Byron Bay
Sharyn Cairns / Tourism New South Wales

Highlights

Byron Bay

Byron Bay’s excellent beaches, laid-back feel and great weather have long made it a hideaway for surfers, backpackers and alternative lifestylers. The town centre has a vast array of restaurants, cafes, New Age shops, galleries, day spas, yoga centres and natural therapy parlours. Byron also hosts many great events, such as the Bluesfest over Easter. You can stand at Australia’s most easterly point at the tip of Cape Byron, and, during the cooler months, watch for migrating humpback whales offshore.

Holiday coast

The combination of excellent weather and pristine beaches makes this region popular with visitors year-round. Visit family-friendly Tweed Heads on the Queensland border, or the fishing towns of Iluka and Yamba, great for their fresh seafood. Iluka is also worth a visit for the World Heritage–listed Iluka Nature Reserve, which contains the largest area of coastal rainforest in New South Wales and is great for birdwatching and walking.

Mount Warning National Park

The summit of Mt Warning is the first place in Australia to be lit by the morning sun, being the highest point along Australia’s eastern ledge. A bushwalking track leads up from the carpark through pockets of subtropical and warm–temperate rainforest. The park is World Heritage–listed and the mountain itself is the plug of one of the world’s oldest volcanoes, which stretches as far as Cape Byron.

Grafton

This picturesque rural town, with a number of 19th-century buildings, is best known for its beautiful civic landscaping, particularly for the mature jacaranda trees with their vivid purple springtime blossom. Located on the Clarence River, Grafton is also a busy centre for watersports, including whitewater rafting and canoeing.

Focus On: Rainforest

The region’s tropical heat and humidity create the perfect conditions for lush rainforest, which is the largest remaining area of rainforest in New South Wales. With rainforest comes abundant wildlife, especially native reptiles and mammals, and tours can be arranged through the National Parks and Wildlife Service. Kyogle is known as the ‘gateway to the rainforests’ as it is almost completely surrounded by them; nearby Border Ranges National Park is a forest full of gorges, creeks and waterfalls. The stunning swimming hole of Wanganui Gorge, west of Mullumbimby, is surrounded by rainforest and strangler figs, and Rotary Rainforest Reserve is 6 hectares of rainforest in the centre of Lismore.