Byron Bay / Noosa Heads (Australia)

Returning to Byron Bay & Noosa

We officially made the call to return to Byron Bay and Noosa Heads.  Why?  Because we had such a killer time exploring both of these spots during our three-month stint in Australia last year.

These two are the absolute quintessential Australian beach towns.  For this return trip, Barbie and I had one sole mission: relax, unwind, and take a much-needed break from being constantly on the move.  Over the last two and a half years of dropping out of society and tackling this round-the-world journey, we have covered a massive amount of ground.  We’ve rarely stayed put in one single city for more than five days at a time.  It catches up to you.

This time around, we allocated a full month to Australia and split the entire calendar between just these two beach hubs to drastically cut down our transit time.  It was the perfect play.  It allowed us to actually settle down, sink into the relaxed coastal atmosphere, and completely skip the time-consuming chore of planning the next leg of our journey.

Byron Bay: “Cheer Up, Slow Down, Chill Out”

That’s the official town motto here, and Byron absolutely lives up to it.  It’s the kind of place that reminds me that life can actually be incredibly simple.  The town has managed to hold onto its super laid-back surfing village charm, but the writing is on the wall.  I can clearly see prices creeping up, and the structural signs are in place that will eventually flush out the hippies, budget backpackers, and core travelers.

Having spent the last 25 years extensively wandering the globe, I’ve noticed a predictable evolution when it comes to glorious backpacker havens.  The absolute best budget beach towns and islands we’ve ever visited eventually get discovered.

Byron Bay has the ultimate geographic setup, completely wrapped by a collection of superb beaches.  Unfortunately, that’s usually the exact recipe for an area to get built up, modernized, and transformed into an upscale enclave for wealthy tourists.  The town has become so wildly popular that it looks like it’s struggling a bit to handle the massive influx of crowds.

But man, those beaches.  The wide, sweeping coastlines directly on the bay are easily some of the best in Australia.

• Main Beach: The undisputed hotspot because it sits right in the dead center of town.

• Belongil Beach & Clarkes Beach: Positioned on the opposite ends of the bay, offering a little more breathing room.

• Wategos Beach: An awesome spot you can reach either by car or by taking a nice trek along the Cape Byron Walking Track.

• Tallows Beach: A local clued us into this spot, which we completely overlooked on our last trip. It’s an incredible, isolated stretch of sand surrounded by pure, untouched nature.  I might just have to add Tallows to my running list of the best beaches in the world.

Nimbin: A Side Trip to Hippie Central

While basing in Byron, we took a little one-hour drive out to Nimbin to catch their Sunday Market. Talk about a trip.  The entire town is a full-blown, time-capsule hippie haven.  If you’ve been looking for any of your long-lost, die-hard Deadhead buddies from back in the day, there is a very good chance they are out here cooling face in Nimbin.

On this return trip to Bryon Bay, “I have some new information, man….some new shit has come to light.”

 

Noosa Heads: Relaxation on the Sunshine Coast

Just like Byron Bay, Noosa has an abundance of top tier beaches.  Because it’s situated further north on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, Noosa gets way more tropical and has noticeably warmer weather than Byron Bay.

On our last trip down here, we rented an Airbnb right on Peregian Beach.  This time around, we decided to hunker down just a few miles north at Sunshine Beach to get a slightly different flavor.

Sunshine Beach put us much closer to Noosa Main Beach—the absolute premier hub in the area where the main strip of shops, cafes, and restaurants sits.  The absolute beauty of the entire Noosa region is that it gives you the ultimate flashpacker luxury: a massive amount of things to do, coupled with the perfect environment to do absolutely nothing if you so choose.

After our month was up and we were making the drive back down toward the airport in Brisbane, we made an obligatory pitstop at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary.  Let’s be honest, no trip to Australia is officially complete without hanging out with the local kangaroos and koalas.  Barbie got to load up on all the animal-loving she could handle, making it the perfect way to cap off our latest chapter in Oz.

Thru the Binocs: Changing the Game Plan

Spending this slower, uninterrupted time in Australia has given me some serious perspective.  I’ve come to realize through these extended travels that downtime that isn’t explicitly “productive” is definitely not time wasted.  There is immense value in passing a day just relaxing, taking in your surroundings, doing less, and simply letting your mind wander.  Let me be clear, we are not being lazy.  Being busy is a choice and so is the peaceful act of sitting on your ass.  Being busy may feel productive.  But, simply watching the world go by (while sitting on your ass) is more productive.

Because of that realization, Barbie and I have decided to officially double down on this new “slower travel” philosophy.  For now, until we get our frantic travel mojo back, we are completely scrapping our upcoming plans for Southern Africa.

Instead, we are heading out to take an extended breather in one of our absolute favorite places on the planet: Maui.

I’m sure a part of me is going to miss the constant exploration—just walking the world with no set goals and having zero clue where we’re going to end up next.  The sheer spontaneity of living entirely in the moment without a definitive blueprint is incredibly liberating.  But right now, settling down for a long-term stretch in Hawaii is exactly what the doctor ordered.  I’m genuinely looking forward to experiencing that alternative island lifestyle.