New South Wales - Australia 2004 - page 207

is A$98 (US$64) for adults and A$47 (US$31) for children, and the trip takes
12 3 ⁄ 4 hours. Greyhound Pioneer ( & 13 20 30 in Australia) buses from Sydney
take 13 1 ⁄ 2 hours; the one-way coach fare is A$69 (US$45).
ORGANIZED TOURS FROM SYDNEY An unusual way to get to Byron is
on a 5-day surf safari from Sydney with Surfaris ( & 1800/634 941 in Australia;
www.surfaris.com). You can learn to surf along the way as you stop off at several
beaches, with camping overnight. Trips leave Sydney on Monday mornings and
Byron Bay on Sunday mornings. It costs A$499 (US$324) all-inclusive—
though you need to bring a sleeping bag.
Another great trip is with Ando's Outback Tours ( & 1800/228 828 in Aus-
tralia; www.outbacktours.com.au), which operates from Sydney every Sunday
and heads inland deep into the Outback on a 5-day trip. Among the highlights
are visits to Lightning Ridge and the wild Glengarry opal fields (see “Outback
New South Wales” later in this chapter). The trip costs A$435 (US$283). A
return trip to Sydney costs A$35 (US$23).
VISITOR INFORMATION The Byron Visitors Centre, 80 Jonson St.,
Byron Bay, NSW 2481 ( & 02/6680 9271 ), is open daily from 9am to 5pm. A
half-hour farther south is the Ballina Tourist Information Centre, on the cor-
ner of Las Balsas Plaza and River Street, Ballina ( & 02/6686 3484 ), open daily
from 9am to 5pm. Two good websites on the area are www.byronbay.net.au
and www.byronbay-online.com .
SPECIAL EVENTS Byron really goes to town during 4 days over the Easter
weekend with the East Coast Blues & Roots Festival (www.bluesfest.com.au).
Up to 30,000 people camp out to listen to up to 80 acts, including the likes of
Ben Harper, Midnight Oil, and Joan Armatrading. Book tickets on the Web.
The first Sunday of every month is when the extraordinary local crafts market
brings hippies and funky performers out from the hinterland. Byron Bay is very
popular over the Christmas period so book well in advance.
HITTING THE SURF & SAND
Many accommodations in Byron Bay offer free surfboards for guests, or else
head to the Byron Bay Surf Shop, on Lawson Street at the corner of Fletcher
Street ( & 02/6685 7536 ), which rents boards for A$12 (US$7.80) for 4 hours
and A$20 (US$13) for 24 hours. The shop can also arrange surf lessons for
around A$25 (US$16) per hour.
Wategos Beach and an area off the tip of Cape Byron called “The Pass” are
two particularly good surf spots, however, since each of the beaches faces a dif-
ferent direction, you are bound to find the surf is up on at least one. Main
Beach, which stretches along the front of the town (it's actually some 50km/31
miles long), is good for swimming. West of Main Beach is Belongil Beach, the
unofficial nudist beach (when authorities aren't cracking down on covering up).
Clarke's Beach curves away to the east of Main Beach toward Cape Byron.
The Cape Byron Lighthouse on Cape Byron is one of Australia's most pow-
erful. It's eerie to come up here at night to watch the stars and see the light reach
some 40km (25 miles) out to sea. A nice walk just south of town goes through
the rainforest of the Broken Heads Nature Reserve.
The best place to dive around Byron Bay is at Julian Rocks, about 3km (2
miles) offshore. Cold currents from the south meet warmer ones from the north
here, which makes it a good spot to find a large variety of marine sea life. Byron
Bay Dive Centre, 111 Jonson St. ( & 02/6685 7149 ), charges A$70 (US$46)