Last night was New Years in Australia.  Sebastien and I had a nice dinner at Clare’s house, whom we have been house sitting for since the 27th, and went down to Byron Bay to see how they celebrate New Years in Australia.

In Byron they had several roads closed for the festivities.  There were booths set up where you could get a temporary tattoo, jewelry, and/or food and they had small circus rides and all this under the mystical blue moon.  Most of the people were between 15-30 years old (make that 31).  A lot of fancy dressed giggling girls and funny haircut sounding boys trying to impress one another.  Around midnight hundreds of people gathered on the beach and watched fireworks.  I thought it was brilliant.

So many things made this New Years special.  Beginning our traveling adventure, experiencing  Australia, enjoying Sebastien’s company, being engaged and feeling more connected to life.  I look forward to what 2010 brings!

I will post some pictures soon!  Much love and Happy New Years.

Before finding out about First Sun, Tina and I walked all around town in search of a cheap and clean place to stay. As usual, the “backpackers” (hostels) were the cheapest, but in all honesty, I hate those places because they are usually dirty and noisy and offer very little privacy.

We stopped by and inquired about prices at about 10 different places. Prices ranged from $76/night for a hostel to over $300/night in a dirty-ass motel on the beach. What a rip off!

We had 2 places on our shortlist: a $120/night cabin that included everything (TV, microwave, air conditionning, private bathroom, etc…), and a backpacker at about $80/night. Secretly, the $120/night cabin was my preferred choice, even though it was a little outcentered.

On our walk back to town, we still hadn’t decided on a place to stay at. That’s when we walked in front of First Sun, a campground that offered lodges and cabins pretty much on the beach. Tina said that we shouldn’t bother asking about prices because this place looked too nice and the location was just perfect, literally 100 yards from downtown Byron Bay, with a view on Main Beach and the Wreck.

I told Tina that “you never know”, and that we could get lucky. So we walked in and asked about those private little lodges. She told us the price was $85/night. That was completely in our budget. The young woman at the front desk was very friendly and told us to walk around and check out the place for ourselves.

So we took a short walk on the property and we really liked the place right away. It was very clean and quiet. The little lodges didn’t include much: a bed, a TV, and a fridge. We would have to share the bathroom and kitchen corner with other people renting the lodges, but for that price, we could make the sacrifice.

We went back to the reception and booked a room for 4 nights. To my surprise, they even offered 2 hours of free internet every day. She needn’t say more to have me hooked on this place

We stayed at First Sun for 4 nights then we briefly went to Mullumbimby (the Mullum as I call it) for 2 nights and we went back to First Sun for 2 more nights.

At $85/night, you certainly won’t find a better deal in Byron Bay. First Sun also rents out cabins with your own bathroom and full kitchen for $160/night I think, not a bad deal if you go there with another couple.

They also seemed to be building small lodges like the one we had but with a private bathroom. I don’t know how much there are going to go for but I wouldn’t mind paying an extra $20/night for having the luxury of my own toilet.

On Saturday, we walked 5 miles up to the lighthouse which is the most easterly point of Australia. We walked up a zillion stairs and through steep inclines. Close to the top there was this glider ramp right off the cliff. There we meet Pete, a professional glider who just happen to be up near the lighthouse passed us a flyer for gliding.

For a treat we had a delicious ice cream at the lighthouse and then walked down the other side of the mountain and stopped a Wategos beach, which is a beautiful beach that would have amazing surf if there was any sort of swell.

After our walk we made some food on our barbie. Australians do a few things very well. They have really nice parks for children everywhere which include these barbie’s which are basically big hot plates. We cooked up some potatoes and veggies and Sebastien had some chicken. We also went and got a few tallies from the liquor store. Yes. Tallies. Mainly because they were cheap. A six pack of beer cost between $16-24. Crazy. I think we will stick to wine which you can find for about $14.

The next day we didn’t do much but walk around Byron Bay and relaxed. Our butts were sore from the previous days hike. We did secure another helpx spot which started on November 17th. Sebastien’s birthday. We were a little skeptical because it looked a little rustic. We just figured we would test our tolerance.

On November 16th, we contacted Pete to go hang gliding. It was going to be Sebastien’s birthday present. Pete picked us up and we headed to Lennox glider port. Sebastien looked so cute in his little wasp outfit. He went up for about 20 minutes and got some great pictures.

Happy Birthday Seba!