To steal a quote from a friend of mine, I never knew I could have so much fun being so bad at something. This definitely sums up my weekend in Byron Bay.
Byron Bay is an ocean town about 12 hours by bus north of Sydney. I headed out with other students from my school on Thursday night for the weekend at the beach. Sleeping on a bus isn’t the most comfortable because I was willing to make the sacrifice for the weekend of fun ahead.
Friday morning, we started out our Byron adventure with sea kayaking. After putting on a wetsuit for the first time, an adventure in itself, we headed out. Having been canoeing many times, I thought this would be a piece of cake I was wrong. Paddling against the waves proved to be quite difficult but also quite rewarding. My roommates and I saw three jellyfish and a couple of dolphins. We also took a dip in the ocean when our kayak tipped over. I say it was a dolphin that flipped us but other people swear it was because I leaned over too far.
Saturday was meant to be a day to recover as we headed up the Gold Coast to Surfers Paradise. It was horribly windy but like dutiful beachgoers we sat out on the beach anyway. I am still finding sand in my hair. We town was lovely and I would love to return again to stay a little longer.
Back at Byron on Sunday, it was time for surfing lessons. Just sitting on the beach watching the surfers it’s easy to think that it’s simple. Let me tell you that it is not simple. I spent three hours getting beat up by the waves. I almost stood up a couple of times but my biggest achievements were my spectacular falls from the surfboard. I still have bruises.
Byron Bay was awesome. It’s a beautiful town. I learned a valuable lesson though; surfing is best left to those who live closer to the ocean.