Byron bay

Arrived in the dark in Billinudgel.  It was a 2 km rickety drive along a dark gravel pathway, crossing two bridges (that is loosely said) and finally reaching our residence.  Derek says it reminded him of the shining until we saw our Taj Mahal.  Gorgeous ! We are situated on 40 acres of beautiful lush farmland.  Well more like a private resort in the islands.  Palm trees, birds of paradise , ponds, free range chooks, dogs and horses.  After meeting James , aka Granny (surf name) and Matthew, aka Miff (surf name) we were so happy to have booked this place for the week.  The weather has proven to be worth the wait.

James  gave us the load down of it being snake season and that they are hungry if they  haven't already began hibernating.  What kind of snakes I ask... Carpet Diamond pythons. I laughed.  He told us to wear shoes in the long  grass and always go in pairs just incase.  These snakes Are constrictors not poisinous!!!! No need to worry! Lol what ever!!!  He also casually mentioned that because the property is a rescue farm, the animals roam about but are very friendly and to be sure to close the screen door or they will walk right in to our flat.  Sounds interesting.  Off to bed we went. I didn't sleep a wink. I wondered about these snakes all night. Crystal, not sure you could have stayed here after hearing that. Lol

In the morning, my nerves were put to rest with a friendly hello from one of the  horses nosing our screen door.  We gave it a carrot and enjoyed his presence.  Soon after, the dogs arrived and the boys spent the next little while playing and chasing these creatures.  Then the chooks came a clucking and jumped up on our table.  It was so cool.  We love this place. It is definitely a five star Levicks:-)

We enjoyed a day at Byron bay, hippi capital of Australia.  We beached it and boogie boarded all day long at Watago Beach. The water was warm, much like Cuba/Dominican. We booked our surf lessons to start tomorrow at nine! Watch out!!

Have you heard of the huntsman spiders of Australia? Check them out on you tube.  We were lucky to see our second one this trip.  Braden spotted it first as it was crawling up the wall.  Carter said he's catch it as mom and dad and Braden were screaming and dancing around like three little school girls.  But I would not allow that.  Told Derek he had to get it.  With the tea towel and a long  arm, he snatched it and ran to the door. Making sure he released it outside. Surprisingly to all of us, I had no problems falling a sleep after that.

Today, we visited with the animals before heading out to the surf.  As the Kiwis say" good surf today!".  Yes t'was. We are getting quite used to this after two days hitting the waves.  Braden ran in the water the second we got to Captains Beach and we insisted he come out at 5:00 to dry off before going to buy them a wet suit. Braden looks great out there.  The waves are totally his friend.. Carter enjoys them as well and paddles out just as far as his big brother but due to his size, either I or Derek feel most comfortable alongside him when those big waves roll in.

We bought an Australian cricket set for the beach and played it for a few hours. Surprisingly, it's a lot of fun.  The boys understand all the rules and are teaching us.  Braden was shocked with my batting skills.  I told him it came from my baseball years as a youth! Thanks dad for being such a great coach:-).