So here we are in Byron Bay, the most easterly point of Australia. For years the "first place to get the sunlight" has attracted hippies and mother-earth types and it is now populated by their offspring, namely crusties and vegan tree huggers. There's not a lot of meat on sale here and the trees are tall and well loved. This notwithstanding, we have found a nice place to stay, just back from the beach and have been relaxing for a few days now. That's not completely true. The room we initially stayed in was right outside the common room so had people outside all night which broke me quite a lot. Next morning we upgraded to a really nice room away from everyone with an en-suite. It's not what you'd call true backpacking, but i'm 32 now and so need my 8hrs a night and a clean toilet. Surely this isn't too much to ask!!!!

Anyway, feeling rejuvinated by our new found luxury, we decided to book a surf lesson. We turned up, donned our rash vests (although i had a small so looked ridiculous) and hit the beach for instruction. The instructor turned out to be short on details, long on standing around posing, and so we entered the water still unsure of exactly what to do. However after a few attempts we both managed to stand. At one point we were even both surfing the same wave which was brill. I managed to stand up quite a few times and now regard myself as a gnarly-dude. Badly formed goatee and random piercings will no doubt follow soon.

We also visited Lake Ainsworth which is brown due to the all the tea trees surrounding it. Tea tree oil is apparently very good for the skin and so, being fully immersed in all that is good for body and soul, we plunged in and swam for a while. Leanne doesn't really like not being able to see the bottom of water when swimming, and so this lake didn't really suit, as you can't even see your body once submerged. After treading on a few too many unseen twigs that Leanne said "could have been crocodiles" we got out and had lunch. Battling imaginary crocs, builds up quite a hunger i can tell you.

Tomorrow we head out on a 10 day adventure, taking in Fraser Island (large island made of sand), the Whitsundays Islands (2 days on a yacht) and the Great Barrier Reef. Between them we've got a lot of time on Greyhounds and so have stocked up on books in preparation. Not sure when we'll get to speak again so love to all and "peace brother!!!"