Byron Bay is a very laid back city on the border between New South Wales and Queensland quite popular among backpackers. The city itself is quite small with one main street where you find mostly clothing stores, souvenir shops and restaurants, but the beach there stretches as far as eyes can see. At the end of the main beach in the north there is a lighthouse on a hill where the South Beach starts, so where it is best to surf depends if the winds are coming from north or south, but conditions will always be good on one of them and courses and board rentals run all year long.
Our hostel, called the Arts Factory Lodge was also a good one, situated right next to the city brewery where they had some of the evening events while there were free yoga, survival skills and didgeridoo classes there in the day time.
There are a lot of alternative people also in Byron Bay, just like the people who made art in the sand