Byron babes in jelly

After a bit of a faff with transport (trains don’t go directly to Byron Bay) we finally arrived! We’ve been absolutely dying to get to Byron so we can finally get some surfing in. We managed to restrain ourselves for today though and get some touristy stuff out the way with so we can spend the next few days cruising the waves. One of the main attractions is Cape Byron so we headed off. We started out just rambling along the beach until we stumbled upon the set route which takes you on a 4km loop around Cape Byron. The walk has a few lookouts along the way, the best one being signposted as the most easterly point of mainland Australia.

It was along this section of walkway that we glanced down into the sea and spotted a pair of whales surfacing and flicking their tails. Not only this but in the next five minutes we saw a turtle and a pod of dolphins who were jumping through the waves. It was fantastic to see.

The route brought us to the lighthouse which was physically impressive and the views around were stunning. Less impressive was the one room museum inside the lighthouse, which was basically a random assortment of junk with no real relation to the lighthouse or if there was there was no explanation.

Now for the interesting stuff you’ve all been waiting to hear. When we got back to the hostel we headed to the bar for a welcome complimentary drink of jungle juice (interesting tasting stuff). The hostel organises a different event every night and we picked the best night to arrive on: girl’s jelly wrestling. Alex secured us some front row seats to see the eight competitors fight it out in a jelly pool. Best of all each girl was wearing only a skimpy bikini. We would explain the rules but frankly do you even care? All you need to know was that there was semi-naked girls with their bodies entangled - in jelly. What could get better than this?

Just to top off the night Rach, who is a huge Shipwrecked fan and can still remember and name all of the islanders, spotted Adam from the third series and slid across the jellied floor to grab a picture with him.

Rex’s Rules of the Road

• If you want to do some free whale/dolphin/turtle watching, head up to Cape Byron. May-Nov is when the Humpback Whales migrate and pass through Australian waters.

• If you’re staying at Aquarius backpackers and you want to join in the jelly wrestling, make sure you bring a sturdy bikini otherwise you may have a nip slip.

• Quite frankly we’re betting you probably don’t need a review on the hostel as you’ve already booked your bunk bed, but just in case here’s Rach’s opinion on the Aquarius Hostel, Cape Byron Lighthouse and Cape Byron too.