On my way up to the famous Cape Byron Lighthouse

Am I cliche for loving Byron Bay? I don’t know. Radiating friendliness and hippie vibes, this town nestled on the Northeast corner of New South Wales is full of barefoot wanderers and every other person is carrying a surfboard. Life revolves around the beach. There’s a seemingly universal emphasis on wellness, with plenty of smoothie-sippers and kombucha brewers hanging in the numerous cafes. Amazing jewellery artists and musicians share their talents on bright graffiti-covered laneways. The fashion and interior design scene is something to drool over (Spell + Hope & May anyone?). Plus, with all the fun locals and backpackers around, there’s a pretty fun but laid-back party scene.

Surfing. Beaches. Chill vibes. Cool design. Amazing live music. Smoothies + organic food galore. Fun parties.… Maybe it’s basic but I’m obsessed with this place.

I spent 3 days in Byron Bay a few months ago, and can confirm that was not enough time. So instead of going somewhere new for the 4-day Easter long weekend, I couldn’t resist returning to Byron to live my truth.

Now I have a great feel for things to do in Byron Bay. These are the highlights of my most recent trip and what I definitely recommend when you visit this magical place!

Hike Up to the Lighthouse

I suppose this is an obvious must! Byron has some great walks. You can do the Coastal walk from the Main Beach, past rock pools and up to the less-crowded Wategos Beach (about an hour leisure walk I think). From there you can continue on to check out the lighthouse. Millie (my travel buddy) and I did the walk in two parts – doing the Main Beach to Wategos one day, and then another day we parked our bikes at the Cape Byron car park and hiked up to the lighthouse (20 min walk each way). The latter of the hikes did include some hills but that was fine. The views were worth it.

Beaches + Surfing

Definitely grab a surfboard while you’re here, even if you’re a beginner! Everyone’s doing it. Or you can watch. Lots of surfing happens on the Main beach, and if you continue south from the Main Beach you’ll end up at the Pass. It’s a bit crowded but a blast.

Image from Common Ground Australia Trying to cop a peek at the surfers at the Pass…forgot my swimmers… rookie mistake

One day I went with my friend Harley (who lives up here) out to Suffolk Park, and we hit up the beach there. I think this massive beach is better for more experienced surfers (the waves get pretty nice) but way less crowded if you want to practice in the whitewater. On the day we went it was so choppy and unforgiving and a bit big for me, so I spent most of my time floundering and trying to practice duck-diving and not succeeding. But it’s an amazing beach. Try to check out some beaches outside of town while you’re up here so you can experience how massive and beautiful the NSW coast is. You can have a large part of a world-class beach to yourself! Nuts.

Cafe Crawl

WOW after sampling just some of the amazing cafes in Byron, I am so ~inspired~ to get even more into knowing my ingredients and experimenting with new flavours. And being healthy AF.

I had to work remotely up here one day so I bopped around to a few of the cafes and had some amazing coffee, and even tried naturopathic cacao tea (wut) and it was great. Of course I sampled the acai scene as well. I could rave about a few of the places I visited, so I’ll do a separate post on my 5 favourite cafes in Byron Bay, plus a few other restaurants I’d check out. The food scene here is great.

I think I had the best brownie of my life up here. I had a pumpkin-lentil pie (these are savory pies in Australia), the most perfect beetroot salad…brekky done to perfection… paleo French toast… it’s amazing how great healthy food can taste.

All I can say is come hungry to Byron.

Rent Bikes + Visit the Farm

Speaking of coming hungry to Byron, a must-do is to rent bikes (or drive) and get out to the Farm, an 80-acre community hub, founded by the men behind Three Blue Ducks, one of the most beloved restaurants in Sydney. Here you get to “explore, eat and learn” – I think this blurb from The Weekender describes it well:

The Farm Byron Bay is exactly what it sounds like but with a twist – a fully functional working farm that fosters a community of growers, producers, eateries, educators and more. The property exudes a wonderful community vibe, with groups of children and adults alike wandering the paddocks with a sense of awe. From a growing perspective, the farm is all about sustainability – looking to traditional methods to grow its food, whilst remaining 100% spray and chemical free.

The Farm is simply lovely! Such a chilled-out vibe. The food, drinks and coffee are amazing (there’s gelato too). You can pick up some of your own fruits and veggies, and there’s a plant shop too. We wandered the farm and checked out the Macadamia trees. They have some nut-crackers out there so you can pick up some Macadamia nuts that have fallen from the trees and eat them on the spot. (I tried to rub one Macadamia nut through my hair thinking the Macadamia oil would seep into my hair strands but not sure that’s how it works.)

I geeked out over all the sustainable/local food stuff, with healthy ingredients and this-and-that. Everyone I know who has been to the Farm raves about it, so you should go.

Just Bike Around

Get a bike for at least a day just to discover stuff outside the main strip and beach of Byron. Byron is just a tad spread out but with a bike you can see everything! Of course bike to the Farm, and check out Folk Cafe (my fave) – just on the outskirts of town. You can quickly get to some of the local beaches and find some cool lookouts – I came across the Eric Wright lookout one day (on my way to getting an acai bowl no less) and got a great panoramic view of the hills in the background, all of Byron and the beach!

This place near the beach called Sunshine Electronic Bikes lets you rent their retro electric bikes for the day ($45/day. You pedal a little and then it activates solar electricity to propel you forward. It’s so fun to ride (some lovely boys let us try them ?) and it’s really nice for hills.

Image from Vallkree

Hit up the markets / local shops

In general I’m a huge fan of Australia’s fashion scene, and Byron seems to be the inspiration for a lot of Australia’s prints, vintage looks, festival- and beach-wear. In addition to the awesome jewellery artists on the streets, it’s fun to pop in the vintage shops (there’s a Miss Brown shop up here) and maybe get a special piece (or three… I got excited). Just walking around window shopping is fun – you might not be able to afford most of it unless you’re not a backpacker but it’s great inspiration and cool to take it all in.

Denim jackets might not be for everyone after all Lots of dream catcher inspo here Wanted to get this for my dad so bad…if it wasn’t $70 Vintage denim jackets on deck at Miss Brown’s

The Bluesfest was awesome because a lot of the popular market stands came to the festival, so you could shop in between sets. I got the moonstone ring I’ve been dreaming of (and for $24 instead of paying $150 for another one in Sydney I’ve been eyeing) and a necklace…and two other rings…and a bikini…and of course a t-shirt from the Bluesfest (inherited my dad’s weakness for a good ‘ol souvenir t-shirt).

Go to the Byron Bay Bluesfest! (or Splendour)

Australia has a talent for putting on legendary festivals, so when in Australia you should try to find one to attend. Millie and I went to the Byron Bay Bluesfest out at the Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm for two of the five days, and it was one of the most amazing and unique festivals I’ve ever been to. It was also great to get out of Byron for a couple days and experience something different in this beautiful corner of the world.

The vibes are outrageously friendly – there’s families, friend groups of all ages (from 16 year-olds to 40 year-olds), grandparents with their foldable chairs parked in the back of the music tents, locals, people from all over the world, and Australians coming up for the weekend. Many people have been returning to this festival every year for over twenty years.

As I said there’s markets everywhere which brings some of the amazing Byron market stands right to the festival, so you can poke around between acts. I cleaned up pretty well… Jewellery, a $30 designer bikini and of course a commemorative Bluesfest t-shirt. Very exciting.

Image from Nomad’s World

The aroma in the air was so yum. Food trucks with everything from festival food (elephant ear smell but no elephant ears, that’s not Aussie), to pizza to Mexican to Cajun to the Avocado Hut (hah) to a juice bar. Finding something to eat was always easy (and hard to avoid).

We met a lot of fun people in the beer tents. There’s one near each of the six stages so you’re taken care of. They also have a coffee tent in the middle of the festival that’s open late. I wasn’t the only one getting a soy flat white at 10:30pm.

Me and my friend Harley who lives in Byron! Met a CUBS FAN here!!!

One of the best parts of the festival was discovering new acts, while getting the chance to see some classics and some contemporary favourites. Here were my highlights:

• Jimmy Buffet – knew he’d be fun but WOW he was so excited to be there and put on a great show
• The Doobie Brothers – they rocked the house, put on an awesome show. It was so great to get to see them live
• Trevor Hall – Trevor and his band brought the house down. I thought they’d be a really chill show but it was nuts, and each of the musicians had insane solos
• Nahko and Medicine for the People – His violinist is incredible. Then Xavier Rudd (a Byron local) and Trevor Hall came out for the finale and it was magical
• Buddy Guy – he can still shred. I love blues
• The California Honeydrops – really fun band with brass instruments, a new discovery I’ll be looking up.
• Bonnie Raitt – she’s still got it! She was a great performer and I hadn’t listened to a ton of her music before but really loved it
• Little Georgia – a Aussie folk duo. The girl’s voice is absolutely insane. I listened to their Spotify album and was disappointed the girl isn’t actually featured as much on the album as she was live. They need to put her voice out there more, it’s so good.
• The Lumineers – I am still a Lumineers fangirl. This was my third time seeing them and again they didn’t disappoint. They are awesome live!
• The Soul Rebels – A New Orleans brass ensemble with a mix of jazz and hip hop and rock. They were so fun to watch. A new discovery!
• Jake Shimabukuro – my favourite ukulele player in the world. He also guest-starred on many other shows we saw. Inspired to pick the uke back up again

Another big festival up in Byron Bay is Splendour in the Grass, which is held near the Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm. That one is more young-people but is raved about by all my Sydney and Byron friends, so if I can I’d like to go to that too 🙂

Camp

It stays decently warm up in Byron year-round, so definitely camp here! There’s tons of parks with everyone from families to couples to backpackers camping. It’s a very camp-friendly town. My favourite cafe was even situated right next to a big campground so everyone could hang there.

Image from Bluesfest

Camping was built into the Bluesfest for us – luckily we were able to borrow a tent and set up a humble home. But some people are like professional Bluesfest-campers. Their setups were amazing, usually building a cool tent and living area off a campervan. We met a lot of other people who were also camping and could hang with them after the festival under the Southern Cross stars. ✨

Go Out in Byron

You’ll meet people from all over the world in Byron, so it’s worth going out. Of course the Bluesfest was a great time but some of my favourite times were hanging with the locals at the Railway Friendly Bar – that has to be my fave Byron pub (it’s my friend Harley’s too and he lives there). This bar has had live music playing here EVERY night for 25 years. And the music has been amazing every time – and people of all ages have a dance and lots of beers and happy times.

Image from Broken Head Holiday Park

I also enjoyed going to the Stone & Wood Brewery the last time I was here. Beach Hotel is an amazing pub on the beach, and Northies (The Northern) gets good and sloppy at night.

I hope I make it back here again soon, but if not soon I will again. I’m coming back to do all of the above, and to revisit my favourite friends and cafes and hopefully be better at surfing the waves next time ?

What an insane few weeks it has been in America. Talk about HIGHS and ⬇️ LOWS⬇️. With the Cubs trailblazing to our first World Series championship in ages and the nastiest Election coming to a brutal close, trust me, the whole world has been watching.

I’m grateful that my company set up a TV for our office to watch the events go down. But hey, it wasn’t just me glued to the TV for the most stressful 10 innings of the century and the most shocking presidential results on the planet. Being over here has opened my eyes even more to how powerful and influential the U.S. is.

Very stressful day at work here but very pleased with the results ☝? #flythew #gocubsgo ?⚾️✨

A photo posted by Emily Griffith (@emigriff) on Oct 30, 2016 at 9:23pm PDT

For most of my family and friends, the Cubs and the Election brought about many emotions and meaning. My mind has been racing the past few weeks. In some ways it has been so amazing and interesting to be in Australia for all this, and in some ways I feel I’m missing important moments at home. But I am grateful for this perspective and overall have a bright outlook on the future (even if the road is arduous).

PT 1. FLY THE W

Yeah, I know. I noticed that I was not in Wrigleyville raging my face off with my best friends when the Cubs won the World Series for the first time in 108 years. I didn’t hear firsthand the roar of the crowd on Addison street and I wasn’t up til 4am ordering deep dish pizza after one of the best nights of my life. (but I also wasn’t puking in the office stalls at work the next day ??) Some might say this was not the best time to move to Australia. I mean yeah it would have been awesome to be in Wrigley for this (and I feared before leaving that I would be missing exactly this), but honestly, location didn’t affect the amazingness of watching that moment happen. The smile on Bryant’s face when he threw to Rizzo SWOOOOON half a second before the Cubs won (source: Business Insider) I still get goosebumps thinking about it. Instead of Wrigleyville with my best friends, this is how I witnessed baseball history on an 80 degree sunny Thursday workday in Sydney, Australia:

• • 1st – 3rd innings: Frantically checking the Guardian’s live updates of the game while sitting in an Australian Defence Force financial seminar outside of Sydney (one of my clients). There were people all around the world who must not have access to the live game checking this, so at least I wasn’t alone.

 

• 4th – 6th innings: Kingston (my CEO) and I were driving back into the city after the seminar, so he streamed the game on his phone. It was actually super high-def and updated, so I got to properly watch the game here. I appreciated Kingston’s interest in this important game.

 

 

By the end of the 5th inning, I had to ask Kingston if he could drop me off at a sports bar to finish watching the game. I promised I would finish the hours of my work later but I had to be in an appropriate environment to let out my stress about this game (i.e. drink beer, scream and cry).

• • 7th – 10th (!!) innings: Kingston dropped me off at Cheers, a bar where some Americans, both Cubs and Indians fans, were apparently watching the game, according to an Americans-in-Sydney type of Facebook group. I didn’t even care if anyone was there but just needed the live game, beer, and room to pace and jump and flail according to the game.

 

 

 

You’ll never forget where you were when the CUBS WON THE WORLD SERIES!!!! This is what it’s all about. Cheers to #cubsfanseverywhere #cubswin #newbestfriends what a day ??????????? A photo posted by Emily Griffith (@emigriff) on Nov 2, 2016 at 10:56pm PDT

I walked in to a packed (ok, not packed) bar of around 30 nervous, loud Cubs fans freaking out about the game. My people.

After the most intense three hours hugging and screaming and pacing and getting to know my new Cubs fan friends, I spent the hour after Kris Bryant threw the ball leaping into strangers arms, bawling with a few Chicagoans, taking turns calling home, crying some more, drinking beer and singing the Go Cubs Go song.

You literally could be one of the nasty cockroaches in my kitchen but if you were a Cubs fan we would have had the best time. And I might’ve kissed you.

Funny thing is, I surely celebrated that Cubs win with some people who are celebrating Trump’s win. ?

It’s so cool how a sport unifies people like that. Not just unifying people from different backgrounds and beliefs but I felt SO in touch with everyone at home (and Grandpa Lou up above ?), feeling the same feelings about the game and watching a dream come true. It made the world feel small and full of love and good things. 

[I will say, once celebrations in Sydney died down around 7pm and all my American friends were passed out, I was v v lonely for a couple hours because I was like HELLLOOO THE CUBS WON WHO WILL CELEBRATE THIS MOMENTOUS OCCASION but then I hung out with two of my best Aussie friends and the world was right again. Because the Cubs WON]

PT 2. DRUMPF

Haha, a newspaper in Aus

I thought America was on a roll with the Cubs thing. This month, I was getting nervous leading up to Election Day (Wednesday for me). Yesterday kind of felt like an anxious Christmas! The vicious election would finally be over and we could get an official answer and get down to tackling the issues.

Woof. Watching the Election all day at work was shocking. A darkness slowly and literally crept over me (I biked home through a storm). It’s funny that something like a Cubs game unified so many, but this Election harshly divided our people.

As the Aussies would say, I am DEVO (devastated) about the results. ?

It’s scary. It’s real. My heart aches for those that don’t feel safe or wanted in the U.S. And for my own brother and others in the LGBTQ community. And for women and even for people uneducated enough to understand what they’ve chosen.

And for the PLANET. The Paris Agreement, the Clean Power Plan, spend on clean energy…all this progress I am terrified to lose. AAHHHH (P.S. pls watch Time To Choose)

But we’ve seen a lot (a LOT..) of positive bravery in the media the past couple days. I can’t stop reading/watching it honestly. It’s really cool to see everyone express their disappointment but courage to go on and fight this. (hoping everyone puts their tweets where their mouth is)

Today I even met up with my new American friend from NYC to grieve, eat sushi and get ready to take action. She’s already donated to causes she supports that are in danger of getting trampled by Trump. ?

No need to repeat everyone but I liked this instagrammer’s post:

Spare me the “love wins” stuff. Spare me the moving to Canada stuff. Organize. Move into action. Fight for what is right. There is work to be done. The road is long. More from me on this to come ✊

A photo posted by Erin Sullivan (@erinoutdoors) on Nov 9, 2016 at 3:03pm PST

I’ve been inspired to practice more fiercely and fight harder for everything I believe in. It’s comforting to know that of 18-25 year olds, only five or six states would have been Trump. Makes me excited for a brighter future.

But it’ll take work work work work work to get there. Being in Australia showed me that there is a real danger of losing our rep as one of the most powerful countries in the world. We set the example and the international agenda on a lot of issues, so it really makes me now, more than ever, grateful to be an American. I feel fully responsible to make sure we do the world right. Obama said in his interview with Bill Maher the other day:

“Our values and our ideals actually matter. We do a lot of good around the world. There are some things that we do that are either ineffective or imperfect, but there is a lot to be proud of”

There’s no need to for everyone bail on America (although visitors are welcome) and there’s no need for me to run home straight away.  Despair is not the answer. Let’s fight da good fight, all over the world ?

I will still happily fly the W and fly the American flag side by side (I actually do on my desk at work). I’m just ready to wake up, be a better person, and rep our country well here ? ✌️?

And here’s Bondi Beach on November 10, 2016, looking fresh as ever ?