The Cumbebin Wetland Sanctuary is a pocket of rejuvenated paperbark wetlands hidden behind the Butler St market grounds. Volunteer labour has transformed this reserve from a lantana-ridden wasteland into a sheltered haven for birdlife and frogs. Bangalow palms and birds-nest ferns proliferate among the shallow lagoons. The boardwalk, with seating looking out over the wetlands, is perfect for a stroll or a picnic lunch – and during the height of summer offers cool respite from the heat of the day.

For well over 80 years, the Railway Friendly Bar was a thirst-aid stop for weary travellers arriving in Byron. But when the North Coast Casino to Murwillumbah branch rail-line was put in mothballs back in 2004, so was The Rails. The pub, with its rustic iron roof, open drinking spaces and miniscule kitchen from which miracles emerge, is not allowed to be altered, refurbished or extended in any way whatsoever. The result is a classic pub with no peer.

When loggers clear-felled “The Big Scrub” of northern NSW for the valuable Australian Red Cedar tree from the mid-1800s right through to the banning of logging in 1982, the native Bundjalung people displaced from their traditional homelands retreated to the few remaining pockets of untouched rainforest. One of these pockets, a luxuriant swathe of Bangalow Palm forests and spectacular waterfalls, was a sacred place to the Widjabul clan, and is today known as Nightcap National Park. Its survival is largely due to the efforts of protestors (hence the name) who put a halt to logging operations along Terania Creek in 1979.

In the hinterland behind Byron Bay, more than 150 boutique coffee orchards have been established since 1990, with a total output of 120 tonnes by 2003. That’s been forecasted to rise to around 700 tonnes by 2010.

The ambience of which is disturbed only by frequent disagreements with the local council over residents’ rights to build sea-walls to protect their valuable properties. But there’s one place not subject to tidal or political erosion: Belongil Creek (or, more properly, Belongil Estuary). You can launch a kayak near the Belongil Beach Resort and kayak a few kilometres inland (depending on tides), past scenic wetlands and through rural landholdings that, funnily enough, still exist in today’s holidaymaker-fixated Byron Bay.

The easiest access is via Ironbark Avenue – take Bangalow Rd towards Ballina, then turn left into Ironbark about two klicks south of the Byron Bay CBD. A walk through pristine bushland leads past a sandblow (veer hard left, or you’ll lose the track) to Tallow Beach. Exercise care if swimming at Tallows, as the beach is unpatrolled and subject to dangerous rips and undercurrents. Opposite the golf course, a bike path also leads through the Arakwal wetlands to another section of Tallow Beach. The wetlands here are at their most scenic after heavy rains.

These local delicacies and more are on sale every Thursday morning at the Farmers’ Market on the Butler St Reserve. Official hours are 8-11am, but locals get there from 6:30am onwards, with onsite coffee stalls making the gathering something of a social event. The only downside is that high stall rents tend to force up prices; so for cheaper produce you may prefer to shop at the fruit stand outside the caravan park on Ballina Road (opposite Byron Bay Golf Course).

The scenic Old Bangalow Rd winds up through the hills behind Byron Bay, twisting and turning upon itself like an itchy snake. Drivers have to be super-careful to avoid gawking at the spectacular scenery to the detriment of their road-handling capabilities. By contrast with Byron Bay, Bangalow seems quieter than a country cousin on Serapax – except, that is, on market day (last Sunday of the month), when bumper-to-bumper traffic clogs the narrow streets. On all other days, the visitor has free rein to browse, graze and check out the many antique shops and cafés that make Bangalow just a cut above its brash lowland neighbour.

Like many other visitors, one of the first things I did upon arriving in Byron was take a surfing lesson. Max Perrot of Above Board in Lennox Head (02 6687 7522), about 20min south of Byron Bay, specialises in showing mature-age people how to surf. He guarantees to get you standing up on your first lesson – but that’s no guarantee you’ll be able to replicate the feat later on your own.

The beaches and cafés are too alluring, and the often-tacky shops and galleries in the main streets give only the merest hint of the creative buzz of the town. To track down Byron’s “Creative Class”, trek out to places like Byron Bay’s Arts and Industry Park (formerly the Arts and Industry Estate), about 3km east of town. The Arts and Industry Park Guide (available at the Byron Bay Tourist Office, near the railway station) lists well over 50 creative enterprises with shopfronts in the Park. Their wares are on sale at a fraction of the price you’d pay in Byron’s main street. But, this being Byron Bay, some of the claims to artistic street-cred ring just a little hollow; for example, the claim of one craftsperson to be Australia’s only architect/stonemason should be taken with a grain of silica.