Brimming with good food, great distilleries and humpback whales, there’s far more to see and do in Byron Bay than surfing, writes Megan Wilson.
The last time I was in Byron Bay was for New Year’s 2017 when I was intending to stay for a few nights. Emphasis on intending.
My best friend and I were staying in a large teepee - a shared dormitory but in a tent - and were excited to party and try surfing.
Instead, I remember putting in earplugs to deafen myself against the loud music outside so I could sleep, getting incredibly sick with the flu and calling my Aunty in the Gold Coast to come and pick me up.
Needless to say, I missed the New Year’s Eve celebrations.
After arriving at Ballina Airport on a delayed flight from Sydney, I am ravenous. Revelling in how warm it was (21 degrees and sunny in the middle of winter), I removed my socks from my socks-Birkenstocks combo and headed straight to Balcony Bar and Oyster Co in Byron Bay.
The Balcony Bar and Oyster Co in Byron Bay. Photo / Mia Forrest
My companions and I are welcomed to our table on the balcony where the sun is beaming on us. I decide it’s a good idea to accept a cocktail despite not having eaten in six hours. It’s called “She’s a Pearler” - a delicious mix of a locally distilled white rum from Husk, gin from local distillery Brookie’s, grapefruit and thyme shrub, lemon juice and aquafaba. Paired with a dozen oysters, my annoyance at the delayed flight instantly evaporates.
I order the Byron Bay distillery vodka battered fish and chips and try many of the sharing plates on our table, including the grilled king prawns with garlic, chilli and miso butter and a Moreton Bay bug lettuce cup. Having no idea what the latter was, I’m told it’s similar to a lobster and to just try it because it’s delicious. And that it is.
Since it’s icecream weather, we head to Bella Rosa Gelateria. Taking my lychee sorbet to the beach, it looks like summer here. The beachfront bars are packed with people in shorts and enjoying afternoon beers, a guitarist is playing an Ed Sheeran song in front of people sitting on picnic blankets on a grassed area by the beach, and people are swimming.
That afternoon, I check into the Crystalbrook Byron for two nights and the next morning, we have a lunch reservation in Kingscliff - about an hour’s drive north of Byron Bay.
But we want to see the Cape Byron lighthouse, so we drive about 10 minutes from our accommodation to get there and go for a walk. It’s windy but beautiful - the dark blue ocean blends into a lighter turquoise colour as it breaks against the cliffs. To my astonishment, we see several whales jumping out of the ocean in the distance and crashing on their backs into the water. They’re everywhere - at four or five different spots from where we can see. I’m told it’s common to see whales between May and November as they migrate north.
The scallop and Iluka school prawn "not burger" at Fins Restaurant and Bar in Kingscliff, New South Wales. Photo / Megan Wilson
We drive to Fins Restaurant and Bar - a fine dining seafood restaurant but in a casual setting - of which Steven Snow is the owner and head chef. Our waiter tells us Snow lived in Portugal and based the rustic interior design of the restaurant on a boat, using recycled wood from Bali. From the two-course menu, I order the scallop and Iluka school prawn “not burger” - stuffed scallops which were incredible - and a vegetarian gnocchi.
Our final stop is Husk Distillers and considering how remote we were, I was expecting something small and underwhelming. Instead, I see a huge, fancy brick building with people sitting and drinking on the lawn. We partake in a gin and rum tasting before taking a tour of the property.
Husk Distillers is about a 40-minute drive north of Byron Bay. Photo / Destination NSW
In my glass with the blue dry ink gin, I add tonic water, and to my surprise and glee, it instantly turns purple. We’re told this is because butterfly pea flowers are highly sensitive to pH and when tonic water (of low pH) is added, it changes colour. Their gin - made with 13 organic botanicals - is the first colour-changing spirit in the world.
My weekend in Byron Bay overlapped with the Splendour in the Grass festival. After seeing young partygoers lining up for their buses in town, I’m grateful my party days are behind me - and that there is far more to Byron than surfing and partying.
