Byron Bay

Every country has a few iconic places that manage to encapsulate the true essence of the country, or at least a slice of its people,  culture, or  attitude.  These are the places you refer to when saying “you haven’t been to X country until you’ve been to Y”.  (For example, I would say you haven’t truly been to the US until you’ve been to New York or Chicago, the deep south, southwest Utah and at least 2 or 3 national parks. Obviously totally subjective, but you get the idea.)

Well, we went to one of those places in Australia this weekend that we felt truly embodied the country we are living in… a little slice of australiana, if you will.  Byron Bay.  It’s a 1:20 flight north of Sydney on the east coast (hooray for $49 internet fare sales!) and is known as a surf haven.  At 28 degrees latitude it has a climate similar to say, south Florida, so the nights are balmy and the ocean is warm.  It’s a small town and the vibe is decidedly chill.  Lots of beat up old vans with surf boards, fish n chips shops, outdoor bars, and the dress de rigueur is board shorts, sunglasses and flip flops.. Super casual, friendly people, slow pace… it was great

The highlight was taking a surf lesson with a guy named Marco (i wonder if any surfers go by their real name?).  Happy to say we both got up a dozen or so times in our 2 hour lesson and are craving more. Let’s hear it for slow waves and long boards.

I think what we are starting to understand is that even though Sydney represents 1/5th of Australia’s population, it’s not necessarily a proportionate representation of the culture or attitude  (it feels rushed and fast paced here in Sydney, a bit of a rat race at times.)

So it was nice to experience a more easy-going, fun-loving slice of this country… with many more yet to come.