Arts Factory Lodge & Byron Bay 18/08/16

I checked out of the hostel at around 7.45am. I got to the bus stop early so I called mum whilst I waited for the bus. It was only a 2 and a half hour journey to Byron Bay, which didn’t seem long at all compared to the long journeys I had been on. I had booked to go hang gliding for the afternoon, but I got a call from the company whilst I was on the bus to say it was unlikely to go ahead as the weather was too nice and there wasn’t enough wind. It made a change from the usual bad weather cancellations! They said they would confirm with me in the afternoon what the plan was.

I got in to Byron Bay at around 10am and noticed straight away it was very different to any other place I’d been in Australia. The town had a real hippie feel with a lot of people walking around barefoot, wearing tie die and dreadlocks. There were VW camper vans everywhere and most of them were graffiti sprayed.

I was told as soon as I got off the bus I would be met by a rep from the hostel to take me on the shuttle bus. I waited right by the bus, but I didn’t see anyone from the lodge. I waited around 15 minutes and then rung the hostel who told me the bus had left without me. I was really pissed off as I had to wait 40 minutes for the next one and I had already let them know I would be arriving at that time. She said she hadn’t seen me but I don’t know how with all of my luggage!

I read my book for a bit and then messaged Jess, who had got to Byron the day before. She met me at the bus stop and we planned out how we would spend the day. Jess had booked an ocean kayak trip, so I decided to do that if my hang gliding trip was cancelled.

The bus finally picked me up and took me to my hostel, which was Arts Factory Lodge. 

It’s a famous hostel among backpackers for being really quirky, and it’s also where they filmed the Inbetweeners 2 movie. It was really cool with lots of graffiti everywhere, hammocks, and a walkway outside around a really pretty pond. 

There was a beach volleyball court and some massive tepees where people could stay. I was staying in an all-girls dorm called ‘The Nunnery’. It was one of the best dorms I have stayed in, as it had its own fridge, sink and microwave.

I dropped off my stuff, had some breakfast and then headed back into Byron to meet Jess. Our first stop was the Rainbow Show, which sold lots of quirky things like dreamcatchers, crystals and every kind of tie die item you could imagine. I got a rainbow dreamcatcher which was really pretty.

We went to Aldi to get some food and then went to the beach. Whilst I was there, I got a phone call from the hang gliding company who said I probably wouldn’t be able to fly. I didn’t want to risk wasting the day if I couldn’t fly, so I decided to go kayaking instead.

Luckily, I had packed my swimmers and towel, so I went back to Aquarias Backpackers, which is the hostel Jess was staying at. Outside the hostel was a really cool mural of Byron Bay, which I got some pictures of.

I snuck in past reception so I could get changed, and then we walked to the ocean kayaking site.