On the coast 180 km south of Brisbane. Many moons ago Byron Bay was an ordinary little dot on the map, with just a few nondescript wooden houses, an abattoir and a pub. Then the nearby beaches were discovered by the surfers. After them came the hippies – attracted by the laid-back atmosphere and the climate (relaxingly warm in the winter, and really too warm to do anything except ‘dig them vibes, man’, in the summer). Vegetarian cafes, cool music joints (as well as other sorts of joints) and meditation centres became the order of the day.  The hippies were soon joined by all manner of alternative Australians, hippies who hadn’t realized that hippies were meant to be extinct, straightforward pleasureseekers, and other parody lifestylists. Ironically, the place was then finally ‘discovered’ by people who had made a fortune out of parodying Australian lifestyles – for instance the soap star Paul Hogan lived there until 2013.

Byron Bay remains very much a pillar of alternative Australia, though during the summer it attracts young people of all kinds, some of whom aspire to a hipness they wouldn’t dare adopt back at the office in Sydney, and many others who simply aspire to a youth which all too evidently departed a decade or two ago. Music festivals like Splendour in the Grass and Bluesfest are not to be missed if you enjoy this sort of thing. All this makes Byron Bay a pleasant laid-back spot. The soap starlets mingle all but unrecognized amongst those who pretend they’ve never seen a soap in their life, and everyone contentedly goes about their daily lack of business. Though how long this magic mix will continue is anybody’s guess. The beaches in the region are so beautiful, and the area so ripe for exploitation: for many years now plans for development have been in place, with bids from Club Med and Becton, but the most current proposal is for an eco-resort of 75 cabins, a central resort facility, environment centre and possibly a light rail service into town.

To the horror of some local purists, there are still plenty of things to do in Byron Bay which don’t involve hours on end in the lotus position. The best nearby surfing spots are at The Pass (about 1 km east of town in the direction of Cape Byron), and beyond at Watego’s Beach, where you can often see dolphins. There are several shops in town where you can hire a board, as well as a wetsuit. Adrenalin-addicts will also be attracted to Byron Head for the hang-gliding. If you haven’t tried it before, and you really want to know what an ‘adrenalin rush’ means, contact Flight Zone (www.flightzone.com.au/tandem.html), which operates tandem flights where you can gibber with terror beside someone who claims to know what he’s doing, high above the beauties of the world you have left far behind.

A marginally less suicidal ambience can be experienced on white-water rafting trips down the Nymboida River further down the coast. Contact one of one of the guided river trip operators – www.rafting.com/australia/new-south-wales/nymboida-river for details of expeditions, which take place between November and May. After all this you may well feel like visiting Relax Haven (Suite 3, 107 Jonson Street) or Buddha Garden’s Day Spa, close to the beach, for an assisted chill-out.

A couple of kilometres or so offshore are Julian Rocks, the best diving spot on this stretch of the coast. For information about trips and equipment, contact Byron Bay Dive Centre (www.byronbaydivecentre.com.au).

On the first Sunday of the month there’s a market at Butler Street, on the other side of the railway, where you can pick up a suitably exotic range of alternative bargains or bargain alternatives for things you probably never needed in the first place. Either way, it’s great fun. See also Cape Byron.