Fun in the Sun

So a little over a week ago…actually a week ago yesterday was Australia Day in Oz, their own independence day when they celebrate the day Captain Cook landed in Botany Bay. It's kind of a controversial day, this Invasion Day, as the Aboriginals call it, since it marks the beginning of their subjugation to the western world. Despite the controversy, Steve and I, along with our Canadian and British friends from the hostel had a great time celebrating. We missed the breakfast BBQ by approximately 20 minutes, much to our disappointment, but ended up getting ice cream and meat pies instead…and boy, do Australians know how to do their meat pies. Delicious! Then we made it down to the beach to watch the local Wildlife Research Team release 3 turtles back into the wild. This was Lennox Head's big Oz Day celebration…what can I say? It's small town life. We spent the rest of the day on the beach, building a sandcastle that was wiped out by the rising tide, and then made our way to a BBQ dinner at the neighbor's house. Great Day



Since then, all our Canadian and Brit friends have moved on, either up on down the coast and the hostel is a bit quieter since they'd been here for weeks on end. The day after the majority of them left, we got a replacement. A very unwelcome replacement called Andrew, a guy from Sydney, who had absolutely no filter on his mouth whatsoever. In my first conversation with him, he backhandedly proposed to me twice, called me hot, and asked if it was ok for him to perv on me. Eventually I just ignored him, but for days afterward everyone wanted to know when the wedding was. He left a couple days after that, muttering under his breathe about how antisocial everyone at the hostel was and that he wouldn't be coming back. I think we all breathed a sigh of relief.

Tuesday Steve got another job ripping down a fence and putting another one back up. I'm beginning to think that Australia only has casual labor for the menfolk since he got a job at O-pes too. Oh well. I'm enjoying my days of relaxation and freedom. So while he worked a 10 hour day in the sun, I went to the lake, read an entire book, and got to go hang gliding for free! yep, i said, FOR FREE! Graeme, the owner of the hostel, just came up to me in the afternoon, told me to get my shoes on and grab my camera cus I was going flying. And it was phenomenal, again! We did dives this time around and I actually got some good pictures of Lennox and of me. I saw a sea eagle fly by with fish in its talons. Oh, and the only catch of the whole thing is that I have to tell people who come through the hostel about it…as advertising for the guy. What a chore! hahaha.






And then it was Trivia Night again. The team was a lot different, a bit more serious, I would say. We weren't nearly as rowdy as last week, much to my dismay. I actually got shushed a few times when my contributions to the answers were said a wee bit too loud. It was still fun and we were only 1 correct answer away from winning the jackpot. Next week we try again. As they say, practice makes perfect!

And this morning I woke up at the unsightly hour of 4:45 just to drive to Byron Bay lighthouse to see the sunrise. And it was worth it. There is something peaceful and beautiful about seeing the world as it wakes up to greet the day. Here's a picture for you to enjoy as well.