The most precious jewel on Australia's East Coast

You’re standing on Australia’s most eastern point on top of a headland gazing out to sea. Humpback whales have been spotted. Your head is scanning roughly 270 degrees of turquoise hoping to see something the size of a school bus rising out of the water. You turn further to the right taking your gaze south towards Tallows Beach. An almost 6km long stretch of seemingly white sand ceilinged by hang gliders consumes you until you hear someone shout ‘dolphins!’

Turn back 180 degrees due north and there you see a pod of 8 bottlenose catching the waves and heading to Clarkes beach.

You race back up to the cliff path, leaving the brightness of the white painted Cape Byron lighthouse behind you. The walk here was so staggeringly beautiful, you’ll be back again to tour the adjoining museum.

High up and brushing past native ‘bottle brushes’ and hibiscus, you can spot the pod through the trees, but the bendy bush trail twists and turns until they are out of sight. You venture on through the sweet rewarding scent of frangipani flowers and before long you can see surfers ahead bobbing on their boards waiting for the long and peeling waves that make up ‘The Pass’.

Passing combi vans, picnickers and bbq sizzles at the small but heart stoppingly quaint Wategos Beach and the path pics up again for the final trail up onto the clifftops, then down through some trees and out into a clearing which is also the carpark for ‘The Pass’.

This is a surfers paradise, but its also great for beginners. Small and big kids alike can practice closer to shore as these ripples give as good as it gets. The pass is everything you would expect for a surfers hang - towels draped over fig trees, driftwood makeshift seats, long boards, sandy locks, half zipped wet suits and a sense of wonder.

Byron Bay has been coined ‘The Spiritual Capital of Australia’. And regardless of your beliefs, once you hear the stories you cant help but sense that you are stepping on hallowed ground. You’ll certainly leave with a sense of awe. Aboriginal elders would tell you Byron has been a sacred healing ground for over 20,000 years. The belief is that with massive belts of obsidian crystal underfoot, Byron is an energetic vortex, a sacred and supercharged shire to help people make positive changes through soul searching and manifestation. And its been pulling people for decades.

A walk up along the sand from The Pass takes you to the start of Clarkes beach. This is our pick in terms of places to stay. Clarkes beach is a heavenly world away from Byron Bay’s ever increasingly busy town, yet close enough by foot. The bustling town is definitely worth a visit if not just to get your tye die and love bead fix, you’ll also find a plethora of great cafes and restaurants.

And Clarkes as you already know, is a pretty stroll along the cliff tops to neighboring Wategos on the way back to the lighthouse. The beach is perfect for swimming, with a fair wade in for kids paddling and waist deep crystal clear water for a few more serious laps. Just make sure you pack your goggles, because another option - and a good reason to stay at Clarkes beach is that the tide flows in one direction - north. So if you’re a keen swimmer you can take the flow and freestyle all the way into town. You may even be lucky enough to catch a turtle or two on the way.

And if you have been to Australia before, you’ll know the paper money is water proof. So stash some dollar notes into your boardies, dry off at the other end and treat yourself at one of the too-spoilt-for-choice acai bowl options littering the town. You can then walk back, feeling energized enough to maybe rent a long board for the day. If you’ve never tried surfing, this is your now moment. Seize it. And if you don’t do it this time - don’t worry, you’ll be back.