Aahhh...Bliss... Review on Byron Bay

Byron Bay, one of the most beautiful places I have ever had the pleasure of visiting. Lush green mountains are riddled with the most gorgeous trekking tracks. Waves crash on to a steep cliff on which a lighthouse is perched, warning wary seamen of the perils it may face upon entering port. Exciting young surfers battle large waves in order to perch on its crest and cruise back to the shoreline - yes, a very beautiful sight ;-)?Alas, my otherwise charming trip was marred by one small fact, I was traveling with a group middle aged Indians who had bought their kids and their parents along for the ride.

I had always viewed this particular group of Bengalis with extreme caution. They had a nasty habit of squeezing my cheeks while interrogating me about exactly what I want to with my life. My Bengali is bad enough as it is, however when middle-aged woman is grasping my cheek in one hand, a vegetable cutlet in the other while closely questioning the possibility of my having a boyfriend, my Bengali rapidly goes from bad to worse.

So why exactly did I visit Byron Bay with a group of people I?m slightly uncomfortable around? Simple really. My dear beloved parents thought this would be an ideal opportunity for me to bond with my own sort. How spending a weekend in polite strained conversation with people half, twice or thrice my age is supposed to make me appreciate my culture I really don?t know, but what I do know is that my mood which was admittedly rather bleak at the beginning of our expedition, became radiant upon reaching our awe inspiring destination. It is impossible to feel down when the world around you positively hums with excitement and exquisiteness.

During the 60?s and 70?s, Byron Bay was notorious for its abundance of hippies. To this day, remnants of this bygone on era linger in the embodiment of friendly old men and woman who have long tangled hair, cheese cloth clothing, smell slightly of BO and try to sell you bead necklaces. One memorable encounter with a hippy was when an elderly woman stopped me while I was walking down the beach, glanced scornfully at my top and claimed she hadn?t worn a bra in 30 years and advised me to do the same.

The beaches at Byron are great; but in all honesty, there are better ones in Australia such as Bondi and those others along the Gold Coast. The sand at Byron is a little coarse, so you will need to bring a towel to lie on, however once you get comfortable, the giant waves and the rolling mountains will lull you into a peaceful slumber.

Personally, I love the feeling of the warm sun on my back, but my middle aged traveling companions felt somewhat differently about the matter. I remember watching them arm themselves with sunscreen and parasols before they went down to the beach to wage war on melanin.

Our entourage consisted of 26 people. 4 of them elderly, 12 middle aged and the rest children. There was only one other girl who was my age, and we clung on to each other for the entire trip, (even slipping from the grasp of our self imposed chaperones to go to funky beachside dance party.) My friend was the first to notice the incredibly attractive surfing instructor, and before we knew it, we had both enrolled in surfing classes. I have never surfed before, and I swear it is the most unreal feeling.

Sure, I missed catching the good waves, my surfboard had the habit of coming out from under me and bouncing on my head and I never actually had enough courage to stand on my board, preferring to remain on my knees, but the experience was wonderful nonetheless. We had to strap the board to our ankles and catch a rip to take us out to where the waves were being created. The first time we did this, a boy in our class got trapped in the rip and couldn?t pull out because he was a weak swimmer. My friend and I shot glances of pure envy at him as we watched him being rescued by our handsome instructor, wishing we had thought of such a ploy before proving ourselves as competent swimmers.

We spent the afternoons exploring the rock pools with the little kids. There was an astonishing amount of wildlife there to observe. A zoology student who was doing research for a prac also joined us. He was able to identify the creatures for us and give us an interesting background on what each creature could accomplish. It?s a bit odd, I love kids, but only for about 2 hour periods. My mother lives in mortal fear that I will never give her any grandchildren as giving birth means I have to love the kid for at least 18 years, and I?m not sure I?ll ever be ready for that type of commitment. Any MSians feel or have ever felt that way? Ah?sorry back to my review?

The walking tracks at Byron are second to none. You can go for a long sweaty trek

along the cliffs, or a gentle stroll among the sand dunes. At the beginning of each track there are sign posts that give you an indication of how long and difficult the track is. Naturally, a vast majority of our clan decided to go on the 5km Easy track, while my friend and I ventured on the 11km Difficult track, when we discovered much to our dismay, we were being joined by 2 young boys.

Now I had well over my 2 hour time limit with the children, so when one of the boys half along the track claimed he could no longer walk and that I would have to carry him up the rest of the cliff, I had to overcome my strong desire to give him swift push into the crystal blue waters below. Eventually we reached the crest of a mountain and the sight that met my eyes - I?m afraid I have to leave to your imagination. I simply don?t have the words to describe the strong surge of emotion I felt upon reaching our destination after a tough journey which involved toting 2 small and complaining boys. It was magnificent.

Byron is exquisite. I had no idea I could enjoy a holiday so much, especially when I had been dreading its occurrence for weeks before hand. There is and incredibly relaxed atmosphere there with some really nice and friendly people. The sunsets are simply superb and the abundance of sparkling stars at night simply dazzles you with their brightness. You have mountains, sun, beach, surf and an abundance of ridiculously good looking people. What more could a person want from a holiday destination?