Indulge in the simple life amongst the hills rolling hills of Brunswick Heads
An off-grid private glamp-site allows you to dip in and out of the burgeoning Brunswick Heads buzz.
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Having only ever passed through ‘Bruns’ in the past, I find myself relishing a few languid days exploring. Rather than simply being a stop on a Byron Bay itinerary, there are now plenty of reasons to skip Byron altogether.
Armed with directions from an email I received only yesterday, I take the Yelgun exit off Tweed Valley Way and instinctively duck as I drive under the dis-used railway tracks. Rolling past paddocks of dragon fruit vines and farmhouses, Google Maps soon tells me to turn left and I climb a skinny goat track of a road, praying I’m going the right way.
I’m 15 minutes north of Brunswick Heads, but up here on a private patch of land, there’s only our glamping digs and sweeping vistas over the Byron Hinterland to be seen.
This is Ochre, the first site for sustainable start-up, The Camp.
Opened in late 2019, Ochre comprises a six-metre bell tent surrounded by a timber deck, which is linked to a tiny house-style cabin built on a trailer. Luxurious without impacting on the land on which it stands, the retreat is powered by solar, fed by water tanks, and has a composting toilet in its glamorous bathroom with concrete benchtops and gold tapware.
Every detail has been carefully considered by owners David Wilkinson and Teagan Marshall, who did a letterbox drop around the Byron Shire to find the perfect land-owning partner to pitch their dream. From 50 they heard back from four or five people, and, “When we met the guy who owns this land we knew he was the one,” David says. “He had this 2.5-hectare plot on the top of the property, quite isolated and remote, and logistics made it too hard for him to build up there.”
Instead, the enterprising newlyweds set about building the standalone destination where you can dip in and out of the real world, without any of the dratty set-up camping requires.
“Byron can get so hectic,” David says. “We’re just far enough away from that to enjoy the space with the sunset, a fire, a book, plus there’s time in the morning to explore or get to the beach without too much of a drive.”
It’s not just the off-grid nature of The Camp that makes it an earth-friendly stay. Giving back is ingrained in the business model – David and Teagan are members of 1 per cent for the Planet and will donate $20 of each booking to organisations like Sea Shepherd and Wires Wildlife Rescue.
Driving into Brunswick Heads the next day, a sign proclaims it a “town of simple pleasures”, but with the real estate boom and a recent rush of young entrepreneurs setting up shop, those pleasures have been elevated to new heights.
The motels along Tweed Street offer a faint glimmer of this once-sleepy fishing village’s past – though at least three have been revamped in recent years. The latest is the metamorphosis from Harbour Lodge Motel to The Brunswick Brunswick Heads. The new owners are working with architects Richards and Spence (who masterminded The Calile in Brisbane), to put Brunswick on the map.
Then there’s the highly-acclaimed 14-seat restaurant, Fleet, which has attracted food-focussed pilgrims since opening in 2015. The revamped Brunswick Picture House that hosts everything from cabaret shows to world cinema. And boutiques, cafes, and bars opening faster than you can say kombucha.
Having only ever passed through ‘Bruns’ in the past, I find myself relishing a few languid days exploring. Rather than simply being a stop on a Byron Bay itinerary, there are now plenty of reasons to skip Byron altogether.
A dip in the dazzling jade river that slices through town, and we grab lunch at Ethel Food Store – a diner from the owners of Fleet that serves up wholesome fare like roast chook and rolled porchetta with daily-changing salads.
A stroll around the corner presents the chance to stock up on cheese platter supplies at artisan deli, Bottle and Hoop. In the cabinet, baby wheels of brie made with local Jersey milk from Burringbar neighbour chunks of semi-hard goats cheese from Sancarre. Mullumbimby sourdough sits atop the counter ready to be bundled with other accoutrements – wild venison salami and hot smoked local fish, perhaps – into a picnic basket, available to hire.
Old Maids Burger Store is her pick of the newbies to test out – an all-day burger and smoothie bowl joint opened by 26-year-old Cassandra Hynes. When the neighboring space, conveniently attached to the now-trendy Sails Motel, opened up, Cassie and friend Damien Gray swooped in, opening pizza and wine bar, Saint Maries in December. Judging by the crowd sipping cocktails and sharing salumi boards after dark, it was a good decision.
While we could cook in our tiny house at Ochre, an culinary obsession with authentic Mexican cuisine leads us to La Casita, a rustic terracotta courtyard affair on the edge of town, also by Fleet’s Astrid McCormack and Josh Lewis. (It doesn’t stop there for the duo whose new wine bar is set to open in mid-2020).
Over margaritas we devour wood-grilled corn and pillowy lamb barbacoa tacos that transport us back to Oaxaca. Then we return to camp to dream some more, tucked between linen sheets, the canvas rolled back to let in the kiss of moonlight and bush-tinged air.
On reflection, for all its progress, Bruns, is still a town of simple pleasures underneath the new sheen.
At high tide, signs forbidding it ignored, young and old leap into clear emerald waters from the wooden South Arm Bridge, smoothed by SUVs and surfboard-laden vans; unbridled glee at a pastime the internet age forgot.
Wander off the main drag and you’ll find streets wide enough to play cricket with the fences of cute beach shacks as the wickets. No gutters, just grassy verge shaded by vestibules of the bushland that once held fort.
Add a plate of fresh prawns and oysters from The Prawn Bar caravan, found on the lawn outside The Brunswick on weekends, and the simple life is complete. Especially when washed down with a bottle of local Eppetto prosecco or rosé.
And still, at its heart, Brunswick Heads is salt air, sandy feet, and camping. Even if you’re glamping on a hill all to yourself.
Escape route
Qantas re-enter the Byron Bubble after a 15-year hiatus this March, flying direct from Sydney to Ballina. Brunswick Heads is a 30-minute drive north from Ballina Byron Gateway Airport and 35 minutes south from Gold Coast Airport. Stays at The Camp start at $219 per night with a two-night minimum on weekends.
See also:
Could this tranquil Pacific Island be the new Byron?
9 people you will meet in Byron Bay
Our 60 second guide to the ultimate Byron Bay experience
Originally published as Indulge in the simple life amongst the hills rolling hills of Brunswick Heads
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