Byron Bay: Nature’s Golden Secret

The Artist's Ideal
The powers of words are amazing, especially when you're being convinced to spend your hard-earned money on a vacation that will "change your life!" Whether it will, or not, remains to be seen. In some cases, however, it's not about a change of life. It's just about a chance to get away from all the hustle and bustle of the daily drag; to experience the bliss of natural perfection.

Dandy-Cinos
So what's so special about Byron Bay? Maybe its sense of detachment - or, perhaps better phrased - a timeless cliché nestled in an area and community driven by requirement, instead of pathogenic want. It's a place where John "Strop" Cornell - proprietor of the Beach Hotel - sells his dandelion cappuccinos ('Dandy-cinos', if you were to order). He also happens to sell boutique beer; something not so much out of the ordinary until you take into account that Byron Bay has, for some time, been a magnet for writers as well as other artistic types that have added to the whimsical wonder of the area. And lest we forget the hippie communes that settled in the area prior to - and more prominently after - the Aquarius Festival held in Nimbin, 1973.

The culture of a place does say a lot about its inhabitants, but more about the scenic artistry that fuels their inspiration. While the rolling hills and valleys might be reminiscent of Wales, England, the beaches of Byron Bay remain singular, even in comparison to other Australian beaches. Not only are most of them still wild and unspoilt, but they provide the ultimate bucolic life has to offer.

The Secluded Beach
Main Beach is arguably Byron Bay's most active beach, drawing locals and visitors in their multitudes. Adjacent to Main Beach (notwithstanding a sense of irony) is Belongil Beach, running from Main Beach car park all the way past Belongil Creek. It's one of the seaside locations Byron Bay has to offer that has the ability to enchant: just walk a couple of minutes and you'll feel the unity of yourself with nature; nothing but wild beach that stretches on for miles without any indication of civilisation. Evidence of this beautiful seclusion is perhaps best noted in the fact that Belongil Creek plays home to a colony of rare Little Terns (which you are advised to avoid for the sake of preservation).

The War
Pay attention to some of the most current environment-related issues propagated throughout the media, and it becomes easy to point the finger. At ourselves, no less.

Byron Bay's biggest charm, nature and art aside, lies in the fact that the local residents have begun fighting to preserve this unique aesthetic which has made their community and area what it is today. This, in spite of a number of lucrative development opportunities that will no doubt have a beneficial pecuniary incentive; this, in spite of global trends where towns, cities, states and countries are under constant pressure to do away with the old and make way for the new.

The eastern-most point of Australia can perhaps be classified as a 'peculiar' place, stuck in the sands of time. But it is this quality that will, without a doubt, make it one of the few remaining locations that will serve as evidence of our beautiful natural heritage. If this doesn’t provide enough reason to make this, at the very least, a once in a lifetime destination, then nothing else will.

Byron Bay has a lot to offer in terms of beaches and activities. But there’s a little more to this place located at the most easterly point of Australia than meets the eye. The Artist’s Ideal, Secluded Beaches and more…