byron day 4 - final

Read:
'Byron Day 1' here.
'Byron Day 2' here.
'Byron Day 3' here.

The alarm was set for 4am. Snoozed once, twice, thrice... many more times... and we finally woke at 5.30am. Arrggghhhh!!!!! Too late!!!!! After a crazy 7.462 minutes of fighting to wash up in the toilet, we both sprinted out the motel room towards the Cape Byron walking track.

Our hopes of witnessing the sun peeking over the horizon and shining its first light over Australia were shattered due to our incurable laziness and lack of discipline.

Nonetheless, after about 25 minutes of huffing and puffing uphill along the shortcut just discovered, we saw the full blazing glory resting on the ocean. It was good enough for us.


The risen sun.


Approaching Cape Byron Lighthouse.


The morning rays flooding through the windows of the lighthouse keepers' quarters.


The final stretch to the lighthouse.


Left: At the lighthouse.
Right: We took a break at the most easterly point of the Australian Mainland.

Natalie brought along this little toy for us to take kaleidoscopic pictures. So we hung around the most easterly point for quite a while snapping away the entire time.


Nat with her new toy.


So many lighthouses!


Will the real slim Jackie please stand up?


A frowny Nat: "Can we please set off for breaky now? I'm famished."

We had our last meal (breakfast) at a cafe with a view - Byron Beach Cafe perfectly positioned on Clarkes Beach with an ocean frontage before checking out of the motel. The breaky wrap - parmesan, parsley omelette, avocado, rocket, bacon, tomato relish in flat bread - Nat had was disappointing and overpriced at $17.60. The avocados were too green and hard, and I believe we could have made this wrap easily for less than half the price. On the other hand, I was most satisfied with my fried eggs with chargrilled chorizo sausage and housemade smoked baked beans on Turkish toast plus a side of sauteed mushrooms. The serving was humongous for a $15.55 plate of oily goodness (add $4.15 for the extra side). I couldn't eat the entire day afterwards until dinner time. They serve wonderful coffee too!


Last shot while leaving the motel. Yes it was Australia Day.

While we lazed around on a grass patch enjoying a chai latte waiting for our airport shuttle, we decided to go for one final adventure at the very last minute - tarot and psychic readings! Both Nat and I have never explored such spiritual divinations and agreed that Byron has got to be the place to do it.

A quick phone call confirmed our appointments with Elizabeth Mussalati who is apparently a third generation fully qualified holistic health practitioner. We left the place in giggles and with mixed emotions. I'm not entirely sure it's something I would like to experience again.

There was a little drama at Ballina Airport as we were boarding the plane bound for Sydney. Due to weight issues, the Captain announced a need to offload at least 60kg of weight. The gung-ho us very proudly volunteered to sacrifice our baggage so that we may all have a safe passage home. And there ended our brief stint at Byron Bay that consisted more of doing nothing than anything else which was precisely the kind of holiday we both were after. I felt totally rested.