The Grey Mountains and Byron Bay

March 21st-25th - Katoomba and Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia

We had planned to spend a good couple of days in the Blue Mountains in Katoomba, just west of Sydney, as there are lots of lovely walks that you can do. When we arrived there however, the weather, in stark contrast to Sydney, was grey, miserable, cold and permanently raining.
The first afternoon there we just gave up completely and sat in the campervan.
The second day, still cold and miserable, we ventured out to see what we could of the Blue Mountains. They are called that because all the eucalyptus trees that coat the mountains give off a blue mist which gives them their colour.
We started our walk quite early and kept thinking that the dense fog everywhere would eventually clear as the sun came up. There is a cable car that you can take down to the bottom of the canyon and it gives you great views of the surrounding mountains but we didn't bother with this as we couldn't see beyond the end of your nose! You could not see anything, just the edge of the path and then fog.

The stunning view

By the time we had walked the couple of km to the visitor centre it was no better and we couldn't see the famous 'Three Sisters' rock formation, or indeed anything beyond 1m in front of us. The lady in the centre recommended us a walk, and on a good day the views are meant to be amazing. We persevered, and walked for about 6km, but by then end it was still foggy and the rain had resumed. We got as far as a waterfall before giving up and heading back to the campsite via the road. We returned to our campervan drenched and cold...

At one point it began to clear and we got excited...but then it just came back again...

The waterfall (consolation prize)

The next day we headed on to Byron Bay and by some miracle it was a beautiful, clear and sunny day, so before getting onto the motorway we swung by the viewpoint and managed to get some amazing pics of the Blue Mountains!!

The Three Sisters

The beautiful Blue Mountains at last!

So, flushed with success at finally seeing the views, we headed on. The drive to Byron Bay was only a few hours and was really pretty. As soon as we got there we got a really relaxed vibe about the place and we soon discovered that we had the BEST campsite ever! It was just behind a quiet part of the beach, a little way from the town, and it had a path connecting the campsite to it, literally about a 20 second walk. It was a really pretty campsite, had excellent facilities and lots of families there. We parked up and headed straight down to explore the beach and the town. As we got to the beach there was a warning sign that a brown snake (one of the most poisonous) had been spotted in the area and to take care!! The beach was beautiful.

The part of the beach in front of our campsite

It was about a 10 minute walk along the beach to the town and it was full of young people and surfer dudes!! There were lots of bars and ice cream shops and boutique clothes shops and it all just seemed very trendy!

We spent a couple of days in Byron Bay chilling - sunbathing on the beach, reading, eating lots of ice cream and wandering around the town. We were there at the same time as our friends from Sydney so we met up with them one night. I am ashamed/proud to say it was our 'wildest night out' in Australia - we had a few beers down the pub and stumbled home after a kebab! So pretty much the same as in England, but you didn't need a jacket for the walk home! We went to a really cool pub that was in an old railway station and had a live country/blues band playing and it was packed with locals so had a really cool atmosphere.
The morning after, I was reading next to the campervan when this big dragon came up next to me. We had seen a few around the campsite and they generally seemed harmless. However, this one stuck around for ages and kept inching closer, then suddenly he ran towards me and I made a dash for the campervan!! They were quite scary...

The dragon!

On our last morning in Byron Bay we did a lovely walk that took us up to the lighthouse on the most easterly point. It was a bit of a cloudy day but the walk was fantastic - from the top you could see dolphins and turtles swimming below, and if you go during the right season you can see the whales migrating. After the lighthouse the path descended through some forest and the day began to brighten up. We walked past some beautiful beach houses on the way back to the car.

Byron Bay

The lighthouse at the top

A turtle swimming in the sea below (very zoomed in!)

Byron Bay was so beautiful and really relaxed. We later met a guy who was actually brought up in Byron Bay and we said we mentioned how we had seen some school kids down by the beach and wondered how they ever got anything done or concentrated at school whilst living in such a fantastic place. He said that as a child his school had been right on the beach and that they actually had surf lessons as part of their school day!!! I know where I would like to live!