Only another couple of hours south on the greyhound and we were in Byron Bay. As soon as we pulled in we got a really good feeling about the place. We were staying at the Arts Factory, which had been recommended to us by loads of people. We got the mini bus from the greyhound stop which took us five minutes out of town to our hostel. The Arts Factory has a very hippy vibe as does the whole of Byron. We decided to book a double room for a week as it worked out pretty much the same as staying in a dorm. We got shown to our room via a little bridge which took us onto an island surrounded by a salt water swamp. On the island were a few little utes, just a permanent tent with a double bed in. After getting settled we had a wander into town and looked round for some travel agents to book a few tours and things to do around Byron, we also wanted to sort out our Fiji accommodation. We went into a couple of places but the cheapest by far was travel bugs, we booked a sea kayaking trip and a trip to a place called Nimbin. That night we went out for a meal and met up with Jayne who we met on Magnetic Island. We went round a few bars with her then headed home. The next day was a very chilled one. All we did was walk around Byron looking in the shops for some warmer clothes, went to the beach, and also tried to change our flights for Fiji as we wanted to spend another week in New Zealand. We met up with Jayne again about 4pm and went on the bush tucker walk around the hostel. It was hosted by a guy called Cockatoo Paul! So called due to his little cockatoo companion Mr Pickles who went everywhere with him, either on his shoulder or head or hanging on to the end of his bamboo spear. The walk consisted of a tour round the hostel where Paul showed us different plants and flowers that we could eat and use for all sorts of different things. Like the bark of the the paper bark tree was awesome for lighting fires, and a type of reed that was growing near the swamp could be stripped down, dried out and used to make rope. Paul showed us how to use the reed to make a bracelet which kept Mel and I occupied for several nights after. Later on Paul performed in the Bhudda bar next to the hostel where he played the drums, didgeridoo, guitar and sung his own songs all at the same time!! At the end of his tour earlier in the day he had told everyone about a bush survival course that he ran at his property in the outback near gladstone, so after his show we had a word with him about it and decided we should give it a go. It was $400 for a four night five day course where we would learn how to survive in the bush. Our sea kayaking trip was booked for the morning after so we got up around 8am and got picked up from our hostel and taken to the beach. After a quick briefing we were off into the waves; one of which nearly took our kayak out! It had been beautiful and calm weather for over a week in Byron so conditions were perfect and the water was crystal clear. We could see the reef a few meters below us and all the fish and rays that lived on it. The mission of the trip was to find dolphins and turtles which we managed to do on several occasions. We saw a couple of dolphins, one with a calf and loads of green sea turtles. As the water was so clean we stopped off over a reef for a snorkel, during which I counted four turtles just feet away from me. We spent the next day on a trip to Nimbin. It was a strange little tour, a bus picked us up from the hostel that morning playing 60s blues and hippy music. On the way the driver was telling us stories about the different places we drove through and the real meanings to some of songs he was playing. We found out half way though the trip that Nimbin was the only place in Australia where the police were allowed to turn a blind eye to the sale and use of weed! And as we found out when we got there, everyone knew it! The town felt like it was in a time warp and was stuck in the 60's. The buildings were run down, people were walking round monged out with spliffs, there was even a hemp museum! You could tell some people had been there for far too long! After a walk round town we got back on the bus and headed to a national park with a big dam and water falls where we had a BBQ. Some people had a swim but it was far to cold for our liking so we just took pictures. The following days in Byron were extremely chilled. All we did was look around for some warmer clothes, popped into travel bugs every day to use the free internet and try and sort the flight changes out ( which took all week! ) and just chilled round the hostel. On the Monday morning though we did get up at 5am to go up to the light house to watch the sunrise over the bay. It is the most easterly point of Australia so we were the first to see the sunrise! On the Friday we are off to the bush with cockatoo Paul and mr pickles for some survival lessons!