A Hippie's Paradise

Okay okay, we’re ALMOST at the hippie town (aka Byron Bay).

Before that, though, we made 2 key little stops. One at the giant banana…

And the other at Macadamia Palace.

We were expecting a place made from macadamia nuts (like how the corn palace in South Dakota (been there done that!) is made from—or at least covered with—corn husks), but nope. It was just a regular looking palace with a café, a gift shop, a small zoo, a mini golf course, a playground, and yes… a whole lot of macadamia nuts.

We were very excited about seeing our first LIVING kangaroos in the mini zoo.

And we did!

We even got to FEED them.

After that thrilling little experience, we played an intense round of mini golf where I whooped Lowell’s butt and he owed me ice cream.

There was a huge group of cute little school kiddies there at the same time that we were. They all looked so adorable in their uniforms and mandatory little hats.

We then made our way to Byron Bay. This place was great for the people watching because it’s full of hippies (and also wild turkeys).

We were hoping to get some nice hot beach weather, but our wish was not granted. We had nice walking weather, though, so we enjoyed a couple of nice little hikes on the beach and to the lighthouse.

On the lighthouse walk, we reached the eastern-most point of Australia.

I faced New Zealand and said a little “hiya” to all the good folks over there!

I was also ecstatic about going to my first ever “clothing optional” beach. It may or may not be on my secret little unofficial “things to do before I die” list to go to a nude beach in a foreign country JUST FOR A SECOND… in the nude. Had it been crawling with naked people, I would’ve covered my eyes, ripped off my clothes, joined the party for 3 milliseconds, and knocked that little experience off of my list. HOWEVER, there were only a few other people there—all clothed—so I opted to keep my clothes on and not get myself booted out of the country. Next time…