I spent the past couple of days down on the Gold Coast for Splendour in the Grass, a music festival in Byron Bay. I didn’t get to see much of Byron Bay – instead I spent the night on a friend’s pull out couch up closer to Surfer’s Paradise (about an hour away) and took a bus in the morning to the festival, which consisted of a bunch of muddy fields in the middle of nowhere. I was advised to wear old shoes that I wouldn’t mind throwing away at the end of the day, and my heaviest “jumper” (sweatshirt), as it gets pretty cold at night there. Boy, am I glad I did! I found myself walking through mud almost up to my knees all day, and by the end of the night I was shivering and wanting to ditch my muddy converse on the side of the road. The festival was still a lot of fun, despite the mud. Everyone was dressed in really funky outfits – head-to-toe tie dye, long hippie dresses, dreadlocks, flower headbands, Indian head dresses, and heaps of onesies… Apparently onesies are really “in” here in OZ. They’re kind of like the Australian snuggie, but better because you can wear them out in public…

Splendour in the Grass

I didn’t know many of the bands playing, besides Mumford & Sons who closed out the night, but that didn’t bother me one bit. I hung out with some Australian friends, trekked through mud to the Tipi Forest and Global Village, ate Japanese pork rolls, Dutch pancakes, and heaps of “chips” (fries), while listening to music and watching hippies jam out to their favorite bands.

Global Village

Jammin in Tipi Forest

Mumford & Sons

The plan was to spend the following day in Byron Bay, but it took much longer getting out of bed in the morning than expected. I’ll be back for Byron. Instead I took advantage of the sunshine and checked out the Australian beaches for the first time. We drove through beach towns – Miami, Palm Beach… for awhile it seemed like I was back in Florida. But the beaches here are so amazing. I can’t wait to get back once it gets a bit warmer!

Gold Coast beaches, Surfer's Paradise in the background