BYRON BAY VIA THE HINTERLAND: NOT JUST FOR HIPPIES
Byron Bay is frequently named as one of the top beach vacation destinations in Australia for locals and tourists alike, so we were very keen to tick it off our bucket list, and decided to use the 6 days remaining from our summer break to see what it was about.
Byron Bay is located 800km North of Sydney (considered a a stone’s throw in local terms) on the border between New South Wales and Queensland. It used to be an 11-hour drive up the coastal road, but has recently been reduced to 9 hours as more of it is replaced by highways (unfortunately the speed limit in Australia is 110km/h at most on the highway and 80km/h elsewhere, which feels excruciatingly slow when covering such large distances). As we hadn’t gotten used to driving so far, we decided to fly up half way to Coffs Harbour and drive from there instead.
Coffs Harbour has achieved fame throughout Australia as the home of the "Big Banana", which is exactly what it sounds like: a big, yellow, plastic banana. Inspired by the plentiful bunches of bananas growing in the area, some enterprising locals decided to create a statue in homage to the noble fruit, in the hope of drawing in some visitors who pass by on the highway. This endeavour was successful beyond their wildest dreams: in addition to the café (where everything is made of bananas), there is now also a gift shop, a banana museum, a water funpark, an iceskating rink, a candy workshop, just to name a few of the ancillary attractions. Indeed, it was such a hit, that it spawned dozens of other copycat villages around Australia, each making themselves home to a different big ugly plastic statue (e.g. the Big Shrimp which we later saw in Ballina).
The other interesting sight in Coffs Harbour was Muttonbird Island, a small island in the harbour that you can actually walk out to, thanks to the jetty. It is the nesting site for hundreds of muttonbirds, who have burrowed into the island so thoroughly that if you stray off the track, your first step is likely to cause a burrow to collapse, killing its feathered occupants (and twisting your ankle). Unfortunately this is exactly what happened in 1970, when the royal yacht Queen Elizabeth II came to Australia and people realised that the best vantage point for watching it pass by the coast happened to be the island; nearly all the chicks born in that year died that day... But if you stick to the path (which people seemed to do), it’s a great spot for viewing the ocean and getting a bit of morning exercise at the same time to walk up the steep hill.
Morning walkers on Muttonbird Island above Coffs Harbour
As I reluctantly waved good-bye to the Big Banana and we headed North, there seemed to be an exit from the highway every 5kms to yet another beach, the difficult thing is deciding which ones to actually go visit; otherwise you will never make it to your destination. We made a stop in Yamba, a sleepy beach town at the end of a peninsula which is one of the popular spots with families. The beach is stunning and the place has it all for a quite holiday in this hidden corner of the world.
Yamba beach views
From Yamba we kept going on the Hinterland Road until Ballina, which is a more family-friendly version of Byron Bay at the mouth of a river with nice waves for surfing. More importantly it is also home to the previously mentioned and recently replaced Big Shrimp, where, of course, I had to have my picture taken!
You know that you are nearing Byron Bay when it seems that every second car you see is a camper van. Byron Bay started out as the premier New Age / hippie location in Australia, and due partly to this atmosphere as well as the great climate, beaches and waves, it soon became the "must-see" stop for backpackers visiting Australia - hence the crowds.
Surfers at Byron Bay
Due to the immense size of the country, and the rudimentary public transportation options, the most popular option for backpackers is to buy or rent a campervan and drive from Melbourne or Sydney up to Cairns ("only" 3700km) at your own pace; while still expensive compared to Southeast Asia, it is also a cost-conscious way to explore the continent since you don't have to pay extra for accommodation. I don't think I've ever seen a tenth as many campervans in my life as in those 5 days - they were in every single parking spot in the city! The thousands of campers who descend on places such as Byron Bay are actually causing problems for locals - think of hygiene (their only two options are the public toilets on the beach, which weren't designed to this capacity, or "baños naturales" (as they eloquently phrased it in South America), parking and anti-social behaviour. So a lot of the most popular cities have made it illegal to park overnight in the public parking spaces, pushing the backpackers to either paid camping spots with proper facilities or designated free areas at the edge of town. Besides the campervan crowd, Byron Bay has also gone upmarket in recent years, and lots of Australian celebrities have a "little" house in Byron Bay too - so there was a very interesting mix of people there!
We agreed that while we were definitely willing to try a campervan road trip for our next sabbatical (possibly a Darwin-Perth trip along the West cost), this time we went for an option only halfway in between: plain old camping with a tent. Despite booking last-minute, we managed to find a spot for our tent at the misleadingly named Glen Villa Resort at an amazing location: in a quiet green park, only 5 minutes from the village centre and 10 minutes walk from the beach. We would recommend it to anyone with similar plans - the only quirk to it is there are a couple of retired residents who appear to be living there permanently, but there was always a good mix of passing travellers too.
Byron Bay has plenty of things for you to do besides chilling on the beautiful, several miles-long beach (which you can only really do in the early morning or late afternoon as it very quickly becomes unbearably hot during the day in summer). Some of the highlights from our few days:
Take a seaside walk to Cape Byron (the Easternmost point in Australia) and the Cape Byron lighthouse, which takes around 2 hours in total. The volunteers at the lighthouse are happy to give a guided tour (sadly we just missed it) or tell you about the whales which migrate past the cape every year. On your way to the lighthouse you will pass the Easternmost point of Australia. What is even better, you can see groups of dolphins swimming around the peninsula who are not shy to get close to swimmers and paddle boarders!
Visit one of the many markets in Byron Bay, which are usually centred around food, arts and crafts, clothes or meditation. We tried the market on the beach, as well as the Farmers' market - both had delicious food and some home and locally-made delicacies! According to the local papers the Byron Bay Farmers' market has been voted as the best in New South Wales!
Go diving at Julian's Rocks, which has been a Marine Reserve for 40+ years, and is a spot to rival the Great Barrier Reef from what we've heard - plus it's only a 10-minute speedboat ride away from the shore. The location is at the confluence of a warm and a cold ocean current, which is why such varied marine life is visible. We went for the early morning dive starting at 08:00 where marine life is more active, and we weren't disappointed - we saw a manta ray, dozens of sting rays and wobbegong sharks, as well as several leopard sharks, turtles and humongous groupers. Sundive Diving Centre had a very professional organisation with multiple boats per day, but it was a bit surprising to see a "mass-production" diving centre with tours going out to the water every 2nd hour or so, after all the customised ones we tried in the developing world.
Visit the Harvest Restaurant and deli for lunch in Newry, a one-street village with fewer than 20 houses, all of which are geared towards visitors, including two antique stores and cafes. The restaurant in the village has the oldest (107-year old) wood-fired oven in the country, which they are happy to show to interested visitors. On the Hinterland road we also discovered a few other local restaurants with live music and local families, a real authentic countryside experience which we loved!
Visit to Newry and other small villages on the Hinterland road
View on the Hinterland road
Relax! Go for an early morning walk on the beach to see the sunrise and and enthusiastic surfers, joggers and dog-walkers. Then have a morning croissant and coffee while reading the local news (spoiler: the olive lady is retiring from the Farmer's market, and there are several other "big happenings" in the countryside!)
Take a scenic drive through the pastures and farms of the Hinterlands on your way to Minyon Falls in the Nightcap National Park. It's a gorgeous 100m waterfall with the possibility to do a variety of treks around it, and is in the Southernmost tropical rainforest on the East coast if you're heading up from Sydney.
Attend one of the more esoteric festivals, like the week-long yoga festival with side performances by shamans and light-language speakers. After reading the bios of one of the presenters, I was severely tempted to attain a similar qualification just so I could call myself a Galactic Shaman too - that must be the coolest LinkedIn profile ever! There was also a Taste of Love festival (age limit 30+) shortly after we left, with agenda items like Ecstatic Tantric Dancing, Sex, God and Cellulite, The Sacred Art of Stripping (separate sessions for men and women) and Genital Show and Tell (!). Renata did consider that the event being right after her 30th birthday might be a sign from above - but I must admit that we ended up skipping both of these events in the end. However, if someone feels the temptation to learn more, the festival will be back in 2018 - perhaps due to its success this year?!
All in all, Byron Bay is a great place for a break even for the more active travellers amongst you, as there are plenty of sidetrips and activities to keep you occupied for a week. At the same time, its special vibe of backpackers, campers and cafes create a unique atmosphere that's quite different from everything we've seen so far in Australia!
Unfortunately, these 6 days also marked the end of our summer vacation (the period when most companies close and send employees off for a mandatory break), so it was time to head back to Sydney. Luckily, we had a trip to Melbourne planned over the Australia Day long weekend within a couple of weeks, so we knew we would be able to road again soon!