Visit the Northern Rivers, Australia

This area stretches from the mighty Clarence River to Tweed Heads and out to the foothills of the Great Divide and offers endless beaches, rolling countryside dotted with quirky townships, rugged cattle country and deep river gorges that disappear into the mountains.

A somewhat eclectic mix of cultures has settled in this area. In Maclean you can trace the Scottish heritage of the town’s founders, while in New Italy, boatloads of shipwrecked Italians established a unique enclave in the bush, and at Byron Bay artisans and the establishment have created a bohemian yet sophisticated lifestyle.

Around the Northern Rivers

At Cape Byron the striking lighthouse marks Australia’s most easterly point and the many walking trails and lookouts present you with wonderful opportunities for spotting whales on their annual migration (July to October).

Mount Warning, a twisted ancient volcano which Captain Cook once used as a navigational aid, rises from the Tweed Valley and provides a marvellous lookout over the patchwork of sugar, tea and tropical fruit plantations; testimony to the fertility of the soil.

Tweed Heads, less flashy than its sister town of Coolangatta just a hop across the state border, symbolises the end of a journey within New South Wales and the beginning of the next in Queensland.