Byron Bay was glorious! The only problem was that it was too windy to go snorkelling with sea turtles :( When we arrived at the dive centre, we were told that the water was very choppy and we could still go out, but we likely wouldn't see anything and they wanted us to have a good experience. Instead, we opted to go for a hike up to the famous Byron Bay lighthouse. It was a good wakl, lots of uphill and it was quite warm, but we made it! We rewarded ourselves with gelato and the promise of a swim once we got back down to the beach. The water was amazing, but before we got into it, Jeremy helped perform a SEA RESCUE on a stranded ray (See Exhibits A & B, above). 
I took this picture because if you look REALLY hard, you can see a pod of dolphins behind the people swimming. More to the left-ish. They were doing jumps and everything! So close to the people!!
Our final destination, the Byron Bay lighthouse! In some bushes on the other side, I saw my VERY FIRST Australian snake (not in captivity). It was an Eastern Brown Snake, which is known to be deadly. This is some of what Wiki has to say: The eastern brown snake is considered to be the most venomous member of the genus Pseudonaja based on LD50 value. The venom consists mostly of neurotoxins and blood coagulants.[2] These snakes kept at venom supplies laboratories yield an average of 4.7 mg per milking. As with most venomous snakes, the volume of venom produced, is largely dependent on the size of the snake. Worrell (1963), reported a milking of 41.4 mg from a relatively large (2.1 m) specimen. This record is atypical, as on average, the eastern brown snake yield a low volume of venom which is regarded as not more than 10 mg.[3] Without medical treatment, death can occur from the bites of this species.[4] (Sorry Carolyne, if you're reading this I realize you're probably on the verge of a nervous breakdown - but one snake in almost 3 years is pretty darn good!!!)
This is Nicole and Ken. They drove up from Brisbane that day just to go snorkelling. Oops! On our hike, we reached the most easterly point of the Australian mainland, as you can see by the sign they are standing beside!
BEAUTIFUL! So much better than Surfer's Paradise.
At our accommodation, these little guys were everywhere!
Lisa in her "big teepee" accommodation! Only in Byron Bay...
Jeremy standing in front of our "Island Retreat". It faced out onto a tea tree lake. It was definitely glamping...We had a light and a double bed in our tent. I didn't mind it!
The girls. Notice varying degrees of sun safety. Nicole, in the white, is a very fair-skinned Irish rose type girl. She followed "slip, slop, slap and wrap" to the fullest! (Slip on a long sleeved shirt, slop on some sunscreen, slap on a hat and wrap some sunglasses around you head...or something like that!) She is definitely the most sun safe! I forgot my "sunnies" but was wearing sunscreen and a sun hat. Anyway...yeah.Today is Melbourne Cup Day, which is a massive thing all over Australia.
The Melbourne Cup is Australia's major Thoroughbred horse race. Billed as The race that stops a nation*, it is a 3,200 metre race for three-year-olds and over. It is the richest "two-mile" handicap in the world, and one of the richest turf races. Conducted by the Victoria Racing Club on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, the event starts at 3pm on the first Tuesday in November.
'Fashions On The Field' is a major focus of the day, with substantial prizes awarded for the best-dressed man and woman. The requirement for elegant hats, and more recently the alternative of a fascinator, almost single-handedly keeps Melbourne's milliners in business.[citation needed] Raceday fashion has occasionally drawn almost as much attention as the race itself, The miniskirt received worldwide publicity when model Jean Shrimpton wore one on Derby Day during Melbourne Cup week in 1965.[60][61]
Flowers, especially roses are an important component of the week's racing at Flemington. The racecourse has around 12,000 roses within its large expanse. Over 200 varieties of the fragrant flower are nurtured by a team of up to 12 gardeners. Each of the major racedays at Flemington has an official flower. Victoria Derby Day has the Corn Flower, Melbourne Cup Day is for the Yellow Rose, Oaks Day highlights the Pink Rose and Stakes Day goes to the Red Rose.
In the Melbourne metropolitan area, the race day has been a gazetted public holiday since 1877, but around both Australia and New Zealand a majority of people watch the race on television and gamble, either through direct betting or participating in workplace cup "sweeps". As of April 2007, the ACT also recognises Melbourne Cup Race Day as a holiday.[52] In 2000, a betting agency claimed that 80 percent of the adult Australian population placed a bet on the race that year.[62] In 2010 it was predicted that $183 million would be spent by 83,000 tourists during the Spring Racing Carnival.[63] In New Zealand, the Melbourne Cup is the country's single biggest betting event, with carnival race-days held at several of the country's top tracks showing the cup live on big screens.[64]
It is commonly billed as The race that stops a nation, but it is more accurately The race that stops two nations,[65] as many people in New Zealand, as well as Australia, pause to watch the race.
If you got through all that, good for you!! Don't you feel more knowledgeable now?! For the first time, I'll be going to a Melbourne Cup event, so I better get all prettied up now!
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