Byron Bay’s natural credentials are impeccable – humpback whales cruise past the headland, storms create rainbows on the mountains across the bay, hang-gliders ride the thermals above the lighthouse. Australia's most easterly point seems to cast a spell over everyone who goes there.

Over the past two decades, Byron Bay has become an escape for urban refugees and especially those with artistic inclinations. Architects, designers, craftworkers and software engineers have set up shop, grafting their talents and energy on to this small, relaxed coastal village. Today Byron Bay is a chic seaside town with glorious beaches, a New Age tinge and loads of style, attracting a colourful mix of people from all over the world.

Originally the centre of a farming and dairy district, Byron Bay spread its wings in the 1970s when it was "discovered" – initially by surfers and later by big city escapees and a cast of international megastars who built palatial estates in the hills behind the town. Today it has become a world renowned stop for international backpackers travelling the east-coast circuit and is the perfect spot to sit and watch the world go by and remember how good it is to be alive!