The Northern Rivers region of New South Wales covers the coastal and hinterland areas between Grafton in the south and Tweed Heads on the Queensland border. It is a diverse area, with fine beaches, wild world heritage-listed national parks and rainforest, lush, fertile farmland valleys laced with wide fish-filled rivers, and an array of interesting villages and regional centres. It is also a great place for a holiday drive — whatever the time of year.
The first thing you notice in Grafton is the trees. Towering, solid, stately trees, lining avenue after avenue. Most famous are the Jacarandas, celebrated each October in the annual Jacaranda Festival, but if you take the time to drive through the residential streets, you'll find avenues of fig, Illawarra Flame trees and a host of others — more than 6000 in fact.
From Grafton, you can head into the hills to the tiny hamlet of Nymboida. Blink and you'll miss it, but this is the place to try out some white water canoeing or rubber tubing. If lunch is more your style, drop into the Coaching Station Inn, a restored staging post for bullockies and Cobb and Co teams, that is now a hotel and restaurant.
Alternatively, you can head north east, along the banks of the Clarence River, to hit the coast at Yamba. You'll pass though lovely little villages like the historic 19th century river port of Ulmarra, once a thriving centre of river traffic, but now home to a collection of galleries, antique shops and craft stores. Maclean, 28 km further on, calls itself the Scottish town in Australia and many of the stores and street signs highlight the Scottish heritage of the village. Take a drive up to the lookout for great views of the township, river and valleys.
North of Maclean, the countryside is predominantly sugar cane, and the road follows the river to Yamba. For those that love fishing, this area is close to paradise. According to the locals, "virtually every fish you can catch" can be caught around here, in the river, off the beach or along the rock wall. Together, Yamba and the village of Iluka across the wide river mouth, is home to one of the biggest fishing fleets in the state. Pick a nice spot beside the river and watch the fleet go out at sunset. The 30-minute ferry trip across the bay to Iluka is one of the best value cruises around. Once in Iluka, visit the world heritage rainforest.
For some great picnic sites, head north to Evans Head, a sleepy little village at the mouth of the Evans River. For campers, there is a shady council-run caravan park facing both the mouth of the Evans River and the main beach — its kiosk cum café has million dollar views. Picnickers can choose from many shaded sites along the river bank, the lookout, or nearby at Dirawong Reserve, which is spectacular in spring when the headland is carpeted in wildflowers. Most sites have barbecues and tables. In the Dreamtime, the reserve area was the birthplace of the Bundjalung nation, who spread out to populate most of the Northern Rivers region.
From Evans Head, it is about a 30-minute drive to Ballina, this time, on the mouth of the Richmond River. Again, the beaches here are wonderful. Explore them on the walking and cycle track which hugs the coastline and along the river wall. The best time to do this is early morning, so you can stop halfway at one of the cafes on the beach for breakfast while you watch dolphins surf the waves only metres from your table.
On the northern outskirts of town, Thursday Plantation is the first commercial tea tree plantation in the world. The operation began some 20 years ago selling the hand-bottled and hand-labelled tea tree oil at The Channon markets, and has grown to now export to more than 28 countries. There are free tours of the plantation and factory. There is also a good cafe here, and you can spend a few hours wandering around the Melaleuca Maze, aromatic gardens, sculpture park and rainforest reserve. If the mosquitos get you in the rainforest, try some tea tree oil. It stops the itching and swelling in minutes.
Heading inland from Ballina, visit Alstonville and the Kolinda Gallery, or play a round of golf at Teven Golf course, before reaching Lismore. The information centre here has a good rainforest display and also some nice crafts. Keep an eye out for Lismore's roundabouts — 20 in all — each one has been landscaped to reflect aspects of the local environment and history.
Lismore is in the heart of the 'Rainbow Region', so-called for the numerous rainbows often seen in the area as well as symbolising the alternative lifestyle of villages such as Nimbin, where the shopfronts in the main street are decorated with colourful, psychedelic murals and there is a range of craft shops selling new age goods. Visit the Rainbow Power Company for a look at some interesting new technology for alternative power sources. Nearby, you can picnic at Rocky Creek Dam, or try some gourmet bush tucker at the Butter Factory Tavern in The Channon.
Take a short drive out from The Channon to Protestors Falls, site of one of the first conservationist protests in Australia. It’s a 15km drive along a gravel road (could be difficult if there has been recent rains) that tunnels through the rainforest. You’ll see massive tree ferns and tall trees festooned with staghorns and birdsnest ferns, and pass by small farms with cows munching contentedly in front yards. Once at the falls it’s a 10 minute walk to the cascades.
The Channon is also home to the famous Channon craft markets, the second Sunday of each month. If you miss the markets most stallholders move with the markets between Byron Bay, Nimbin, Bangalow and The Channon on alternate weekends.
There is a maze of local roads that wind through the valleys, in and out of pockets of rainforest, along ridge tops and through sleepy villages in this area. The views are fabulous and there are plenty of roadside stalls selling fresh fruit, vegies and macadamias. You can continue on to Murwillumbah and the Tweed from Nimbin, or return to Lismore and head north to Byron Bay via the Pacific Highway.
From Lismore, it's about a 30-minute drive to Byron Bay, Australia's most easterly point. Catch the sunrise at the lighthouse. Byron, as the locals call it, is full of cafés, restaurants and interesting shops. It is also a great place to watch whales between June and October. Each year at Easter it is home to the East Coast Blues Festival, one of the biggest Blues Festivals in the country. For more information about things to see and do in Byron check out our stories in the far north coast section
The Tweed Valley is ringed by the caldera of Mt Warning National Park and the world-heritage listed wilderness of Nightcap and Border Ranges. The valley was, 20 million years ago, a huge volcano. There are a number of scenic drives throughout the rainforest and valley, with some nice picnic areas. Visit the World Heritage Rainforest Centre in Murwillumbah for more information.
There’s not a lot of wilderness camping options in the popular national parks in this area but Border Ranges National Park has some great camping spots with nice swimming. Enjoy views and tall forests on the walking track network. The Tweed Scenic Drive (unsealed), a loop from Murwillumbah to Kyogle and Lismore is a highlight. There is car-based camping at Sheep Station Creek or Forest Tops. To get there drive 38 km west of Murwillumbah off the Summerland Way or Kyogle Road.
Make sure you visit the village of Dunoon, in the hills behind Nimbin. It bills itself as the ‘Macadamia Capital of the Universe’ and there are lots of roadside stalls where you can buy fresh macadamias – in and out of those impossibly hard-to-crack shells – for just a few dollars.
Byron is a great place to see whales. Humpback whales travel north from their Antarctic feeding grounds in pods of three or four and can sometimes put on spectacular displays of breaching with huge explosions of water marking their re-entry. They also generally breathe or blow three or four times before their tail comes out of the water to signal they are about to dive for the depths. It is amazing how far they can travel once they have dived (or sounded) and you often have to scan far ahead to see them again. They mate and calve once they have reached the warmer waters of the Coral Sea.
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