Byron Bay

...I was going to title this post "What the world needs now: healing crystals" which is the banner above a shop here (Byron Bay = big hippy place), but thought it might confuse people.

It's lovely here! We arrived yesterday after a 14 hour coach ride from Sydney - ew. Never again. Though the coach drivers in Australia do tend to show movies on long journeys. This time we got some straight-to-TV movie called "Win a date with Tad Hamilton", starring Kate Bosworth. On the Melbourne-Sydney journey, we got "Blue Crush", starring...Kate Bosworth. I think maybe she sponsors Greyhound Australia or something. Things I have learnt since travelling #1: Kate Bosworth is just...great at playing fresh-faced, approachable girl-next-door yet improbably hot blondes. In crappy movies.

Anyway, Byron Bay is a little beach town in northern New South Wales. It's been a big hippy community since the 70s, and more recently been discovered by tourists, travellers and surfers. It has amazing beaches, and loads of shops selling healing crystals and paintings of fairies, or alternatively cool yet overpriced clothing. Yay! It's a really cute little town with lots of fun shops. I really like it here. Plus our hostel is really nice, making me realise that our Sydney hostel really wasn't so great. Here they have a swimming pool and free boogie boards, and we're sharing a 5 bed dorm with...a load of guys. (Why do we never get to sleep with girls?! eh?) 2 from the UK, from somewhere near Hemel Hempstead to be exact, and a Swedish guy who says he's a fisherman - fun.

We spent the morning shopping for a bikini for Vic. I managed to exercise self-control and NOT buy one for myself, even though the one I have is a)old and b)mismatched. Then we went to the beach - our first beach-holiday style swimming in the sea day, and it was so much fun. Did some swimming, did some body-boarding...tropical paradise time. It's pretty warm here but not ridiculously so. (It is early spring remember). Lovely...

Some photos just for fun: me and Vic in Melbourne, courtesy of Liz