Day 2 - Byron Bay, NSW

After finally arriving in gorgeous Byron Bay, we checked into the hostel. Australia loves their deposits, deposits for keys, deposits for pillows, deposits for blankets, they want that stuff back!

We were all ridiculously hungry after that horrendous bus ride and thus, a search party was dispatched in search of sustenance. A Subway was located nearby and we feasted. Then, we headed back to the hostel to catch the Mojo Surf bus.

The bus came an hour earlier than the itinerary suggested, so half of the party missed the bus. (They had PLENTY to do in this little beach paradise, I don't feel sorry for them in the least!) We headed out to a beach about 20 minutes away and were each handed a 9 foot foam surfboard. These things are very buoyant, it's very difficult to NOT surf on them. The problem is that the waves are so gentle that they die soon after they break and it's very hard to surf a wave that's not moving.

There was a lake a little bit inland of the beach. The lake is bordered by tea trees. The tea leaves fall into the lake and basically turn it into a giant cup of tea, the water quite literally looks like flat coca cola. I thought that was pretty nifty.

We headed back to the hostel. I was pretty tired and squeezed in a power nap. Then, we headed downstairs to the hostel bar for a few drinks. A large dread locked man from Mojo Surf named Jerone met us there and informed us that his job was trick us into having a good time, mostly by yelling phrases like "WHO WANTS TO PARTY?!" and "WHO'S HAVING A GOOD TIME?!", and by materializing pitchers of beer on our table. I think it was mostly that last one.

Jerone led the way to Cheeky Monkeys, a local bar/restaurant. The bar opened at 7:00 and there was a line half a block long to get in. We were whisked by everyone in line through the VIP entrance and handed vouchers for $5 mains and free drinks. I finally got a giant American cheeseburger and heaps of fries! woot!

Jerone brought two or three more rounds of pitchers from the bar while we were eating. Then, he mysteriously vanished as quickly as he had arrived. *shrug* All I know is I didn't buy a beer until 10:30.

Also, I'm quite confident that was my "day camp" into what being famous must be like.