Byron Bay is one of those places that
despite what people tell you and show you, you can’t actually understand it or
capture it until you’ve actually been there yourself. It’s a quirky,
understated place that is captivatingly beautiful in ways I never thought
possible.
I spent a week there with a group of 18 people from the 29th of December 2012 until the 5th January 2013. I was nearly not going to go, but I did, and it was the best decision I’ve ever made. It was the most exciting, scary, overwhelming week I’ve had in a long time and I shared experiences with people I’ll never forget. I opened myself up to people I never thought I would, and I found a little bit more of myself I hadn’t discovered before.
We camped on a football field with no power
and communal showers. Before going on this trip, I probably would have dreaded
the thought of such things, but I survived it. Camping is beautifully
uncomfortable. Camping allows you to wake up as the sun rises, giving you the
opportunity to actually enjoy as much of the day as possible. I grew to love
struggling out of the boiling hot tent in the morning and not even know what
time it was, but know that I had a perfect day ahead of me.
Every day we spent there I learnt more
about the people that I travelled with. I only really knew a few of them really
well and now I feel as though I’ve found myself a new group of friends who have
all shared this amazing week with me.
The beaches at Byron Bay are stunning. The water
is crisp, salty, extremely blue and as clear as you could want.
Although most days roughly turned out the
same - wake up, shower, get breakfast, head to the beach, get lunch, go back to
the beach, return to the campsite, shower, get ready for the night, have
dinner, go out – there were some days that we did something different and it
often felt like I was living in a movie.
One afternoon that sticks out to me in
particular was a Thursday afternoon and the sun was slowly falling towards the
horizon and the hot day was coming to an end. The remaining warmth of the sun
was shining through the trees on the field and a small breeze was drying my
salty wet beach hair.
We had set up a slip and slide on the hill next to our
tents and it was so perfect and fun. We followed that with a massive cricket
game with everyone as perfectly summery music played through the speakers of
the car, we were all laughing hysterically and it was just picture-perfect. I felt
so carefree and happy that moment. I loved every second of that afternoon. Even
when I nearly broke my nose on the slip and slide.
We took a trip to the Byron Bay lighthouse one day. The views from the top were breathtakingly beautiful. You could see all the surrounding beaches and their infinite blue colour.
Even though there were some moments where
all I wanted was home, air conditioning and my own bed, I wouldn’t change a
thing about my week for the world. Our last night of the whole trip is possibly
my favorite. We left Byron Bay on the 5th of January and drove south
towards Forster and ended up at this little campsite for the evening. We arrived just as the sun was setting over
the lake that lay just next to the campsite and it was exquisite.
As we
were only staying there for the night, none of us set up our tents, instead we
simply blew up our mattresses and literally slept under the stars. It was the
perfect night for it, the sky was so clear and the stars were probably the
brightest I’d ever seen. I saw my first shooting star. It was magical. For hours,
most of us just lay on our mattresses star gazing, reminiscing about out trip,
it was another of the moments I felt like I was in a movie.
All in all it was a simply wonderful week
that I could write about for hours and hours, but I am so grateful for it
because it allowed me to step out of my comfort zone and do things that scared
me and I had insane amounts of fun. It was the best 10 days I’ve had in a while
and it was the best way possible to start off 2013.
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