I truly embodied the Byron lifestyle today. There was a 6am wake up call for yoga in the tent at the back of the hostel. We were warned that our days were only going to get earlier and earlier! The yoga was gentle and consisted mainly of stretches which was good for my bruised body from the surfing yesterday. I was familiar with all of the poses too. The only pose I cannot stand is downward dog which the instructor always kept us in for the longest. The worst was when we had our foreheads placed on the mat and she instructed us to breathe in and out. There was a horrible stench to the mats of sweat that filled the air and I think all of us were gagging at the smell. Overall though it was a good hour to spend focusing on the breath.
There was a restaurant right next to the hostel called the Treehouse where I picked up a croissant for breakfast. If you can believe it, a croissant here costs $9.50 AUD. Isn’t that absurd?!
Today the main activity was an optional activity of sea kayaking in Byron Bay. Optional meaning it was at an additional cost so only a handful of us did it. I put on my swimmers and flip flops or thongs as the Aussies call them and was ready for kayaking. We went out in pairs on kayaks in full gear including helmets. I have never worn a helmet while kayaking before so I was very prepared for whatever came my way. While in Goa I went sea kayaking and the ocean there was very calm and still so I expected the same from today. Let's just say I had very different experiences.
To get past the initial big waves you have to make sure the kayak is pointed out. Kate and I both got in and were immediately hit by a massive wave that took us out already. I hadn't even planned to get wet but here we were with a flipped kayak. We tried again and getting on I managed to flip the kayak a second time and the guide was just laughing at me at that point. The third time was the charm and we made it out before getting taken out by another wave.
The waves were much bigger than in the Goan sea and occasionally a big wave came and we would go up and down. We were in a big group and the group kept stopping to rest as we all gathered near to one another in our kayaks playing bumper kayaks. From the kayaks on a good day you can spot dolphins in the sea but today we didn't see any. We did see a box turtle peek its head above the water though!
During one of the points we stopped we were told we could hop off our kayaks and swim so everyone got in the water and started bobbing in our life jackets. It was so refreshing after burning in the hot sun. The water was the perfect temperature to swim around in. I was even able to climb back into the kayak without tipping over the boat! As we got further and further from the coast the waves became bigger and sometimes it seemed like the ocean was going to swallow us. I began to feel very nauseous and the guide told me to just keep hopping in the water and dunking my head under water. It definitely helped to cut the nausea.
From the area we had kayaked too we could see the hillside where the million dollar mansions were situated. This included Zac Efron's holiday house as well as Liam Hemsworth’s house. They were all so huge and situated high on the hill. The views from there must be so incredible! We kept joking about casually running into Zac Efron town because apparently he had once dated a surfer girl from Byron Bay.
Kate and I did not tip our kayak over until we were trying to get out. We rode the first couple waves to get to shore but at the last one we were turned sideways and it overturned our boat. We both knew that it would happen though so we're prepared. Even the guide laughed at our incompetent selves. It was so much fun.
The sun was out and it was hot but we were already at the beach and wanted to spend more time in the water. Four of us stayed to play in the waves for some time. We always entered at one point and then realized how far the waves had managed to drag us out. It was the rip currents that we had been warned about pulling us out to sea. We spent a couple hours on the beach until all the white people had turned bright red and I was probably 5 shades darker than I woke up. The sun had zapped all the energy out of me and I was so extremely fatigued from our yoga and kayaking fun so I went and took a rest. I guess it's good today was a chill free day to do as we please.
In the evening Steph had arranged a little picnic where everyone brought their own food and ate dinner together. It was fun to be together as a group while we watched the sunset. The birds in the tree provided the music as they were screeching so loudly you could barely hear one another.
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