escapes
Holidays, hotels and insider travel news
Tallow Beach
DESTINATION GUIDE
By Bay Love 4 ways to get the most out of Northern New South Wales. By Ric Stockfis
Bangalow
The Roadhouse
D
owntown Byron Bay may no longer be quite the laidback, hippy-dippy enclave it once was, but all the backpackers in the world can’t spoil the natural beauty of this part of the coast and its hinterland. Unlike the neighboring Gold Coast, you’re never far from stunning ocean views, rolling countryside, sleepy townships and some ridiculously good meals. Here are the best ways to soak it all in.
com.au). Mullimbimby, with a counterculture reputation to rival Byron, is even more sedate. Milk and Honey (59a Station St., +61 2 6684 1422, http:// milkandhoneymullumbimby.com.au) serves some of the country’s best pizzas.
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Freakishly good food
Byron is the epitome of the healthconscious, outdoors Aussie lifestyle, with even the gnarliest old surfers knocking back gluten-free pancakes and kombucha tea after their pre-dawn patrol. But the sheer enthusiasm for living well means that what could come off as preachy is in fact all rather fun. Case in point: The Roadhouse (6/142 Bangalow Rd., +61 4 0335-5498, www. facebook.com/TheRoadhouseByronBay), whose hipster crew of fermenters and foragers “dedicate their lives to sourcing the highest grade, naturally grown local produce” but also stock the largest whisky collection in the country and turn the place into a serious bar after dark. We had a lot of good meals across Byron (with Harvest in Newrybar (www.harvestcafe.com.au) deserving of special mention), but nothing that came close to dinner here. Marvell Street Roasters (2 Marvell St., +61 4 02912465, www.marvellstreet.com) is great for coffee, if you happen to be downtown.
Marvell Street Roasters
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Arcadia House
Fantastic farmers markets
You can’t bring it home with you, but there’s nothing to stop you gorging on fresh produce straight from the source. Byron hosts its own farmers market on Butler Street every Thursday morning, but the real action is out in the townships of Bangalow (every Saturday morning on Byron Street) and Mullimbimby (every Friday morning at the Show Grounds). Bangalow is a charming—and now rather chi chi—hamlet 20 minutes by car, so popular that you’ll have to fight for a brunch table at Utopia Cafe (13 Byron St., +61 2 6687-2088, www.utopiacafe.
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SG MAGAZINE FRIDAY, APRIL 24, 2015
Byron Bay
Multiple music festivals
Aside from the sheer frequency with which festivals take place, the setting and the acts they draw are remarkable. Highlights include Byron Bay Bluesfest in April (www.bluesfest. com.au), this year headlined by Lenny Kravitz and The Black Keys; the three-day Splendour in the Grass in July (www. splendourinthegrass.com), which last year hosted Outkast (AC/DC is rumored to be up this year); and the smaller, alternative Mullum Music Festival in Mullimbimby in November (www.mullummusicfestival. com).
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ESSENTIALS
Amazing wildlife
Byron is Australia’s easternmost point (it’s open ocean all the way from here to Chile) and the waters around here teem with marine life. Humpback whales migrate right past the Cape Byron headland, and Whale Watching Byron Bay (9 Marvell St., 1 800 243 483, www. byronbaywhalewatching.com.au) offers guaranteed sightings on 12-person boat expeditions from June to November (89AUD ($94) per person). Even just walking around Cape Byron, we watched a pod of dolphins playing close to shore for half an hour. To get even closer to the action, join a scuba or snorkel trip out to the nearby Julian Rocks, rated one of the top five dive spots in all of Australia and home to more than 1,000 species of fish, including leopard sharks and nurse sharks, as well as three species of turtle. Sundive (Shop 8, 9-11 Byron St., 1800 008 755, www. sundive.com.au) heads out there daily, with dives starting at 95AUD ($100), including equipment hire.
Scoot
GETTING THERE Scoot (www.flyscoot.com) is the only airline to fly direct from Singapore to the Gold Coast, with overnight flights every Friday and Saturday. It’s a 7.5 hour flight, followed by an easy 45-minute drive to Byron. Return flights start from around $425 including taxes. WHERE TO STAY Book ahead, as Byron gets very full at weekends. We really liked Arcadia House (48 Cowper St., +61 2 6680-8699, www. arcadiahousebyron.com.au), a beautiful, whitewashed old Queenslander (the raised timber bungalows characteristic of NSW) in Old Byron, a 10-minute walk from the beach and from town. Rates start from 135AUD ($142)/night. More upmarket, and only a short stroll from the stunning sunsets of Tallow Beach, is the rainforestencircled The Byron at Byron Resort and Spa (800 321 -1098, www.smithhotels. com/luxury-hotels/the-byron-at-byronresort-and-spa), where rates start from $318 excluding tax. VISA Visitors from most countries need to apply for a visa before their trip. Europeans are eligible for the free eVisitor pass, while Singaporeans, Americans and certain other nationalities can apply for an ETA. Find out more at www.immi.gov.au. EXCHANGE RATE 1AUD = $1.05.