8 Year Anniversary and... I Got Engaged!

Yesterday was my 8 year anniversary with Ben. To celebrate he booked a long-weekend (Saturday to Tuesday) getaway at Byron Bay, NSW. For those who don't know, it's a little hippie/arty town on the beach just down from the NSW/QLD border. We stayed at Azabu, a stunning B&B just out of the town. It's set amongst the beautiful rainforest/swapland of the area. You can see how much we're enjoying our stay in the photo below, taken just after arrival. We spent the weekend checking out the view from the lighthouse, checking out the independent/alternative stores, browsing the arts and industry park and just relaxing in general. We also had the joy of a couples massage together, which was lovely.

Ben and I in Azabu's "reading gazebo" in their gardens.

The view from our bed. The lack of curtains made it a bit cold in the mornings, but it was worth it.
The lighthouse at Cape Byron.

Visiting the lighthouse at Cape Byron was a real highlight for me. We went at about 4pm on the Saturday, so got to admire the view in the daylight. From the lighthouse it's only a short stroll to the most easterly point of the Australian mainland so we took a walk to that. Ben then decided he wanted to follow the walk all the way down to the rocks and the beach at the bottom. It's actually a fairly touch 3km return trip, but I hadn't realised it was that long when I agreed. :) By the time we were on the way back up to the lighthouse the sun was setting and it was stunningly beautiful.

Me, and one of the beautiful sunset shots we took.

The lighthouse is also special to me because Ben took us back up there on the Monday at 6pm before dinner. The light was actually working so it kept sweaping over us as we stood in the carpark looking out over the lights of Byron Bay in the distance listening to the waves crash on the beach with some bongo music in the background. Ben then popped down on one knee and asked me to marry him! Even though I had been expecting it, it was still a lovely moment.

The ring!