Surf School to Byron Bay

Monday August 29th

Well, I am afraid Surf School was short of two pupils! It got very cold after dark on Sunday evening, and while sitting round the fire after supper playing silly games, we became very cold indeed. What a change from Singapore and Hong Kong! Unfortunately, we did not realise our little shipping container cottage had a heater inside, so we suffered the cold and it took us a long time before we were warm.

A hot shower when the kind person woke us at 6 a.m.helped, but not enough. The prospect of getting into the cold sea at 7 a.m. did not appeal, and when we went to the safety talk, the instructions to be careful to fall on your back so as not to scrape your face on the sand, and to protect your head with your arms as you fell so that the descending board didn't brain you made it seem even less attractive. We went away and ate breakfast instead. Later, we went for a little walk to see how the surfers were getting on (mostly, they were falling over) and had another stroll round the area. It is really very attractive, with a pretty creek which is beautiful now in the winter but may not be so attractive in summer.

After the surfers finished around 9, they had hot showers to warm them up and then we set off for Byron Bay. It was an interesting drive through the countryside. Forests gave way to grasslands and we began to see fields of sugar cane. It is an area with lots of rivers, and one, the Clarence, ran parallel with the highway for miles. It was very full, with a lot of debris, and the fields around were all waterlogged.

We made a brief stop to eat around 12.30 at an Italian cafe and I was able to photograph some wild kangaroos which were lying under a tree behind the toilets. Last time I was in Australia, I saw no wild kangaroos at all, so I was delighted.

There was quite a lot of wildlife around - osprey, ibis and pelicans by the river and on the flooded fields, parakeets in the trees near the cafe and a kind of lizard referred to as a dragon on the road.

Later, the wind got up and we made a stop at Lennox Head to see the hang gliders. Some of our number wanted to have a go and went up in tandem with instructors. You wear a padded suit which makes you look a bit like a dragonfly, but your feet and legs have to hang out so you can run for the take-off. Then you tuck them up inside the padding.

We went on to Byron Bay which is just a couple of streets but has lots of shops and restaurants as it is quite a tourist spot. Parts of it have been described as quite 'hippie' and there are shops selling crystals, advertising 'fairy portraits' or suggesting workshops on shamanism. Mostly, of course, this is a resort for dedicated surfers and there are plenty of shops catering for them too. The beach is beautiful, wide and sandy with some gentle surf.