Upscale Hippy Beach Town: Byron Bay

Seeing a weekend coming up with nothing special planned, I decided to jet up to Byron Bay to scuba dive and explore what I'd heard was a quaint beach town. It was only an hour and 15 minute flight to the northern coast of New South Wales so an easy weekend getaway.  

I arrived on Friday at Ballina Airport, rented a car and drove about a half hour north to check into Planula Bed and Breakfast which was simple, clean and efficient.  While there was no TV, it was a beautiful setting in nature.  It was about a 15 minute drive outside of the centre of town so not the most convenient, plus it was important to be mindful of how many glasses of wine I enjoyed because it was a dark, dirt road back to the B&B.  Dinner Friday night was at Kinoko Japanese restaurant which was average.

Previously, the furtherest north in NSW I've been diving was in Wooli, being further north I was hoping for warmer water as well.  The most popular dive site in Byron Bay is Julian Rocks and I was recommended to dive with Sun Dive. It was a well staffed outfit with solid instructors, but it's van/boat transport process was a bit tedious.  From the dive shop in town, we took a van to the beach where we assisted the launch of the boat before jumping in to head on the short ride to Julian Rock.  This was done for each of the two dives I did. I was hoping to do three dives, but there wasn't enough interest. 

On to boat ride out to Julian Rocks, we saw a pod of whales.  I'd never been this close up to whales in nature so it was an incredible site to see the adult and baby whales surface numerous times!  

Sept. 21: Dive #183

Dive site name: Cod Bommie Wide Trenches in Byron Bay, NSW (19 degrees C, 8 meter visibility, 45 minutes at 20.4 meters)

I saw several nurse sharks, two sting rays and many nudibranchs.  As we exited the swim through there was a large school of very large fish.  

Sept. 21: Dive #184

Dive site name:  Nursery/Spit Bommie in Byron Bay, NSW (19 degrees C, 8 meters visibility, 45 minutes at 16.8 meters)

We saw two stingrays, what I later realized is a dead and decaying wobbegong carpet shark that had likely been there for so long it looked like an ancient white ghost.

After showering, I headed into town to check out the shops.  There were a ton of swimsuit shops and some boutiques.  Just before the sun set I headed to the famous Balcony Bar where the best views of the sun set over Byron Bay are reputed to be. I snagged a seat on the outdoor balcony and enjoyed a tasty cheese board and glass of wine. 

Then onwards to a wine and spanish tapas bar at St. Elmo's which was wonderful and very crowded with customers so I was lucky to get a seat at the bar.  Seated next to me was a lovely couple who'd driven in from regional NSW who recommended heading the next day to the Byron Bay lighthouse, the Bangalow Markets and brunch and great views at Byron Beach Cafe.

I had the mexican rancho eggs, chorizo, avocado, smoky paprika capsicum sauce, piadina bread which was AMAZING!  Highly recommend this place for breakfast and truly spectacular views of the beach and Julian Rocks where I dove the day prior.  

There were amazing views from the Byron Bay Lighthouse.  Parking was full, but I lucked out again and as I was heading out I saw an expanded parking lot where I could squeeze in my rental car. 

 Then I headed to the Bangalow Markets.  I had seen these tops at one of these boutiques on Saturday and was interested in them as they featured photos of Byron Bay.  They didn't have the right size for me, but at the markets the women who designs the shirts was there and I found one that fit perfectly!  And it makes for a wonderful memory of my weekend in Byron Bay.

Here are some of my favorite photos from my dives in Byron Bay.

Bon Bini Aruba: Welcome (back) to Aruba!

With everyone’s busy schedules and living so far apart, the one thing we truly treasure are our annual Horiuchi family summer vacations.  This summer (end of Aug. 2013), we decided to go back to Aruba, but mixing it up and trying a new resort this time.

We selected the all-inclusive Aruba Divi Resort where we had adjoining rooms which allows us to spend all our time together.  I particularly enjoyed Kai reading to me every night. It was actually quite nostalgic as the book he read was Encyclopedia Brown, a boy detective who uses his keen observation skills to solve crimes, a book series I loved to read when I was his age.

Our rooms at the Aruba Divi All-Inclusive Resort:

Here are the sophisticated sand castles that Kai and Tyler built.  Check out the tunnels, the bridges, the moats and barriers to protect the waves from crashing in and destroying the castles.

Papa relaxing in the hammock outside our hotel room.

Our resort at sunset.

As Kai’s been taking swimming lessons for many years now and has grown to become a strong swimmer, we thought he might enjoy learning to snorkel.  We practiced in the pool and then near our hotel.  When we went to “Palm Island” where they have a snorkeling area with lots of fish, Kai snorkeled and saw quite a lot of different fish.

Here's video from Kai's first snorkeling experience:

Here's what Kai saw snorkeling:

I was thrilled he had such a positive experience as I’m hoping that when he turns 12 (the youngest age to start scuba diving) he’ll get certified and become my scuba diving buddy!

While Aruba Divi Resort has a great pool and easy access to a beautiful white-sandy beach, for some variety we went twice to Palm Island which is not only where Kai snorkeled, but also where both Kai and Tyler played in the water park.   It’s not a huge water park, as it had only 6 slides, so I was amazed that Kai and Tyler didn’t get the least bored. They went up and down the slides, crying out “red slide” or “dark blue slide” to indicate which slide they were next going down on, so many times! 

Mom and I at the water park on Palm Island.

In between snorkeling and water slides, Kai and Tyler got tattoos! Kai selected the fish and Tyler chose the dolphin. Very, very cool! 

Tomu and Masa on a Banana Boat ride at Palm Island:

Our last evening we had a special dinner (I miss a decent California Zinfandel) and Papa played his shakuhachi for us. 

Everyone enjoyed a safe vacation, with the minor exception of Kai "Mr. Monkey" jumping on the hotel bed and hurting himself (see injury below).  It's worth mentioning that his parents told him not to jump on the bed and that this is not Kai's first "run in" with a hotel bed.  (Note: This is where I take advantage of my license as his Auntie to share an "I remember when" story) This reminds me of when we were on vacation in Houston, Texas before Tyler was born and Kai hurt himself from falling between two beds he was jumping between in the hotel room.  He still has the scar, it's near the outside of his (left?) eye. 

As the main purpose of the vacation was to spend time with family, I just did a two-tank dive one morning.   

At the end of the second dive, we saw a 2 meter shark resting under the rocks.  Otherwise, not a lot of action.

Photo collage from the dives:

Congratulations Kai: Basketball Coach’s Choice Award

This summer Kai went to basketball camp and I was fortunate to be able to watch him practice drills, play 3-on-3 basketball and play an actual game.   On the last day (Aug. 23), awards were presented and in addition to winning a team award, Kai was also recognized with the Coach’s Choice Award for his excellence in teamwork, attitude and what I’m particularly please about - hustle - which means he put 100% effort in everything the coaches asked whether it was drills or listening to instructions and moving quickly to follow them.

For this recognition, Kai was presented with a basketball signed by one of the Brooklyn NY Nets Basketball team members. I don’t remember which player, so Kai will need to comment to this blog and remind his Auntie.  Kai's going to see his first professional basketball game sometime in the next few months and I can't wait to hear about it J

Bird’s Eye View of Sydney

While I’ve climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge twice, doing a fly-by in a small plane is an altogether different and phenomenal experience!  On August 4, Miin and I were thrilled to go up in this Pilot Archer plane.  I sat in the back of the two-seater and enjoyed the great views across the horizon and 360 degrees all-around. 

We travelled from the Olympic Park area, to Palm Beach, circled a few times around Freshwater and Manly before heading to the CBD by way of North Sydney. 

We wore headphones, so were able to hear all of the communications between our pilot and the control tower.  I didn’t realize how orchestrated the process of getting a plane in position for takeoff was.  Everything from securing permission to enter the runway area to what runway to transit on to get into position for takeoff was communicated and confirmed before executed.

The landing was exhilarating! It was absolutely incredible to see the runway up ahead, the plane lined up and then upon being given permission to land to slowly, slowly see the landing strip come up right in front of us until we were back on the ground in a very smooth landing!

Great Close-up Video of Weedy Sea Dragon

We departed with Pro Dive from Rose Bay at 8:15 a.m. on a clear sunny Saturday (July 27). It’s technically still Winter, but it was pretty warm out!  And while visibility was good, the water was 17 C, so cold!  I was thrilled to be diving with my dive buddy Jackie again too!

The first dive was at Magic Point (Dive #179) and the second dive was at The Gap where I saw THREE weedy sea dragons!  And when you see the video you’ll see that they have this cartoonish look with small polka dots and a bright blue color along its belly.   I’m still fascinated with these whimsical weedy sea dragons that drift along in the water like seaweed and have these clown-like polka dots on their belly.

A shark in the distance, can you spot it?