October 28 - Brisbane and Byron Bay

We've made it to Brisbane yesterday, our last "home" destination for our Ozzie Adventure. We were met at the airport by our friend Tania and her fiance, Gary and are staying at their beautiful home. It is a large home with a brand new pool and we have our own 'wing' to stay in....life couldn't be better! Shelley was met at the airport by her friends in Brisbane and has 3 more weeks to enjoy in Australia. It was hard saying good bye to her at the airport :(

It didn't take long for Tania and Gary to make us feel at home as the Corona quickly made an appearance and Gary fired up the 'barbie' for a steak, potato and sausage feast. It is so hard to believe that it has been 9 years since we last saw Tania...she hasn't changed at all, and she was kind enough to say that we hadn't either (that is why we like her soooo much!)

Today we headed south to Byron Bay for a day trip. This was one of Adelle and my favourite spots in Australia and we wanted to show it to Jacelyn. We borrowed Tania's car and with the assistance of our Aussie GPS navigator, we travelled the M1 highway for about 1 and half hours and found our way quite easily. We encountered rain along the way and were dreading the possibility of a grey and wet visit, but mother nature smiled on us once again.

Once we arrived, we headed up to the famous lighthouse on the top of the peak. Byron Bay is the most easterly point in Australia and is also famous for being a good surfing spot. Our visit rekindled many fond memories and some not so fond (this is where Don almost broke his back thinking he was a surfer and also where Don got stung by jellyfish.....hmmmm, we see a pattern here). Glad to report that no major or minor injuries occurred this time around!

While doing the hike by the lighthouse we spotted a wallaby along the path, goats along the cliffs and whales off in the distance (was a real national geographic experience!!)

Byron Bay still has the laid back beach town feel it had before, but certainly has grown. Even so, it still is one of our favourite areas of Australia. We took a short drive to another pretty historic town, Bangalow, and then made our way back to Tania's and Gary's. We went out for Thai food with Tania, had a nice visit and now it is time to hit the hay. Can't believe we are coming to our last few days....