I wanted to try to get to Brisbane by Friday night so that I could spend the weekend and celebrate St. Patty's Day there. That combined with leaving Sydney a little later than originally anticipated, and adding in a stop in Yamba, left not very much time to check out Byron Bay and Surfers Paradise, the next two stops heading north up the east coast.
Day 53 - Thursday, March 15
After about 24 hours in Yamba, I left Thursday morning and headed to Byron Bay. When I got there, the weather was still overcast with occasional showers, but again the waves looked fun. After struggling a bit with the surfing in Yamba, and because rentals were about twice the price in Byron, I opted for a boogie/body board in Byron, which the hostel provided free of charge. I just wandered along the beach jumping in at various points and tried to enjoy the waves without getting too much in the way of surfers. Byron seemed like a place where I wouldn't have minded spending a few days. Like Yamba, it was a bit of a laid back surfer town, with lots of stuff catering to backpackers, but just a bit bigger and more commercialized than Yamba. While it is known to be a pretty fun place to go out, I opted for sleep. A few pictures:
Day 54 - Friday, March 16
After only about 24 hours in Byron, I jumped back on the greyhound in the morning and headed north just a short way to the Gold Coast, known for it's really nice beaches. Luckily the weather was amazing and I was able to spend most of the day on the sand in Surfers Paradise, which reminded me a bit of Miami's South Beach, with it's nice beaches, warm water, highrises lining the beach, and plethora of late-night clubs/hotspots. I was only there for about 10 hours from 1030 to 8, which was plenty of time to get sunburnt on what was a beautiful sunny day and enjoy some of the waves, this time without a board of any kind. I was glad I opted to only spend the day on the Gold Coast and didn't mind leaving after only 10 hours. So at 8, I jumped back on the greyhound and headed north another short distance to Brisbane. Some pics from Surfers Paradise:
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