When we arrived in Byron Bay, the BBQ was just heating up and the travellers were milling about on the courtyard deck of Nomads Byron Bay Backpackers chatting. The sausages were put out, the goon started flowing and the first Van-Tastic Adventures launch party was underway!
Throughout the night, clad in our retro orange Van-Tastic T-shirts, we mingled with the nomadic crowd, as they were quite keen to learn how to land the ultimate Aussie roadtrip and pocket $10,000. We tested the knowledge of the crowd with Aussie trivia and soon the spots of sunshine orange in the party started growing as winners donned their new Van-Tastic gear (a welcome addition to any backpackers wardrobe).
Geoff was also open for tours as he proudly sat perched outside of Nomads and Global Gossip for the night - clearly beckoning passers-by to take a peek! The night only ended as the goon and Aussie trivia were reduced to a trickle - a great success!
From the sounds of things, Byron Bay is a bit a Bermuda triangle for the backpacking crowd, as most travellers we talked to throughout the night seemed to have planned on 2 days in Byron and are headed towards their third week.
We just had to see what the bohemian buzz was all about! The next day we headed to chat some of the local tour operators to see what was going on in Byron. Go Sea Kayak offered bay tours with the playful dolphins worked to sustain eco-friendly tourism. We then dropped into Byron Bay Dive Center where Dave and Ken couldn’t stop gushing about all the whales, turtles, and sea life they get to encounter on a daily basis. Ah, what a place to do a novice dive – wish we could stay longer!
After a stroll along the beach and a peek into a few of the town shops, we kept being told to head up to the Byron Bay lighthouse to catch a gorgeous sunset over the coastline. We followed the advice of the locals and made our way up the winding cliffs to join the rest of the romantics camped out for the view. It was the perfect end to our time in Byron Bay as the orange glow bathed the city and all our new backpacking friends.
Hope to see you all on the road! Maybe in Brisbane tomorrow?
