naturally delicious

Can eating your way through a region really be good for you? We hit the highways of Byron Bay and Tweed Heads in search of health-giving goodies

It doesn’t get any fresher than
catching your own crab

WORDS JACINTA CUMMINS
PHOTOGRAPHY NAOMI BUSST

Everyone who dreams of going away to feast on gourmet delights, knows it often comes at a high cost: the extra kilos plus a tonne of guilt. But a tour of the Byron Bay and Tweed Heads region on the north coast of New South Wales allows you to indulge without shame. This area is a paradise of delicious organic produce and eateries bursting with natural goodness.

I fly into Gold Coast Airport, load up the car, hit the road and a 10-minute drive later, I’m in Tweed Heads.

there are 500 fruit varieties to
identify at Tropical Fruit World

My first stop is Birds Bay Oyster Farm and Catch-a-Crab tours, where hosts Lee and Robert Eyre offer three-hour “Catch-a-Crab” cruises along the Tweed River. As well as catching your lunch, served cracked with salad and bread, you can cast a line and enjoy the favourite Australian pastime of fishing. For something less hands-on, indulge in freshly harvested oysters, opened before your eyes and served numerous ways in the café overlooking the river. One of the farmhands tells me that oysters are known as aphrodisiacs because they spawn up to 30 million oysters in their lifetime. This is definitely feel-good food.

Twenty minutes down the Pacific Motorway, we see the Big Avocado and arrive at Tropical Fruit World.

Irresistible bio-dynamic organic
country cooking at Mavis’ Kitchen

The family-operated farm spans five generations and proudly claims it is home to the world’s biggest range of tropical fruit. There is also a jungle riverboat cruise, a plantation safari and a fauna park where you can pat farm animals.

Half an hour away is yet another oasis. Banana Cabana is a bush tucker haven that grows some of the rarest fruits and vegetables in Australia. I explore the farm and owner Gerard Buck shows me neem, a natural remedy, and Buddha’s hand, a crunchy leaf used in salads and Chinese medicine. If it’s a hot day, there’s a swimming hole across the road where you can take a dip – so long as you’re happy to share it with the platypus that live there.

spice up your day with a
ginger ninja cocktail from
dish restaurant and raw bar

Pulling into the drive of Mavis’ Kitchen is like stepping back in time. The bright white restored Queenslander homestead contrasts with the lush gardens and fruit trees under which ducks waddle. My senses of sight, smell and sound come alive as I spy happy diners eating lunch, smell fresh ciabatta bread and hear the coffee machine’s grinder. Hosts Peter Clarke and Charlie Ebell create a family atmosphere and no wonder: the restaurant is named after Charlie’s mother and the house was Peter’s aunt and uncle’s. My dinner of free-range chicken in filo pastry with a roasted red pepper sauce, followed by a chocolate truffle torte, is surely food of the gods. I stay the night in the restored dairy behind the restaurant. The quaint bedroom and kitchen come with ingredients for a full country-style breakfast, including free-range eggs from the chooks outside.

After breakfast I hit the road again. An hour later I arrive at Zentveld’s Coffee, just in time for morning tea. This coffee plantation is a must for coffee connoisseurs who’ll appreciate the company’s slogan: “Life’s too short to drink bad coffee”. The rich, caramel-coloured crema on top of the speciality Byron Blend coffee is a good sign and as I sip, my expectations are not disappointed. Grown and roasted on-site by owners John and Rebecca Zentveld, the coffee and delectable chocolate-coated coffee beans put zip into my step.

They’re full of beans at Zentveld’s
Coffee

Next stop, Byron Bay – nirvana for nature lovers everywhere. After tasting delectable biscuits by the Byron Bay Cookie Company at my local café, I can’t resist their shop. It’s a treasure trove of cookie jars and shelves overflowing with biscuit packets, jams, preserves and organic chocolate. The lovely assistant Cynthia will happily reveal her personal favourites and make you a fresh cappuccino to accompany them.

Back out on the street, a sweet smell lures me into Byron Bay Organic Donuts. I see a little girl beam as she eats her donut, oblivious to the chocolate all over her face, and decide to try one myself. Owner Phil Hargreaves hands me a warm donut he’s just rolled in sugar and as I bite into it, chocolate oozes out. Like the locals streaming in the door, I’m a convert to organic donuts.

I spend the afternoon at Byron Bay beach where the waves crash onto the sand and Kombi vans line up in a row. I almost expect Shaggy and Scooby Doo to appear. For those looking to burn a few calories, grab a surfboard and hit the waves. If you’re a people-watcher, just sit back and admire the setting sun as fire twirlers set the darkness ablaze.

All this ocean air makes me hungry so I head to dish restaurant and raw bar. With a ginger ninja cocktail, I nestle into the bed-like lounge for a meal of local Alstonville spatchcock. As the macadamia nougat glacé melts in my mouth, it’s not hard to see why this restaurant has won so many awards.

Driving back to the airport, I’m feeling great after the sun, sea air and delicious foods of my trip. Whoever says healthy food is boring obviously hasn’t been to this part of the world where food that is good for you also tastes extraordinary.

Jacinta Cummins says:
Arriving at the airport, I realised I’d bought so many gourmet goodies my luggage was about to burst open. There was only one solution – I had an hour to eat my treats before checking my luggage in. No problem, judging from the reaction of the women sitting next to me – I had plenty of volunteers to help if I couldn’t manage it on my own.

FIND IT:

Birds Bay Oyster Farm and Catch-a-Crab tours
Birds Bay Drv, West Tweed Heads, tel: +61 (7) 5599 9972
Tropical Fruit World
Duranbah Rd, Duranbah, tel: +61 (6) 6677 7222
Banana Cabana
Nerang-Murwillumbah Rd, Chillingham, tel: +61 (2) 6679 1022
Mavis’ Kitchen
64 Mt Warning Rd, Mt Warning, tel: +61 (2) 6679 5664
Zentveld’s Coffee
193 Broken Head Rd, Newrybar, tel: +61 (2) 6687 2045
Byron Bay Cookie Company
Shop 1, BP Ozigo Complex, cnr Ewingsdale Rd & Bayshore Drv, Byron Bay,
tel: +61 (2) 6685 7633
Byron Bay Organic Donuts
Pier Arcade, Lawson St, Byron Bay
dish restaurant and raw bar
Cnr Jonson and Marvel sts, Byron Bay, tel: +61 (2) 6685 7320