Day 12 - Travel to Gold Coast

Day 12 was a travel day. We took an hour and a half flight from Airlie Beach to Brisbane, rented a car and took a two hour drive to Byron Bay. We pulled into town around 8pm, got settled at the hotel and headed out.

The entire trip people have been saying how amazing Byron Bay is and how much they love it so our anticipation was high. Fortunately, we were not disappointed. It's a fantastic unpretentious little town with tons of shops, restaurants, bars and an amazing location only yards from the ocean. It has a mix of backpackers, surfers, Aussie travelers (it's a popular Australian travel spot), locals and could easily be mistaken for an old school central California beach town like San Luis Obispo or Pismo Beach.



Matt, Greg and Mo at the Airlie Beach airport heading to Byron Bay by way of Brisbane.


Matt once again driving through a down pour!


With the full day of travel and all of us feeling a little fatigued, we decided to do a nice dinner, walk the town a little and call it a night. We headed to The Balcony, a slightly higher end place overlooking the center of town. Dave had kangaroo, something we've all been wanting to try, Matt had the Wagyu beef steak, Mo had the Paella, a dish The Balcony is known for and Greg had the salmon. Top-notch all around. One of the best meals of the trip.


The Balcony Bar & Restaurant, Byron Bay.


We wanted to keep it local so we tried an Australian Pinot - Red Claw Pinot Noir.

Kangaroo steak on a bed of carrotts and beats.


Wagyu beef, medium rare, with green beans and mushrooms.


Paella with shrimp, scallops, clams and chorizo all mixed in a delicious spiced rissotto.

Salmon steak with spinache and rice.


Tomorrow we'll explore Byron Bay, walk the town and spend a night out with the locals.