Visiting Byron Bay by Maddie Melotte

One of my favorite experiences while in Australia was visiting Byron Bay on the Gold Coast. Byron Bay is a beautiful beach town located in the northeast of New South Wales. ISA, the study abroad organization I went through, set up a few day trip for us there when we first arrived in order for us to get acclimated to the country and have some fun experiences before class began. They gave us a sort of orientation, consisting of presentations as to what to expect during the trip abroad as well as preparing us for differences between the United States and Australia. We stayed in a hostel with many other travelers from all over the world and were able to get to know them as well as each other. The hostel offered social events for the travelers as well as opportunities for outings and excursions. One of the first things we did was take a day trip with a surf company called Mojo surf, which was such a fun experience. They took us in a van to a surf spot where they gave us lessons and a few hours to surf. The next day we went to the Cape Byron Light, which is Australia’s most powerful lighthouse. Leading up to the lighthouse is a beautiful walk overlooking the bay and steep cliffs. It was a beautiful view especially since we were able to see it at sunset. Our last excursion in Byron Bay was going to the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. We were able to hold koalas, see dingos, and pet kangaroos. My favorite part was that there was an open area you could enter full of roaming kangaroos that you could feed and interact with!

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