Where's the surf?

After a shower and a lovely breakfast of muesli and yoghurt and banana and dates we hit the beach to check out the surf. However, the waves didn't look that good to surf in and there seemed to be no one actually surfing. Instead we walked down the beach into town again, this time to explore the op shops (charity shops) for that ellusive New Zealand guide book. The three that we found were really good although none of them had any guide books. We did make a purchase each though: I got some $4 jeans as the nights were getting colder and Matt managed to find Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows for 50 cent so he felt he had to buy it. 

To complete our potter around town we booked a bus back to Brisbane for tomorrow at a travel shop. The main reason we did this was so that we could use their free wifi but also because we needed to get back to Brisbane. As it was nearly lunch time by this point we strolled back to the hostel along the beach and ate a lunch of leftover pasta with tuna and sweetcorn. Our plan for the day had mainly been to surf so we didn't know what to do with ourselves after lunch. The only thing we thought of was to sit on the beach and read for a couple of hours. It was quite relaxing and I even got a little nap in there too. Our plan after the beach was to cycle up to the lighthouse a few kilometres away (the hostel had free bikes) but after the lady at our hostel reception said it would be a bit of a challenge I decided walking would be best. Matt still wasn't convinced but when we made it back into town and started walking beyond, up hill the whole way, along little paths with steps, he agreed that a bike would have been a bad idea. The walk was lovely though and as the sun was low in the sky the colours out over the sea were super bright. We got to look down onto little bays and actually passed where all the surfers seemed to be! This annoyed us slightly but we should have just asked someone on the first day where the best surfing spot was. 

The walk probably took us an hour in total and we managed to reach the lighthouse (the most easterly point of Australia) about 10 minutes before the sun started to set. Quite a few people were gathered round, looking out on the view of Byron bay and the hills beyond. It did start to get a little chilly though so as soon as the sun was out of sight we set off back into town. This time we took a different route through a wooded area. Luckily, I'd brought my head torch so when it got a little too dark we didn't fall flat on our faces. A girl from London caught up with us (maybe we walk slowly) and I chatted to her all the way back into town (I think she was using me for my light). She'd only just arrived in Australia and was doing the east coast in two weeks. A bit rushed but if that's all the time she could get off work then that's understandable. 

Back in town I dropped the girl back off at her hostel as it was on my way back and caught up with Matt who had wandered off ahead. I think he might be getting a little sick of going through the same conversations with people you meet: where are you from, where have you been, where are you going? It does get a little repetitive but then I like to brag about where we've been so I quite enjoy it. We walked back along the beach to the hostel and I filled Matt in on what the girl had said. To be honest, we mainly spoke about house prices in the UK being very expensive. 

Tea for tonight was a curry but as I'd had fun barbecuing yesterday I decided to barbecue the chicken and veg that we were putting in the curry. We cheated and used a jar of sauce as it's cheaper but it wasn't the nicest. Maybe it needed to be watered down a bit but I became a bit sick of it quite quickly. Matt ate loads, including some of my food so ended up in a bit of a food coma resulting in him going to bed early. His eyes are bigger than his belly.