Byron Bay farm life
For a girl who grew up in the middle of Melbourne and the burbs of Perth, getting close to native wildlife on a daily basis is pure bliss. Watching wallabies dart across the drive on the school run is pretty co...
Byron’s Vintage Vendors
Byron is a magnet for vintage vendors selling everything from upscaled fashion (Miss Brown Vintage), recycled furniture, (Dirty Old Town) and retro-inspired bicycles (Vallkree). There's even an annual festival,...
Restoring Earth
A new grassroots documentary called ‘Restoring Earth,’ which highlights the interdependent relationship between healthy native vegetation and healthy food, will screen this Tuesday, April 5, at Byron Bay's Ston...
East Journey at Bluesfest
One of Australia’s most exciting Indigenous ‘supergroups’ will hit the Bluesfest stage tomorrow in a performance that promises to deliver a sizzling fusion of rock, reggae and ceremonial song poetry.
Hailing...
Balcony Bar & Oyster Co.
Celebrity Chef Sean Connolly (Astral, Sean’s Kitchen, The Morrison) has breathed new life into the top floor of Byron's landmark building on the corner of Lawson and Jonson streets, with his upstairs eatery now...
Boomerang Festival
I'll never forget my first day on the job as a fledgling writer with Perth’s REVelation magazine. It was 1991 and minutes after arriving I was handed a notepad and camera and sent to Subiaco’s Regal Theatre to ...
Space Weather Scientist
This is Space Weather Scientist Dr Alan Brockman in front of his purpose-built Deep Southern Skies Observatory in the Byron hinterland. I met Alan through local soccer club Eureka FC and wrote an article about ...
Cow-wrangling Cowboys
There we were having a swim in the pool on a warm spring day when two men on horseback trailed by two cattle dogs dogs saunter over the hill. They were looking for a small herd of cattle that had wandered off t...
Meet Make Create
Meet Make Create founder Nikki Buckland has developed after-school creative workshops that provide children with a skill based, inclusive art experience in an engaging and supportive environment. It's a great o...
Concetta Antico
Live Byron talks to the world's first Tetrachromat artist to see what life looks like with "super vision".
When did you first realise that not everyone saw colour like you do?
One of my students pointed ...
Artist Daniel Hend
Guest Blogger
Eva Judell
Indigenous artist Daniel Hend has been building skill and expressing his uniquely intricate art since childhood. The Mullumbimby local describes his work as surreali...
Clarkes Beach House
I pass this place a few times a week when I do the Byron-to-lighthouse run. Ayana Beach House is right across the road from Clarkes Beach (great place to learn to surf on a long board), just a few minutes walk ...
Birds-eye of Bruns
This aerial photo shows you beautiful Brunswick Heads and the hinterland behind. In the foreground is Torakina Beach, which is the perfect place to take young children or go when the beach is blown out, then up...
Surfer Steph Gilmore
Born up the road in Tweed Heads, 5 times World Champion surfer Stephanie Gilmore has dominated the sport since first qualifying for the pinnacle in women's surfing – the ASP World Tour – in 2007. She is also th...
Jatana Interiors
Based in Federal and distributed around the world, Jatana Interiors sources exquisite reproduction and antique tiles from all corners of the globe. We have the White Fleur reproduction tiles in our kitchen and ...
Byron Whale Mural
A tarot reader sitting in front of a humpback whale mural - welcome to Byron Bay.
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Equine Heaven
I took this photo a couple of years ago as I was driving into Byron. I just love that a few minutes from town lies this idyllic setting.
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Bruns Acoustics
I first stumbled across Bruns Acoustics at this year's Old&Gold Festival in Brunswick Heads and was immediately taken with the brand's striking hand crafted products. They're a local company that designs a...
Marvel St Retreat
A strict no party policy* for this Marvel Street holiday rental tends to attract holidaymakers who want to be in the heart of Byron though not necessarily its hub. It's only a few streets back from Main Beach b...
Byron Ocean Swim Classic
The next Byron Bay Ocean Swim Classic will be held on Sunday May 3, 2015 with entries open from January 1, 2015. A major fundraiser for a number of local charities, the Classic has raised tens of thousands of d...
Artist House
There are some quirky places to stay in Byron Bay and this one is no exception. Located right in town, it reminds me of a house I lived in East Fremantle, WA in the mid-nineties. 100 Hubble, which was also once...
The Italian Diner
Owners Sharon Fraser, Steve Esson and Aldo Davanzo have created a delectable slice of Italy in the heart of Bangalow. Located on the site where the well-known Urban Café burnt down, The Italian Diner is one of ...
Mullum Music Festival
Multiple venues hosting back-to-back performances to packed audiences for four days: Mullum Music Festival seizes an entire town in stunning style! More than 6000 revellers flood into the hinterland town of Mul...
Artisan Press
Watch Wayne Davis from Artisan Press at work and his unofficial dual job description as mechanic and printer make perfect sense. The four letterpress presses he operates, one of which is a 1898 Challenge Gordon...
Byron Rashie
Designed by clever cookie Leah Wright (the hot brunette pictured on the left), Byron Rashie sports a revolutionary built-in hood that protects your skin in and out of the water. The patent-pending design offers...
Bruns Fish Co-Op
This serene setting is right behind the Brunswick-Byron Fishermen's Co-Op in Brunswick Heads, which is on the Old Pacific Highway as you head north from Byron Bay towards Ocean Shores/New Brighton/South Golden ...
Byron Hula Hips
Late last year I had the great pleasure of taking dance classes from Francoise Schneiders of Byron Hula Hips. I first met this gorgeous woman when I lived in Sydney a decade ago and was delighted to discover th...
Gurrumul in Mullum
I was fortunate enough to photograph Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu backstage before his impromptu gig at Mullumbimby Civic Memorial Hall a few weeks ago. (One of my photos landed on the front page of Byron Shire ...
Byron Bay Ballooning
A $5 raffle ticket I bought at the 2012 Old&Gold Festival resulted in one of the most memorable experiences I've had since moving here a decade ago. Hovering above Mount Chincogan while watching the sun ris...
Sunrise at The Pocket
It's well-documented in my family that I am not an early morning person but seeing the sunrise at The Pocket before I went Byron Bay Ballooning was definitely worth the effort.
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Meet Shanti
Shanti is often seen walking along the Pacific Highway with his cane between Bruns and Bangalow, where there's seemingly no shortage of passerby's to transport him to his next destination. I first met Shanti, w...
Mullum2Bruns Paddle
Another clever initiative of the Brunswick Heads Chamber of Commerce, the annual Mullum2Bruns Paddle has become a major event on the North Coast community calendar. More than 600 entrants take to the water in a...
Old&Gold Festival
Each year on the Queen's birthday weekend (first Sat in June), thousands of people take to the streets in Bruns for the Old&Gold Festival. The entire town becomes one giant treasure trove, with 80-odd garag...
Polka Pickets
Had to pull over and take a photo when I saw this cute polka dot picket fence in Mullum.
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Fabulous Mrs Fox
This artwork appears on the external wall of Fabulous Mrs Fox, a truly eclectic lifestyle shop in Bruns. Owners William and Johanna White have created a visual treasure trove of exotic jewellery, textiles, whim...
Roadside Stalls
Peppered around the North Coast are gorgeous roadside stalls that sell everything from organic fruit and veges to fresh flowers and locally grown (and ground) coffee beans. They operate on an honesty box system...
Splendour in the Grass
Byron is cementing itself as Australia's festival hotspot with the likes of Bluesfest, Falls and Splendour setting up each year to entertain the punters. Splendour in the Grass, which is held at beautiful North...
Byron Bay Beach Shades
This is the lovely Sarah Causer from Byron Bay Beach Shades. I love the fact they're an easy-to-assemble shelter system that you can use at the beach, park, or even when the kids are having a picnic in the back...
Japanese Doma Cafe
Takayuki, Takashi, Aki and Shine are the talented team behind Doma Cafe in Federal. Since opening in September 2012, it has become a magnet for locals, day-trippers, and people travelling through the hinterland...
Federal Park Party
Each year the hinterland village I'm honoured to call home hosts the Federal Park Party. Surrounding communities including Goonengerry, Rosebank and Coorabell join in to create a vibrant, eclectic gathering tha...
Tractor Safety
That's me pretending to drive Mahindra, our Indian made, mechanical work horse. James takes her out most days to slash, move rocks, and carve new trails on to our property. I had no idea, having mainly lived in...
My Mate Phil
My mate Phil Gander from Brunswick Heads is a dead-set legend. Not only does he call me every month or so to check if I'm still working for "that paper" (Byron News) but he's spent most of his life raising mone...
Mullum Poultry Show
An interesting morning checking out the Northern Rivers Pure Breed Poultry Auction in Mullum...
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Photography by Veda Dante....
Native Planting
Family time planting vege seedlings for our patch.
My multi-talented partner James Mayson is known for a variety of things and bush regen is one of them. James created a native planting guide for Brunswick V...
Little Gypsies
I took these photos a few years ago at a friend's property in Clunes for Little Gypsies, a company I once co-owned with my talented friend Casey Arnaud (of Arnaud body & bath fame). Case started the online ...
Bob McTavish Surfboards
Voted the most influential shaper of all time by Australia’s Surfing Life magazine in 1992, Bob McTavish is credited with kick-starting a surfing revolution with the world’s first production shortboard called t...
Byron Bridal Showcase
Organised by Queensland dressmaker Jennifer Gifford, Byron Bay Bridal Showcase is arguably the most innovative and stylish setting for wedding vendors to show off their wares. Unlike most bridal expos, this eve...
Byron School of Art
Byron School of Art founders Emma Walker (seated), Christine Willcocks, Michael Cusack, Meredeth Crowe, Sarah Harvey, James Guppy (seated) and Rick Shearman established Byron School of Art in 2013. Built on the...
Mullum Community Gardens
Mullumbimby Community Garden sits on five hectares right in the heart of Mullum. Locals lease plots to grow their own food, while members of the community are invited to experience a diverse range of programs, ...
Masterchef Alumni Skye Craig
I first met Skye when we both worked in custom media publishing – I was a freelance editor while she worked as an art director for an agency in Bangalow – which is why I was taken aback when I saw her on Master...
Bentley Blockade
4am is not my friend but this guy is. Darren invited me to make the hour-long pre-dawn drive to the Bentley Blockade in Northern NSW, where hundreds of people from all walks of life and political persuasions we...
Northern Rivers: A Hendra Hotspot
This is Rich, co-owner of Mullumbimby Veterinary Clinic and Mama Cass. Not only does Rich take care our dogs Mofo and Kali, but he is also a vocal advocate for vaccinating horses against the potentially deadly ...
Smiles4Schools
This hottie may belong in front of the camera but she does some of her finest work behind it. When photographer Kate Nutt isn't travelling to exotic locations shooting events, you'll find her helping local comm...
Byron Stencil Artist
Self-taught stencil artist Austin Moncrieff has a pretty remarkable story to tell for a young man, which you can read about in my Northern Star newspaper article. Not only does he create striking retro pieces t...
Bruns Hot Rods
Each year a 250-strong fleet of classic and custom cars pack Brunswick Heads for the insanely popular Back to Bruns Hot Rod Run. It is a visual feast with everything from a 1927 Dodge Pickup to a 1972 Ford Falc...
The Corner Dance Lab
Dance Integrated Australia's Philip Channells is an acclaimed performer and choreographer who works with people of all ages, with and without disability. Philip recently set up The Corner Dance Lab at Jasper Co...