Byron Bay

I traveled to Byron Bay, a surf town South of Brisbane, with a group called Extreme Adventures. There were 120 college kids from all over the world on this 3 day adventure- it was a blast!

Byron Bay is one of the best places to surf in Aussie and it is gorgeous! Several celebs have houses here too. I can see why. Byron is a small, touristy surf town. We went sea kayaking with Dolphin Kayaks the first day and then lounged around on the beach and watched the surfers. We had dinner at Cheeky Monkeys, a famous restraunt and bar.

The next morning we took surf lessons with the Byron Bay Surf school. It was a lot of fun. I was actually able to stand up pretty well. I think after a few more days I would be decent...maybe. The beaches are beautiful and clean and the water is very blue and clear. Here are a few pics of the beach at Byron Bay...This is the beach at Byron Bay...there are lots of surfers here. A surfer guy...

We walked up to a lookout on the beach.
Some part of the beach are rocky, some are smooth.
Pretty flowers in the trees.
Me in front of a graffiti wall.
My friend Devin heading down the the beach.
Crazy looking sand patterns.
Lookout on the beach.
Waves crashing against the rocks on the point.

Great view of the bay... it was soo pretty.

And for our surf lessons...we went down to a different part of the beach. The waves are smaller here!

This is me surfing a HUGE wave...ok maybe it's not so big.
Walking my board back up the beach. We had to keep doing this because the drift moved us down quite a bit in the water.
Here we go surfing, surfing Byron Bay!

And yes we got to practice on the beach!
At first we just rode the boards in like this, then we stood up.
My group. I am on the left side, right above the yellow board.
Almost got it... Disgusting beach...haha jk.
These are the REAL surfers. 4 of the worlds top surfers are from Byron Bay!
Um....yeah....maybe we are a little crazy!!

Several of us thought it would be fun to go skydiving over the most Easterly point in Australia. So we did. And it met all of our expectations!! We jumped tandum (strapped to an experienced instructor) from 14,000ft- the highest in Aussie. We free fell for 70 sec at 120mph, then drifted with the parachute for another 5-6 minutes. It was a little bit scary, but it was such a blast!! It was wicked! The view was amazing; we could see the ocean, beach, town, and the mountains. JJ let me steer for awhile once the parachute opened- we did donuts in the air! We landed safe and sound- in one piece! We were to cheap to buy the real pics or the video..so these will have to do.


This is me getting ready to jump out of a perfectly good plane...I'm not the only crazy one...Soo exciting...
This is the plane...a sessna caravan. And we're off.
Two other American girls that jumped with me...Devin and Kaitlin. It was such a rush! And the view was incredible!
My instructor JJ giving me a certificate. Yay!! We got a free shirt too!
We were too cheap to buy actual photos, so we convinced a girl to take pics of us while we were getting ready. This is right before we left- that's the plane we jumped from in the back.


Last chance to bail...and we're on our way.


On a less crazy note...we hiked up to the Cape Byron Lighthouse one afternoon. It was a good workout and a little warm, but the views were great. I took lots of pics, to your suprise I'm sure!!

Looking down on a beach from the lighthouse trail. You can hang-glide from this point too!

Ya- just read the sign...
The Cape Byron Lighthouse...

Here are a few more pics of Byron Bay.

What a hard life he must have...
The mountains and the beaches create a stunning scene.
Oh ya.

This is what it looked like on the bus ride home. There were lots of cows too. This area is very rural, green, and pretty. Kinda like somewhere else I know...

Map, Country info

Here is a map of Australia for those you who are unfamiliar with the country. I am in Brisbane.

The farther north you go, the warmer and more tropical. South Australia gets fairly cold in the winter. Cairns stays warm all year round. The Great Barrier is on the North-East coast and runs from Cairns nearly down to Brisbane. There is a mountain range just inland on the East coast and beyond that is the outback. Not too much in the middle of the country expect Ayers Rock.

Australia is about the same size as the US mainland, so it is a lot bigger than we usually give it credit for.

Country Info:

Australia is a federation of 6 states: Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, and Western Australia. Also two territories: Northern territory and Capital Territory.

Australia is the only nation to govern an entire continent and is the sixth largest country in the world in land area. It is the driest inhabitated country in the world.

Brisbane was ranked #6 in the worlds top liveable places. It is the capital of Queensland and has a population of 1.69 million

Australia is one of the most urbanised and coast-dwelling populations in the world. More than 80 per cent of Australians live within 100 kilometres of the coast.

Queen: Elizabeth II

Prime Minister: John Howard (some of the locals call him bonsai or 'little bush' because he follows George Bush)

Australia’s currency: consists of coins of 5, 10, 20 and 50 cent, $1, and $2 denomination; and notes of 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 dollar denomination. No more pennies and $1 bills.

$1 AUD = $0.77 USD Yeah- everything is cheaper in US dollars!!

Minimum wage here is also much higher than the states- it's about $13. It is common for young people to make $15-$25 an hour!!

Capital: Canberra

Size: 2,988,888 sq mi

Population: 20.5 million

Over 450,000 backpackers ages 20-24 travel to Australia each year.

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Roomies and Uni

I live in a flat on campus and I share it with 6 other people. We have a kitchen and cook our own meals. We also share a bathroom (1 shower) and a living room. Everyone has there own bedroom which includes a dresser, desk, and shelves. It is a coed flat. I live with 3 aussie guys, 1 aussie girl, 1 korean girl, and 1 zimbabwean girl. It is an interesting combo, but it works well. I think it is going to be a lot of fun. All of my roomies are really nice. We rotate clean the common areas each week. You get a warning first, then a $88 fine. The RA's come check every week and they are really anal. I got a warning this week ( I wasn't even in town..oops) Here are some pics of the flat and my roomies...check it out!

Fun in our flat- someone left all of these hats behind. Daniel, in the black shirt, is my roomie- the others are just friends.
My roomie Kim from Zimbabwe. She is doing her entire degree at Griffith. She is super nice!

My roomie will from Toowoomba, Australia. He is moving out though.


My roomie Daniel and my friend Kristen on our way back from Brisbane.
My roomie Daniel from a town near Sydney, Australia. He plays for a rugby league here.
Kim having fun with the hat!
My roomie Emma from Lismore, Australia. She is a first year student and is really nice, too!

This is the view from my room. There are a lot of trees on campus. Sometimes birds sit outside my window and wake me up in the morning.
This is a wild turkey that was roaming around campus- they are everywhere.
This is the flat that I live in- it is called Barakula. I live on the top floor- it was a blast carry up my bags when I moved in!

This is our kitchen...

My room.

The living room.