I arrived in Byron Bay late on Monday afternoon and ran into the heavy traffic about. Thankfully, my B&B was on the edge of town, so I didnt have to spend long stuck in traffic. After squeezing my car into a small parking space, I took my suitcase to my room and had a chat with the owners. A few people had warned me about restaurants in Byron Bay not allowing people from Sydney due to covid, so I asked them. They assured me it wasnt an issue. In fact, he had just returned from Sydney and they were about to go out for Thai. I felt that wasnt quite the same, as they are not residents of Sydney but I didnt press it. I figured I would have to find out for myself.
As night descended, I headed into town to see what Byron was all about. Traffic was not an issue for most of the way, but the centre was very busy, and it took me a while to find a park. Almost immediately after getting out, I had a fellow try to befriend me. As I was alone, he started talking about the adventures two
single guys were going to have with so many attractive women around. Im not sure he was all there, but regardless I was not interested and politely declined. Thankfully, he and we parted ways.
I didnt walk around long before I found myself deeply Maybe it was because I was by myself, or maybe Im just too old, but I did not like the vibe of Byron at night. It had a feel similar to Las Vegas and Amsterdam at night, to me at least. Im not sure if it was as sleazy, but as I said, it might just be my age. Either way, I just opted for a takeaway kebab and headed back to the B&B.
After an early night, Tuesday morning started very early. As Byron Bay is the most eastern point of mainland Australia, I figured I should make the effort to photograph a sunrise while I was there. I headed out just after 5am and tried to find the iconic Byron Bay lighthouse in the dark. I made one wrong turn, but thankfully it was still early enough that it didnt matter. Carrying my gear up from the carpark, I
Unfortunately, the clouds didnt cooperate. The rain clouds from recent days were out to sea and covered the horizon. By the time the sun had risen above the band of cloud, it was already daytime yellow and there had been nothing special to photograph. I decided to try again the next day, but for now, I had to find something to do.
There were many people on early morning runs around the lighthouse and as I went to photograph the lighthouse itself, I saw many were running up and down a path that descended around the headland. I walked down to see if there were any good photo opportunities. The path out to the point was undergoing maintenance, but I still got some photos of the early morning surfers and a wallaby having breakfast. After walking the length of Wategos beach, I turned around and walked back up. While it was a hefty climb, it didnt turn out to be as bad as I had feared while walking down, but I can see why the exercisers used it.
headed into Byron for some breakfast while I planned my day. Thankfully, the town was much quieter and more like the beachside town I had imagined it to be from all I had heard – very different from the night. I found a caf and had no problem dining in, so Im not sure whether the rumours were false or I had just been lucky.
However, my plans for the day were quickly scuttled. Not being a beach person, I had planned to head inland and check out Nightcap National Park. But as I checked the national parks app I discovered my timing was terrible the main part of the park around Minyon Falls was closed for maintenance since Monday! There were another couple of places open on the far side of the park that I had planned to visit later in the trip, but I started searching for other things to do. There wasnt much, to be honest. Unless youre into beaches or crystal healing and yoga, Byron Bay doesnt seem to be the best place to visit.
After breakfast I went looking for the conservation area near town, hoping it might be a good photography spot.
