Monday 8 August 2011

NSW North Coast gets a big tick from Lonely Planet

Lonely Planet has just released its latest guidebook, East Coast Australia Travel Guide, and the NSW North Coast gets what could be termed a rave review:

Nowhere on the East Coast conjures up the beach-cum-nature-cum-good times quite like Byron Bay. Its unique mix of leisure and energy is infectious and those who visit seldom go home complaining – if they go home at all.
But if Byron is the heartbeat, the surrounding hinterland (with its green hills and national parks) and north coast (stretching north to Tweed Heads and south almost to Port Macquarie) are the blood that keeps it pumping. Byron might bring them here, but it’s the breathtaking vistas, endless white sands and blue-hued breaks that tempt travellers further afield to little coastal towns like Yamba and Crescent Head. And when the sand between your toes starts getting up your nose, national parks are scattered amid the rich deltas of mighty rivers; and villages like Bangalow and Bellingen, with sublime food and organic produce, tempt both alternative-lifestylers and city slickers. This really is the good life.

Those of us who live here know how lucky we are. Still, it is pleasing to see our own views reflected back in word pictures such as these:

Filling your days and nights in exciting Byron Bay….Enjoying the artful village charms of Bellingen…. Losing yourself on the untrodden beaches near Wooli….Exploring hinterland villages, including the Channon….Finding treasures in markets like the one at Nimbin….Taking in the fauna and flora of ancient Gondwana rainforests in the far north hinterland….Surfing with dolphins at Pippi’s beach in Yamba….Dining in one of a huddle of fabulous restaurants in tiny Bangalow….Eating fresh shucked oysters on the beach in Crescent Head….Getting your fill of the beautiful Clarence River in a beer garden in Ulmarra.

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