The Alchemy Experiment: May 2013

We arrive at Byron Bay on a beautifully sunny late April weekend and it certainly doesn't feel like Autumn on the far North Coast of New South Wales. Byron Bay is one of those holiday destinations that has something for everyone - excellent surf beaches, great breakfast spots, a quaint shopping strip if that's your thing, music festivals to rival anywhere in the world, and some cool laid back bars and restaurants. Staying at Cavvanbah Beach House where you can access Belongil beach via a bush-track almost at your back door, it is roughly 8 minutes walk to Byron Main Beach along the beach, or if you are feeling less Bo Derek-like, around 10-15 minutes on foot.

Cavvanbah Beach House

Bush track to Belongil Beach across the road

Private balcony to relax and enjoy the Ocean breeze

I can't recommend Cavvanbah Beach House highly enough. The owners, Jeff and Stephen are generally pottering around the place, they are there if you need them but otherwise unobtrusive. They come from a foodie background, and Stephen makes a lot of the breakfast from scratch - like toasted muesli so good you would hold downward facing dog pose all day long for. He serves it with organic yoghurt and poached seasonal fruits. There are always a couple of thick slices of bread to toast which he sources from an organic bakery in town and some fresh fruit, juice and coffee. He mixes it up daily too, so you don't get bored. Byron Bay is a pricey holiday destination - so to have breakfast included in your stay is a bonus.

A great Byron way to start the day

Deliciously nutritious

Our balcony spot set up to enjoy a hearty breakfast

A stay in Byron Bay is not complete without a trip to the Lighthouse at Cape Byron headland and having your photo taken at the most easterly point of the Australian mainland. It takes around 2.5 hours and there are a hell of a lot of steps, I mean of course you could drive there, but in such an idyllic setting with the most magical views of the peninsula, I'll take the walk every time.

You are spoilt for great beaches in Byron - don't be boring and just stick to Main Beach. We headed to Tallow Beach - which is great if you don't have small children and are a strong swimmer, cos there ain't no beach patrol. Another great spot is Lennox Head which is around 20 minutes drive from Byron and it's also less remote than Tallow Beach.

Do you like burgers? I am a bit of a burger afficionado. When I was a kid and came home from a swim at the beach with my Dad, my Mum would make me a peanut butter sandwich. Nowadays, I choose the burger option. "The Top Shop" a bakery + cafe up on Patterson's Hill at 65 Carlyle St Byron, is the grouse when it comes to burgers. The place used to be a milk-bar, and so it's amazing to see how the new owners have transformed it into an Old Spice Guy meets sun-kissed surfer kind of place. Ingredients are sourced from markets locally, and the sourdough and pastries are made on the premises, so while you are eating your haloumi burger with your eco-friendly cutlery and shaking the salt water out of your hair, feel good knowing you are helping to reduce the carbon footprint, man.

Do you like live entertainment? Head over to the Railway Hotel on Jonson St, where the beers are cold, and the music, is well, live. They have bands or solo artists play 7 nights a week, and it could be hit or miss dependent on who is playing on the night. The night we were there, there was a female artist who sang a very ordinary version of Melissa Etheridge's "Bring me some water" and a massacring of Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car" replete with bongo drums. Did I mention the beers were cold?

If cocktails are your thing, then it's "The Balcony Bar" on Lawson St for you, but don't dawdle as it fills up quickly just prior to sunset - which might be because it is a lovely spot to sit and watch the sun go down over Byron Bay or more likely because they have happy hour between 4-6pm where cocktails are $10.00, wine $6.50 a glass and Coronas are $6.00.

If you are hungry and in the mood for Mexican you have two choices, OzyMex at 8 Jonson St, or Miss Margarita at 2 Jonson St (across from the Beach Hotel bottle shop). OzyMex carries the full range of Byron Bay Chili Company sauces to buy, and is more a takeaway or quick snack kind of place rather than a sit-down service restaurant. But the servings are big.

Miss Margarita is fun and funky. And their taco combinations are really, really tasty. At lunch they do 2 tacos for $12.00 or 3 tacos for $15.00 or $18.00 with a Corona - we liked it so much we ate there twice.

I have always wanted to try stand up paddle boarding - or "SUP" as the cool kids call it. I googled a couple of places, and contacted the other company who never called or emailed me back, before finding OZSUP and gave them a call. They were really helpful, and I spoke to "Seppy" who runs the Byron Bay arm. Seppy is a typical Byron Bay dude, just super casual, friendly and nothing is too much trouble, mate. We booked a time and he told us to meet him at "The Pirate Ship" - opposite the Hotel Brunswick in Brunswick Heads. Looking for a Captain Jack Sparrow look-alike, the skies above were grey and threatening. The Heavens had opened earlier that morning in Byron Bay, and we thought the lesson might need to be cancelled. We found Seppy (who looked more like Geoffrey Rush as Hector Barbossa) on board chillin in his pirate hood. He was pretty confident the weather would hold out, and luckily a cancelled booking meant Silent Diner and I pretty much had our own private lesson.

We had an awesome time during the paddle, it being so peaceful and serene out on the river - and we even managed to see a couple of eagles flying high and pelicans cruising the water. It was however a different story on the way back, when just rounding the bend back in towards the pirate ship the wind whipped up and it started to spit down. It was like paddling on the spot there for a while. Luckily the wind eventually died down and we made it back in time to practice a a pivot turn Seppy said we should master before we finished. This is really trick-talk for "you will most definitely fall in the water if you haven't already". Now wet, but happy and thankful we remembered to bring a change of clothes. If you are thinking of SUP then give Seppy AHOY at the Pirate Ship on 0431 381 463.

There is so much to do in Byron, and I really never tire of the place. How about snorkelling at Julian Rocks Marine Park? No problem, Byron Bay Dive Centre has you covered. You simply pick the a dive time and book online or over the phone and then meet them at their dive shop at 9 Marvel St, Byron Bay. From there, you will get kitted out with snorkel and mask, flippers and wetsuit and head to Clark's Beach in their 4WD - the only labour intensive stuff is actually jumping in the water once you get to the actual rocks which is approximately 2.5km off shore.

There are so many fish to see, including sea turtles, leopard sharks and wobbegongs and the dive centre has a really comprehensive map of fish species, so on your return you can pinpoint the types of fish you have seen. Silent Diner still traumatised after watching Jaws one too many times as a kid, wondered why they included a picture of a great white shark. It was only after dive, he did some google-search (formerly known as research) and discovered a diver was taken in 1993 by a great white in the area. I am not sure I will get Silent Diner in the water again.

I had done my foodie research before we arrived, and decided yes, we really did need to travel the 30 minutes by car to Mullumbimby for wood-fired pizza. Is Milk and Honey the best feature of this two-pub town? Well the Rainbow Lorikeets that perch high in the date palms at dusk and screech and squawk amongst themselves like a gaggle of old ladies at bingo seem to like the place, so I suppose not. In fairness, the town actually seems to have a growing organic and bio-dynamic food movement, and any place that honors and supports its various local food sources has my respect. Milk and Honey is one of those places where you experience lots of "ooh" and "aah" moments, a bit like Meg Ryan in When Harry met Sally. You look at the table next to you, and tend to want what they're having.

No half and half - this place is the real deal

Milk and Honey serve Hot Chilli Oil in a jar with their pizzas, and that stuff is I'm-getting-down-on-my-knees-praise-be-to-Jesus good. Dried red chilli flakes swimming in extra virgin olive oil. Lord give me a fix of Hot Chili Oil salvation every day of the week!

Fennel and garlic salami pizza

Milk and Honey source their ingredients from local farmers markets and cured meats from local producer Billinudgel. What's great to see from the open plan kitchen is a lot of the raw produce, like whole pumpkins, being sliced and diced during service. It's as paddock to plate as you hope to make it.

Poached peaches with almond semi-freddo

So how good is Milk and Honey you ask? Well, good enough that Silent Diner and I drove the 30 minutes back to Mullumbimby a second night for dinner. Oh by the way, see that baked beetroot salad with green beans, endive, fetta and lemon? Well it was so good we ordered it twice.