Byron Bay [the most Easterly Point] – 1 April 2011

We have been lucky with the weather but even the most charmed trip has to have some rain. The second day we were in Woolgoolga it rained and as we had been to the most westerly point of Australia at Steep Point we decided to go to the most Easterly Point of Australia at Byron Bay.

The history of white settlement at Byron Bay began in 1770 when Captain James Cook found a safe anchorage and named Cape Byron after John Byron. Byron Bay began as a struggling working class town but as industries closed and the smell went surfers began coming for the fantastic surf breaks. In 1973 following the Aquarius festival at Nimbin its reputation as a hippy, happy alternative town was firmly established. It is rather touristic now but the coast is still stunning.

The lighthouse was built on (nearly) the most Easterly Point on Cape Byron. This is one of a chain of lighthouses protecting mariners down this coast.
We had lunch at Fish Heads Cafe once the original bathing pavilion and change rooms and drove to the lighthouse. We stood at the nearly most Easterly Point and then walked down the headland. The lighthouse keepers houses are a popular place for weddings, gliders and hang gliders.