a mosquito ridden swamp with nutters shouting all night. We ended up having to stay there for 2 nights as everywhere in the whole of Byron Bay was full up. After the 2 nights we moved to the much much nicer Cape Byron YHA, right in the centre of town and near the beach too.

We didn’t let the crappy start dampen our mood and we spent most days relaxing on the most gorgeous beach ever and watching the entertaining people, one guy even brought his rabbit to the beach.We also got talking to a guy who must have been the oldest hippy in Byron, he was really funny and kept going around chatting to all the girls.

Byron Bay at the weekend was absolutely heaving and there were some really good restaurants and bars and we had some lush meals, especially a Greek Mezze. There were some great shops in Byron too. And a very cool market on one night that had some really funky stuff for sale. Cat could have literally spent a fortune but managed to stay calm and only get a few bits.

We also borrowed body boards from the hostel and had some fun with them in the surf until we saw a giant fish (Ste thought it might be a shark) and we got a bit scared, lol.

We loved Byron Bay, we had 5 days there but could have easily stayed much longer it was so much fun, our only regret was not renting bikes and going up to the lighthouse for sunrise, maybe next time.

After leaving Byron Bay we took a local bus just 30 minutes down the coast to the little town of Lennox Head to spend 2 days relaxing after the antics of Byron Bay. For being so close together they were like 2 totally different worlds.

Lennox Head has a huge 7 mile beach and even though the weather was lovely when we were there we found ourselves sometimes the only ones on the beach, apart from the occassional kite surfer and dog. We spent our 2 days mostly on the beach and in the water. We were in the surf at one point and a dolphin appeared about 10 metres away and threw a fish up in the air and jumped out of the water and caught it. What an amazing sight!

We also had a walk around the pretty Lake Ainsworth where the water has been stained brown due to all the tea trees around it and is mean’t to have medicinal properties, we didn’t go in but did see a very old, frail man going in.

For a little town Lennox Head had quite a few shops, restaurants and cafes that always seemed busy and it had a very relaxed atmosphere to it. We really enjoyed our 2 days relaxing there.

We spent four days in Brisbane, and really enjoyed it. Everyday the weather was lovely. We had a wonder around the shops and down by the riverside and through the pretty botanical gardens. Even though Brisbane is not near the coast, it still has a beach which is called ‘The Streets Beach’ and we spent a day there, what a great idea! It was absolutely heaving the day we went because it was a Sunday and a scorcher too.

Another day, we went on a tour of the XXXX Castlemaine and Perkins brewery. It was really good fun, although how their beer was brewed wasn’t really the focus. Obviously, the tour finished in their bar and you got 4 free drinks with the tour. But we got an extra one as part of the visual display wasn’t working properly - bonus! We tried their XXXX Summer beer, which is the only place you can get it on tap in the world (all the rest are bottled) and its a fantastic beer to drink in the heat. Others we tried was the 4X Gold and Bitter and a fruity beer which was rather strangely nice. Also we tried their stout which was like a thick coffee liquor.

We really enjoyed our time in Brisbane, perhaps we could have stayed longer so we could have explored places outside of the city. But all in all, its a nice place, very pretty around the river, with lots of bars and cafes. Cat particularly enjoyed all the shops, which was a far cry from New Zealand. What with that and the weather I think we are going to really like Australia.