Byron for the Holidays, a long overdue update

Tallow Beach from the lighthouse

Morning trip to the beach before work

Twilight at the beach

Spending our Christmas in the sun and away from snowy Canada (even though it wasn’t a very snowy Canada), was a very different experience. We spent our Christmas on the beach with great friends who were all away from their homes and family, which gave us time to reflect on why we are so lucky to be here in Byron Bay together. Byron is so unique, and this is why:



-No shoes, no shirt, no service... does not exist in Byron Bay. In this Shire (yes, we live in a Shire), it is acceptable to wear only your bathing suit practically anywhere.

Byron Lighthouse

This includes grocery shopping, going out for coffee, or just strolling down the street.
-There are countless locals that make the city what it is. There is Dancing Tommy who dances everywhere he goes, the Kebab thief who runs past our local ‘Abra Kebabra’ and steals a freshly purchased Kebab out of an unsuspecting persons hands, and the man who dresses up like Batman (cape and all) and rollerblades down the street as fast as he can in the middle of the day, just to name a few.
-Fashion in Byron is a mixture of surfer-hippie. Everyone is very tanned, often with full body tattoos, feathers and flowers in their dreadlocked hair, and of corse no bra, and no shoes.
-The markets! Whether it is the Thursday fruit market, Saturday art market, or Sunday farmers market, you are guaranteed to have a good time and get some great deals, eat some great food, and hear lots of live music.

Six person Christmas Cracker

Christmas at the beach, lighthouse in background

-Busking is a huge part of Byron Bay. Day and night you will find a man playing the didgeridoo, someone singing with their guitar, a jazz band, or a full on 5 piece band starting a dance party in the street (this was a very fun night)! Every bar has live music every week as well, great live entertainment.
-There is an overall respect for life and nature in Byron. Everyone seems to be doing their part, whether you just respect the nature and enjoy it, or you are actively defending Australia’s marine wildlife by being a Sea Shephard, everyone is respecting Australia’s nature.
-Byron is a small town, with a big town vibe. You can find nature that is completely untouched, and then head to the centre of the city and see all of the activity and night life.
-The friends I have met in Byron Bay have made this city so amazing. The whole Holiday Village family, and especially Sandra, Anton, Chris, and Emma who we have become so close with.
-And finally, the beaches! Everyone lives within 10 minutes of a beach. There is Main Beach, Belongil Beach, Wategos Beach, Tallows Beach, Whites Beach, Seven Mile Beach and so many more. Some of them are busy, some completely deserted, all of them are beautiful.

All of these unique characteristics make the Shire of Byron so special. It has been great to spend Christmas here, but the celebration wasn’t quite the same. It was hard to think about Christmas when it is 30C outside in the middle of the sub-tropics, and with no malls to surround you with Christmas music. It wasn’t the same as at home, but we enjoyed it just the same!

Finally figured out the camera timer!

Dave and I spent Christmas Eve celebrating our family traditions with our Swedish roommates Anton

Six person Feast!

 and Sandra, and British friends Emma and Chris. We decided to combine all of our cultures and make way too much food to celebrate. We turned the Christmas music up, and all cooked our traditional Christmas dinners. Sandra and Anton made traditional Swedish meatballs with a  beetroot salad, and a delicious chocolate cake, Chris and Emma roasted potatoes and veggies, with a beef roast, cauliflower cheese and of coarse, Yorkshire pudding. Dave and I made a classic turkey with stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce. We decided that we had all cooked enough food to feed about 20 people, for 6 of us. I was surprised when we were able to fit all of the left-overs in the fridge, but I am still enjoying them today :). The night was spent sipping on margaritas on our patio, exchanging gifts in a game, and enjoying the evening. Dave won a kite in the gift exchange game, and I got a pair of warm lama socks!

Catching a little wave Christmas day

The next day we decided to spend Christmas with the rest of our family at the Holiday Village hostel, and on the beach.

            We started our morning heading to the beach and flying our new kite, and jumping in the waves. After our morning dip we headed to the hostel, where they had a giant Christmas dinner prepared! This included a turkey, ham, and pork roast. This was another day filled with food and friends. We ended our day at a beach party, watching the sunset on Tallows Beach around a fire. Christmas felt very different this year, but very special at the same time.

This past week, we have watched the streets of Byron Bay get busier, the campgrounds fill, and the lines at the bar get very long! Australians and backpackers from all over have been heading to Byron for New Years Eve. Friends came over to our apartment for a few hours to enjoy some cocktails, and barbecued food, followed by New Years celebrations at Main Beach with fireworks! The energy in the city was fantastic, with everyone happy to welcome the adventures to come in 2013. Yet again, we ended our night at Tallows beach for a swim and a camp fire.

Thank-you to all of our family and friends who sent us Christmas cards and packages, as well as spending some quality time chatting on Skype. It wouldn’t have been the same without celebrating with all of you. As the next couple of weeks roll around we will continue to work and enjoy the sun, before the next chapter of our trip starts when we move to Melbourne! For now, you can find us at the beach or relaxing in our hammock.

New Years at the beach

Lazy days in Byron

surfer crossing

The past couple of weeks have been delightfully uneventful, allowing Dave and I to enjoy the true beauty and relaxed lifestyle of Byron Bay. Our new apartment has allowed us to enjoy the peace and quiet in the middle of the sub-tropics, and is only a short bike ride away from the crowded streets of Byron Bay. The past two weeks have been a busy time for Byron and the Gold Coast because of 'schoolies'. These couple of weeks, 20 000 high-school graduates from all over Australia head to Byron and take over the city, partying day and night, celebrating their graduate status. In response to the flooding in of young people, locals tend to stay home and away from the city. This has led to the cafe that I work at to temporarily close for two weeks for dinner, leaving me only to have a couple of short morning shifts, and lots of time to relax! Dave has been quite busy at the travel company he works for, working five days a week, but still finding time for the beach and day trips.

our walk to the beach

While we have been lounging around the apartment, we have been making good use of our hammock on our patio, and great use of the ceiling fans. It has been the beginning of a hot summer, and our average day is 30⋅C, which has led to many trips to the beach. We are so lucky that it is a short five minute walk away from
paradise, a secluded bay on Tallow Beach.

Kurt learning to skate :)

Kurt, our 'pet' water-dragon

 When we get home, we have the entertaining company of a gutsy and curious water-dragon we have named, Kurt (he is named after a funny and unique friend of ours we met in Byron Bay, who has continued to travel). He is not very shy, as we often find him attacking our glass door trying to get inside, and from time to time he succeeds when we leave the door open for air. Kurt spends his days lounging on the patio with us, swimming in a small pool in the garden, learning to skateboard, and sometimes mating with other lizards on our porch... he is all around a great pet.

Becki's day off... bad hair day

our beloved pies

 Dave and I have a new obsession... pies. Australia seems to have the right idea when it comes to snack food, as you can find a pie shop around every corner, with a long list of creative flavors. Some of our favorites have been chicken and mango curry, bacon and cheese, or a classic peppered beef. Anything wrapped in delicious puff pastry is great in my books. Not only are these pie shops found everywhere, but they are open all night for the convenience of those who want to get a snack after the bar. Convenient, and delicious!

Our bike ride down Seven Mile Beach Road

 In order to keep our pie-bellies non-existent, Dave and I have been quite active around town. We took a biking day trip to see more local beaches and trails around Byron Bay. The ride was beautiful, along very rustic dirt roads. Despite my whining about the hilly landscapewe made it to the top of a mountain overlooking many beaches and a nature reserves. We took a walking trail down the mountain through the sub-tropical forest, to a beautiful beach surrounded by rocks (little did we know it was a well-known nudist beach in the area...). The sights we saw were breathtaking (not the people, the nature), and we are amazed that they are so close to our backyard.

view from the top of the mountain

spiders too!

scary snakes in our backyard!

There are a few 
 thins that come with beautiful nature, and that is unwanted wildlife. On our path to the beach, there is a threatening sign warning us that there are brown snakes. We haven't seen any deadly ones yet, and I hope it stays that way! The spiders however, we are finding more and more around the house. In the shower, on the ceiling, and on the porch! I spend a lot of time researching which ones are harmless and dangerous. The big bugs are starting to come out, especially the Christmas Beetle. They are similar to the June Bug, but they come out from now until Christmas, and they are huge! They aren't very smart though, and usually run into the wall, get dizzy, and die.

getting in the Christmas spirit

 It doesn't quite feel like Christmas is less than a month away with the hot weather and beaches, but I can't complain about the circumstances. Thank-you to my amazing family for sending some Christmas spirit my way! It will be a different experience being away from family this holiday, but we will make new traditions to bring home.

Thank-you to my wonderful family for sending me a little taste of Christmas!

A Canadian Holiday in OZ and an OZ Holiday in One Week... Plus Flying and a New Apartment!

The sun breaking through the clouds at 6 am

Anton and Sandra

Jesse and Nathalie

 I have memories of designing my Halloween costume so that it would fit over my snow suit... that was not the case this year! Halloween in Australia is not quite the same as a Canadian Halloween, as it was adopted later as more of a drinking holiday, and an excuse to dress up. Many people don’t acknowledge it at all, as it is an “American tradition, not Australian”, and backpackers are the ones known to celebrate it. I decided to be something Australian this year, and made myself a very simple Koala bear costume! Dave went to a second hand store and bought very mismatched articles of clothing, making himself a.... French tourist? (It’s hard to say, look at the picture and decide for yourself!) The creepiest costume of the night went to our room-mate Anton (a dead clown), and a close second to his girlfriend Sandra (a vampire)! The night started with a hostel BBQ and ended dancing at Cheeky Monkey’s across the street. It was odd to be dressing up in such a hot climate and not worrying about a coat to cover up with.

Robert and Marvin

Chris, Em and Koots

Earlier this week we also celebrated an Australian holiday, the Melbourne Cup! It is basically a horse race that lasts 3 minutes, where ladies dress is elaborate hats and cute dresses, and head to the bar in the middle of the day to gamble and drink! (Australian holidays really tend to revolve around drinking!) The whole city shuts down for the Melbourne cup... literally! The cafe I work in shut down at noon to allow everyone to head to the Beach Hotel together and watch the race. It was a fun day and a good way to understand Australian culture better. 

The next day was yet again another highlight of our trip! We decided to get up early and headed out to attempt to surf yet again. Tallows beach was beautiful at 7:30 am, filled with local surfers... and us. Our friend Andreas is quite a bit more experienced than us, and quickly paddled out to the waves. Dave, Natalie, and I got tossed and turned by the waves, trying to make it out, and leaving us to look a little less experienced than others around us. Dave had a couple of successful standing moments, but I was not as lucky. We are both still determined and know that every time we go we get better. When we got back to the hostel we had a knock on our door from Neil, the owner of the local hang gliding company, Flight Zone. We had been calling him for the past couple of weeks hoping to find a day with a strong wind to go hang-gliding, and he came to our door to let us know that the wind was perfect! We drove down to Lennox Head and prepared ourselves to hang-glide. 

Becki and Neil

View of Dave from above

Before we knew it we were jumping off a cliff and suddenly 600 feet in the air with Neil flying over the ocean, beach, and town. We both even got to fly the hang glider for a short period of time, making a couple of turns, dips and dives. It was an incredible feeling to zip around above the world, similar to para sailing, but at the same time more free and faster. Now that we have hang glided, who knows what the next step will be, bungee jumping, skydiving or some other extreme activity!

Dave and Neil

Suited up!

The end of this past week has been great! We started packing our backpacks up yet again, realizing how much stuff we have accumulated since we got to Byron a month and a half ago. There was a thick layer of sand covering the whole ground and all of our bunk-beds when we left our hostel room that has built up over time. It was sad to know that we are leaving such a great place where a lot of our fantastic friends live, but we were excited to move into our new fancy apartment! We have been told by all of the staff as well that we are welcome to come back and hang out at the Holiday Village whenever we want.

Lennox head

640 feet in the air!

 Yesterday Sandra, Anton, Dave and I filled the Holiday Village van with all of our bags and headed to our new apartment, a 5 minute drive down the road. It was better than we had remembered!  It is a small cabin that has an open concept, and floor to ceiling windows. Some of our favorite features include the porch with a hammock, a kitchen to ourselves, the giant bath tub, and of coarse free WiFi (lets all Skype now)! Our apartment is a 5 minute walk to Tallows Beach, and only a 15 minute bike ride to Becki’s work (on our sweet second hand bikes too). After we moved in, we had a small house warming party with our closest friends, enjoying our porch, some sangria, and listening to some awesome Swedish Reggae. All around we are happy with our new place, and hope to settle in for the next two months. This week has been very exciting, as we have been able to dress up and celebrate different cultures, jump off of a cliff, and relax in our new space. Life is good.

Ps, during the writing of this post, Dave got a call from a travel job to start training tomorrow at 11am, hopefully we are both employed again!

Our bedroom

Checking out of Holliday Village

The Girls

The Guys

Movember stache coming along nicely