I decided to join a day tour organized by QUT’s International Students Services (ISS). The program of the day – Crystal Castle, as the name suggests, a crystal filled garden and Byron Bay, a famous surf spot and incidentally the most easterly point of the Australian mainland.
Woke up early to take the bus to the university, then joined the many people there – mainly Indian and Asian, no locals, all set and ready go to Byron Bay . Everybody’s very excited! The journey to the Crystal Castle took a bit time from Brisbane, about 2.30 hours for the garden is located in New South Wales.
Once at the Crystal Castle, we found a park similar to a botanical garden with many different plants, many different forms of crystals scattered throughout and also a number of Hindu statues. The park gave a sense of serenity, and its hidden location atop a hill helps in emitting the calming energy.
Amethyst
View from the shop's terrace
Two long amethyst geodes
The witch's hat
Discovered for the first time how pineapple plant looked like:
Pineapple plant
Once everybody got back onto to the bus, we headed to Byron Bay, just 30 minutes away. First stop, the lighthouse. The view was beautiful, it looks suspiciously like French Brittany but with great weather and decent temperatures.
Byron Bay lighthouse
The most easterly point of the Australian Mainland
Looking like French Brittany
After the lighthouse, the bus dropped us off somewhere near the main beach. I took the typical local dish for lunch – Fish & chips, then went swimming. The water is surprisingly cooler than the Gold Coast, it was almost cold. Since it was an organized tour, I have no time to test surfing, it will be for another time.
My first organized tour by the ISS was really good, Byron Bay being the main attraction remained in my head but Crystal Garden was also equally interesting.
I had an awesome day.