Summer Adventures in Byron Bay

Happy 2018! I hope you had a fantastic Christmas and New Years. As always I spent my break with family and hanging out in Byron Bay. There is no other place I would rather be in the summer time and Byron was shining brightly with loads of travellers from all over the world absorbing the happy vibes that you immediately feel when you arrive. These holidays I wanted to explore new parts of the area and capture some images of fresh locations that I have never done before along with trying to snag a shot of the lighthouse that I am finally happy with. I have shot the iconic lighthouse in Byron Bay so many times and am still not happy with the shots I have gotten. So come along on my Summer Adventures in Byron Bay!

Wategoes Beach

After spending Christmas and Boxing Day with the fam bam it was time to hit the beach. One of my friend’s Benny from Brisbane was in Byron Bay so I caught up with him and had some fun playing with the drone over Wategoes beach watching all the surfers looking like tiny ants from high above. The water was crystal clear and people were enjoying the refreshing water on this hot summer’s day. After exhausting the drone battery it was lunch time, so off we went to one of my fave plant based cafes – Elixiba.

After filling our bellies the sun had dipped a bit so we headed down to a quieter part of Byron to fly the drone again. Belongil beach is an amazing stretch of coastline on the Western side of Byron Bay.

After draining another drone battery it was almost time for sunset so we headed back over to Wategoes beach to watch the last of the light create pretty pastels in the sky.

Exploring the hinterland

The next day I wanted to do some exploring in the hinterland so Andrew and I jumped in the car and went for a drive. There was a plantation that I had remembered seeing last year that had these cool rows of square trees. I had always wanted to photograph them and now that I had Droney McDrone Face I wondered what they would look like from above. As soon as I got the drone in the air I fell in love with what I was seeing. Rows upon rows of trees that went for miles. There was a gap in between some of the rows and I felt like the image needed something more so I went and laid down amongst the guava trees while Andrew took the photo.

There was also a beautiful old fig tree that I could see across from Andrews parent’s house. It looked out over the coast and I thought that this would be the perfect place to watch the sunset. Luckily that afternoon the sky was kind enough to share some of my favourite colours as the sun dipped below the horizon.

 

Broken Head Nature Reserve

The next morning we were up early for sunrise down at Byron. This time we stopped in at Broken Head beach to catch the first rays of light and it didn’t disappoint. There is nothing more peaceful and relaxing than watching the sun rise at the beach. Broken Head beach is south from Byron Bay and just another stunning beach that you can find in this area.

More Droning

After watching the pink and purple colours of sunrise  burn off into a beautiful blue day we had some breakfast at Bayleaf cafe and headed over to The Pass to see what was happening down there. The water was stunningly clear and there were people out surfing everywhere so I got the drone out again for some more aqua blue views.

The Lighthouse

So after many years of trying to capture my perfect version of the lighthouse, one particular afternoon the clouds looked like they were going to be in the right position at sunset to capture some colour right behind it. Andrew dropped me off at the top and went off to photograph sunset somewhere else. It was crazy busy as always but I got into my favourite spot looking straight along the path with the lighthouse to the left and the ocean to the right. I waited and waited and finally a good 10 minutes after the sun had set some colour appeared. So it wasn’t an earth shattering sunset but it was pink and it was pretty and it was all I needed to be happy. I am still chasing that perfect shot of this location but for now, this will do!

Lennox Head

I can never go passed a visit to Lake Ainsworth in Lennox Head when I am down this way. Lennox Head is about 20 minutes south of Byron Bay. I have been swimming in this lake since I was a baby and I have fond memories of summers camping at the caravan park and swimming here all day long. This lake is not your typical lake, it is surrounded by Tea Trees which leach tannins into the water giving it a unique Coca Cola colour which is where the nick name the Coca Cola lake came from. I imagine swimming amongst the tea tree waters would have some pretty cool health benefits too.

Flat Rock

Another spot that I like to visit in the areas is Flat Rock beach. It is a peaceful pocket of beach side tranquility that has been spared from coastal development. If you want some peace and quiet from the craziness of Byron Bay, this is a great little escape. It’s about a 30 minute drive South of Byron Bay. One afternoon while sitting at Andrew’s parent place an enormous storm blew through just before sunset. There were some awesome clouds facing north and the only beach I could think of to get to in time was flat rock so we jumped in the car and made it down there with about 5 minutes to spare! It was probably one of the prettiest sunsets I have seen in such a long time!

The Pass and Main Beach

The last day of our two week Summer Adventures in Byron Bay was spent swimming at Wategoes, reading on the beach, taking a surfing lesson and sitting on the grass amongst a huge crowd at Main Beach listening to the incredible voice of Romi Sounds. Then it was time for dinner at my all time favourite place to eat Asia Joes (the lime, coconut and lemongrass curry is the absolute bomb and I had it three times while I was in Byron!). After dinner we went back and listened to Romi for a bit longer while we waited to see what sunset was going to do. The sky started turning a pale shade of pink so we high tailed it around to The Pass and watched as the sky exploded with the prettiest of colours. It was the perfect way to end an amazing day and our Summer Adventure in Byron Bay!

I hope you enjoyed this wrap up of my Summer holidays. What did you get up to over the Christmas break? I would love to know, so leave a comment below! 🙂