On the road with Paul and Trixie

Byron Bay vol 2

The morning after my birthday when the house had been given a bit of a wiping, I packed my bags again for a little road trip down to Byron Bay and Lennox Heads. It was Paul’s last week in Australia and he was up on the coast again as Byron’s one of his favorite spots Down Under. And not only his.. Heaps of people travel to the most easterly town of Australian mainland to spend their vacation in Byron and the surrounding area, which makes it a little more packed than we wish it was.

Anyways.. It’s early Saturday afternoon and off we go on the road with Paul and Trixie. Paul has only met her half an hour ago in Surfers Paradise and is already very keen on her, whereas I obviously find her less attractive. I’m hoping she won’t interfere with us too much. Do you think it’s gonna be nice spending time with Trixie around? Anyways, jokes aside, Trixie is our rented camper van. And who did you think she was!?! :) Her best years probably date back to the 90s, but never mind, Trixie is cool and fits perfectly to the Byronese environment.

So we are cruising down to Byron.. windows wide open (Trixie has no air-con), cool music playing from Trixie’s pimped power hit radio (her newest add-on).. And after a quick break you know where (Maccas of course!), we reach our destination – Byron Bay’s Main Beach, with Belongil on the left and the Pass on the right, take a seat and think what’s next. We decide to get something for dinner from Woolies and a cool white Aussie wine from the next door bottle shop, and see where Trixie brings us for the night. She heads a few kms south to Suffolk Park and finds a quiet spot 50 m off the 7-km Tallow Beach. We don’t mind. It’s a warm starry night with a full moon.. Absolutely perfect for a little late night picnic with Brie cheese, strawberries and wine on the beach. Yummmie :) Moments of a lifetime. Something that you can’t describe in words, something you have to experience yourself. But I can tell you a little bit, just about enough to tickle your envy ;) Imagine lying down on a soft sandy beach, with a blanket to cover you, biting cheese and strawberries and sipping a cool wine, looking at the stars above you and the lighthouse at the far end of Cape Byron shedding light upon the whole beach. Imagine you fall asleep and you wake up half an hour later. A few thin clouds have hidden the stars above you, but cleared the sky above the ocean where a full moon now shines down on the water and makes an amazing combination with the lighthouse far beyond. Imagine listening to the waves gently splashing the shore. Imagine having someone special right next to you. Imagine there’s nothing else you could wish for. Or could you?

Morning in Byron Bay, 07.01.2007

Sunday morning. We wake up in Trixie (or with Trixie :)). It’s getting unbearably hot as the sun has replaced the moon and is now shining in a blue, blue sky. So we jump into our togs and walk 50 m down to the beach.. The same 50 m, the same beach that is now a patrolled swim area with the famous yellow-red flags. A new day, a complete new look. We have a brekky in Byron and spend the rest of the day in the Cozy Corner, the lighthouse-side of Tallow Beach. Hot, hot, hot. I’m dreaming a refreshing shower. Hmm. Thanks, YHA hostel (a) The night is quiet. We have a beer at the Beach Hotel, the enormous beachfront beer garden on the corner of Jonson and Bay Streets where all of Byron is happening around you, and spend another night in Suffolk Park.

Lennox Heads, 08.01.2007

Lazy Pig :)

Monday. I’m reading Lonely Planet. ‘If you’ve spent a couple of days in Byron Bay, Lennox Heads, 11 km north of Ballina and 18 km south of Byron, feels like the quietest, calmest place on earth. Even without a trip to Byron, Lennox is a lovely, small beachside town.’ Hmm. Sounds quite quiet :) Which it really is. Apart from the beach which they say has some of the best surf on the coast, including long right-hander breaks, and Lake Ainsworth, a lagoon just back from the beach, there’s nothing much to see. The lagoon is particular though. Its water is softened and made inky brown by tannins from the tea trees that grow on its banks, and it makes your skin feel great. It’s also popular for sailing and sail boarding, and has a sandy, shady little beach. That’s it! Trixie brings us back to Byron where the weather has gone through a noticeable change. It’s raining. It’s different. But it’s Byron. We get some delicious Mexican for dinner and.. hmm.. 2 x Corona, 4 x Smirnoff Ice and a bottle of white wine :P And drive down to Watego’s where some more people are having dinner under the covered bbq area in front of the famous Rae’s on Watego’s, rated by CondeNast as one of the world’s top 25 hotels.

It’s January the 8th.. No more, no less than a month has passed by since the first time in Byron, the first time on Watego’s. It was the beginning.. and it is the end. Or perhaps there are no beginnings, no ends; there are only middles. And the middle was amazing.