One of the most popular holiday destinations in on the east coast,Byron Bay is a gathering place for surfers, travellers,young families, hippies, or anyone seeking a relaxed and alternativeatmosphere amid some delightful climate and scenery.
Apart from the golden beaches with perfect breaks which has made Byrona surfing mecca since the sixties, the town itself has a mixture oftrendy cafes and restaurants, alternative boutiques, surf stores, pubsand clubs. There's a healthy live music scene, a huge range of accommodation, and a variety of activities from hang gliding tolearning to trapeze! Competition for tourist dollars is high making theregion predominantly good value, however the area does get packed during high season so book ahead.
Inland and in the hills, the once declining dairy town of Nimbin has never beenthe same since the Aquarius Festival in 1973, encouraging people toget back to the land. Now an active alternative centre with numerouscommunes in the area, it's a unique place to come and experience thecounterculture movement.
In town and following the alternative theme are several cafes, a museum, art and craft stalls, and apermaculture garden. A good opportunity to mingle with the superfriendly locals is at the dances and festivals held throughout the year. The most famous of these is the Marijuana Harvest Ball at theend of April. Out of town, the countryside is spectacular. Nightcap National Park is close by and contains a number picturesque walks including the historic Nightcap Track, which has some particularly superbviews over the western end of the range.
Back on the coast and about twenty kilometres north of Byron is theseaside village of Brunswick Heads. Set on the mouth of theBrunswick River, the area is well known for it's excellent fishing, good surfing and swimming conditions. Not far from it's busier and better known 
