Road trip: Ballina and Tweed Head Hinterlands

Dubbed the Rainbow Region, Lismore is famous for its Tropical Fruits Festival: a GLBTI celebration, as well as its rich cultural life reflected in the number of art galleries, theatres, performing art spaces and markets. Discover outdoor sculptures along the riverbank on the Wilsons River Experience Walk. A great way to experience the town’s galleries - and vintage and recycling markets on weekends - is on the Arts, Vintage and Retro Trail, a delightful walk that includes street art and the Lismore Regional Gallery.

Note: Event Cinemas (Member benefit below) are currently closed due to COVID-19 restrictions.

A diner almost untouched since it opened in 1932, take a trip down memory lane in the oldest cafe in town 'Mecca Cafe'. A licensed cafe offering indoor or outdoor dining right in the heart of Lismore CBD.

If you fancy a relaxed evening and a trip to the cinema, visit BCC Cinemas Lismore and relax.

A macadamia and avocado farm set in the rolling hills of the Alstonville Plateau, Summerland House Farm's founder, Lionel Watts, also created the House with no steps after having contracted polio and being left a quadriplegic. With the farm’s stately avenues of macadamia trees, it employs mostly disabled workers. Take a look at the farm's wide array of activities and visit its museum, then follow with lunch in their café to sample the famous Macado Salad.

Next point your car to the village of Clunes, a picturesque and laid-back town, where you’ll step back into the gold rush era, with streetscapes straight out of a colonial history book. Make a pit stop at Doma Café and sip a latte to the sound of chiming bellbirds and the bush punctuation marks of a whipbird.

Wind further up into the hinterland and then make our way down to Byron Bay. Park up and stroll to the beach to admire Byron’s breathtaking beauty and the spectacular lighthouse perched above the town like a sentinel.

Catch a Crab is a river adventure tour is a river cruise activity which sees its passengers catch crabs, pump yabbies and reel in fish, before returning to land for a seafood feast. Gorge on mud crabs as big as truck wheels and slurp freshly shucked oysters.

Take a detour into the sub-tropical hinterland in the Northern Rivers, where you'll find rolling hills, pristine rainforest, secluded waterfalls and spectacular views. Head to the Crystal Castle at Mullumbimby – you’ll get beautiful views, awesome food, and some crystal healing. Don't forget to stop by the chic-coastal kitchen The Kingswood for a glass of natural and low intervention wine, as well as a few share plates.

A lazy meandering drive away from Byron Bay is the pretty village of Tyalgum. It’s a magical place with cafés, artisans, music festivals and smiling denizens. A sign above an arts and crafts shop explains: “Tyalgum is my Tuscany”. At Flutterbies Cafe, with its French linen, fresh flowers and vintage crockery, enjoy the legendary flutterby cake. The turn-of-the-century tea room also houses a gift shop specialising in shabby chic.