Nature Club - Hike Guide, Cape Byron Walking Track, Byron Bay
We launched our first Nature Club by doing the Cape Byron Walking Track and it was glorious. The group consensus was that nothing beats exercising in a beautiful environment with epic views, and a fantastic group of supportive women.
We found easy parking at the bottom of the hill on Lawson street and started up the track walking through the rainforest section first, Tallow Ridge Track. That immersive feeling of being completely surrounded by foliage really brought the nervous system down. The track took us to several beautiful look-outs along the way, each one giving us an extraordinary view down the coast. We were mesmerized by watching the pure energy of the waves starting out in the ocean as swell and then slowly building to then crash on the shore. Energy never disappears, only transforms into some other form of energy, to watch and witness this was mediative.
We hit the most Eastern Point of Australia, which is always humbling to think about in terms of geography, and carried on up towards the lighthouse. The lightness you feel when reaching that height and looking into the distance in so many directions is ironically grounding, as you realise that this country is so expansive and huge!
We continued to little Wategoes and then onto the main Wategoes Beach, where we had a little snack break in the shade and watched the surfers and people frolic on the shore. Building up the anticipation for a well earned swim at the end.
We then headed back to the car to dump our gear, whip on our cosi’s and dive in that big blue ocean. After getting very hot and sweaty we frolicked for what felt like forever enjoying the water wash over our skin, and feeling appreciation that our bodies just carried us through the heat to this final moment. Well, it wasn’t completely the final moment, if you include the sneaky and delicious coffee, lunch stop we had at Top Shop Byron, a good local stop away from the crowds, where we continued our gas-bagging, embracing the good company.
The glorious women starting the Club…
Hike Details
Hike Name - Cape Byron Walking Track
Trail Orientation - Loop
Where - Cape Byron State Conservation Area, Byron Bay, NSW, Australia
Length - 3.7km
Difficulty - Moderate. We chose this track as it had been raining and we wanted a safe option. There are new boardwalk sections and it is a very well maintained track, so is a great option if the ground is too wet elsewhere. It does involve many inclines and declines, so get ready to have a bit of thigh burn!
When - Late February, we started walking at 8:30am AEST, it’s too hot to walk any later. We were sweating bullets as it was.
Temp / Climate - It became quite hot during the hike as the majority of it is in sunshine. Shorts and singlet/tee are suffice, or long sleeves to prevent sunburn.
Gear - Sneakers are adequate, no real need for hiking boots. We all took a backpack so we could drink from our water bottles along the way or take photos from cameras we kept in the packs. However there are bubblers for water along the route.
Crowds - It’s Byron. It’s crowded. However everyone was respectful and there was always room to keep walking or stop with no hold-ups. There are also less people who walk through the rainforest section first and only do the lighthouse walk up along the road. So we definitely recommend starting the loop through Tallow Ridge Track.
Wins;
It was actually a plan B option because another walk we planned would have been too dangerous with the torrential rain we had the day prior. It was a great plan B!
Easy to find and easy to park
Hiking with girlfriends, winning
Brunch around the corner at Topshop after the walk
The swim at the end... always feels amazing when hot and sticky.
Fails;
No major fails (what a nice surprise)
Paying for parking (no real way around this unless you park much further away and add to the walk).
Not packing extra underwear to wear afterwards. Mine got so sweaty from walking and I didn’t want to put it back on after the swim!
