As I mentioned in the previous post, for our flight out of Brisbane it turned out that our cheapest option was to rent a car for a day. We picked up the car the day before we left to the airport, so we decided on a last minute day trip to Byron Bay, about an hour south from the Gold Coast. Byron Bay is known among Ozzies as a hippie town with cute little shops, a nice beach, and a gorgeous lighthouse on a headland that overlooks some spectacular scenery of the coast line. Plenty of Australians vacation here every year. We thought we would check it out for ourselves since it was only an hour drive from the Gold Coast. We rented a car for the day & made it happen. A one day car rental costs about $45 (not expensive), but the trick is learning how to drive on the left side of the road! We caught on quickly (surprisingly) and off on our journey we went! –we would rent a car on a few more occasions to discover Oz…..
It was a beautiful, hot, sunny day when we set off for Byron Bay. Who am I kidding, almost every day here is hot & sunny! The drive was quick and we had google maps on our phone to help guide us, so we got there no problem. Our plan was just to spend the morning and early afternoon there, so we wanted to start at the famous lighthouse, AKA The most easterly point on the Australian mainland. The sight was indeed spectacular. The blue water, the crashing waves, the gorgeous greenery around us, all with a stunning view of the coastline. There were hang gliders above us showing off their moves and there was just 1 little solitary cloud in the sky. Beautiful! There was a beautiful, long trail running off the lighthouse that led to more spectacular coastline and beach views. Really a breathtaking sight…..
There are plenty of longer walks in the forest that can be taken right through into town, but we didn’t have several hours to trek them, so we just watched as others did :P
We also wanted to check out some of the cute, quaint shops in Byron Bay. The center of town is full of little surf shops, furniture shops, clothing, and small art galleries--a nice setting to roam around and explore (and shop!). We spent some time strolling the few streets and decided to enjoy a quick coffee and lunch before heading back to the Gold Coast. Definitely worth a day trip, and can definitely be extended into a short vacation place--- away from the big city life.
