While it rains throughout my stay in Byron Bay, I am blessed with one day of gorgeous sunshine. I make the most of it by walking to the nearby lighthouse.

You can see in this photo what a pleasant bay this is to surf. The waves roll in gently and the water is quite shallow — so even if you take a spill off your board, you won’t get lost in a monster wave.

There’s a boardwalk running from town out towards the lighthouse.

I cut into the beach after a spell to dig my toes in the sand.

So many surfers! My eyes (and camera lens) are drawn to the colorful boards all day.

At the end of this beach there’s a set of stairs leading to a look-out point.

The views are stellar — you can really appreciate the whole bay from this perspective.

I hop back on the path towards the lighthouse as it curves to the next bay.

I spy an ice cream truck and decide it is imperative to make a quick stop.

I order a passionfruit sundae that is tastier than you can even imagine.

After pausing for a few minutes to sit by the sea and dig into my sundae, I press onward and encounter another look-out point.

Here’s the view back towards the mainland:

The path takes a steep curve uphill. Here’s a shot back towards the look-out I just came from:

Nearly at the lighthouse…

I find these two dudes shooting some sort of dance video in the photo below left.

I made it!

Here’s an iPhone shot of the lighthouse processed with two different VSCO Cam filters (my favorite iPhone editing app).

I return via the same path. I could go back to town on a side street, but these ocean views are irresistible.

There are turkeys on the beach…! Gobble, gobble.

And I’ll leave you with a collection of surf shots from the main beach in Byron Bay. It’s a fun place to simply walk around with a camera and shoot high-contrast silhouettes, colorful surf boards, and reflections in the water.

This dude is the Charlie Brown of surfing — he’s just staring down forlornly!

At first I wonder if he’s just looking at his phone, but then he’s in the same position when I pass to his other side. Maybe a creature in the water by his feet has got his attention?

And now I’m back in Byron Bay proper. This is a delightful way to spend half a day and it’s a must-visit spot if you find yourself on the east coast of Australia.