Cruisy seaside getaway to Casuarina’s Santai Retreat on the Tweed Coast

WHILE it’s tempting to daydream the day away by the pool, here are some more suggestions for your stay at Casuarina’s Santai Retreat.

Spice Den at Casuarina. Salty, crunchy, sesame squid makes for a delicious meal.

THIS is a tale of two towns. It’s the Tweed Coast time capsule of seaside holidays from a sweeter time; of family memories made with sandy feet and simpler schedules. Where you can wobble on a bike down broad, casuarina-lined paths without fear of traffic and make the first footprints on an untouched surf beach.

It’s also the suite story of sophisticated accommodation, spa sanctuaries and a thriving farm-to-plate industry spurred by foodies at the culinary coalface.

It’s at the intersection of these two worlds where holiday magic happens.

Bali vibes poolside at Santai Retreat, Casuarina.

My weekend begins a short hop down the highway at Casuarina’s Santai Retreat. A beachside bubble of Bali bliss, it’s an oasis of frangipanis, palm trees and sparkling pool set to a spa-worthy soundtrack of running water and birdsong.

First impressions flow from a beautifully carved wooden double-door entry to accommodation with the same luxury of scale.

More than big enough for my sister and I, the two-bedroom apartment is also roomy enough to preserve family harmony, although you’ll want to kick the kids out long enough to enjoy a scented spa fizzing with L’Occitane bath bombs before collapsing on a king bed piled with squishy pillows.

Northern NSW restaurant Osteria at Casuarina.

A well-equipped kitchenette has everything you need to self-cater (including a pod coffee machine) and it’s a short skip to Coles for supplies and forgotten toothbrushes.

I’ve just described all the ingredients for a big night in, but the on-site restaurant is worth putting off your pyjama party.

With settings spilling out to the illuminated pool, Spice Den is a warren of moodily lit alcoves overhung by the incredible aroma of Thai street food. It’s served banquet style — soft pancakes enfolding tender duck, lychee and cucumber; fragrant, belly-warming Massaman curry and cubes of sweetly ribboned Byron Bay pork swimming in a sweet, sticky plum sauce.

Northern NSW restaurant Osteria at Casuarina.

Book ahead as Spice Den is outrageously popular with locals and one visit isn’t enough to do the menu justice.

An easy 1km stroll down the road you’ll find Osteria with its white picket fences and bougainvillea-wrapped arches. We only had time for a coffee and one of the buttery, petal-sprinkled pastries, but left vowing to return for lunch soon.

Turn your toes north and you’ll be on the way to Taverna’s peppermint door. The whitewashed Kingscliff restaurant is one of my favourites.

Crispy barramundi and caramel pork at Spice Den, Casuarina.

Feast on Modern Greek fare, including Byron Bay haloumi drizzled in bush honey; slow-roasted New England lamb; and fried local squid with the pop of pink peppercorn and a lick of lime and wash it down with a hypercolour cocktail made on the local Ink Gin. Request a window seat for pandanus-filtered ocean views.

There’s an old-fashioned connection to the land at work here, and it makes farmgate foraging equally appealing. The welcome basket in my room — brimming with starfruit, custard apples and other local goodies — is a teaser of the temptations that await at Duranbah’s Tropical Fruit World.

The Village Farm Markets are on at Kingscliff TAFE every Saturday morning, while Nearby Farm & Co offers a more permanent proposition. The fields of sunflowers that saw swarms of Instagrammers descend on the bucolic scene have been ploughed in for now, leaving shoppers breathing room to browse a roadside stall stocked with wholesome produce.

Taverna at Kingscliff. Picture: Kristy Mason

To work off your appetite, explore the oceanfront paths that unfurl from Kingscliff to Pottsville (there are bikes for hire in the lobby), paddle a kayak up the creek or find a quiet fishing spot.

Hollywood blockbuster Aquaman has just wrapped filming at Hastings Point, but your chances of spotting some other high-profile visitors are still good — humpbacks pass within a whale’s whisker of its rocky ramparts.

But the real beauty of this region is its unhurried pace; in this time-stalled sanctuary, the world can wait.

Nowhere does that feel more true than the cosy cocoon of Santai’s spa. If you can swing a massage from spa manager Rosie Stewart you’ll be in business. The signature Luxe treatment will leave you in a liquid-limbed daydream.

Luckily the most pressing decision you need to make during your stay is where to spread you pool towel.

IF YOU GO

STAY: Santai: 9 Dianella Drive, Casuarina

PLAY: Farm & Co Kingscliff: 529 Cudgen Road

SAVOUR: Spice Den: 9 Dianella Drive

Taverna: 22 Marine Parade

Osteria: 1 Barclay Drive

BREAKOUT

More on the menu

WHAT TO DO

1. TOAST THE TWEED

Discover the region’s spirited side with Tasting Plate Tours. The company’s The Distiller tour departs every Friday and Saturday at 9am from Osteria at Casuarina. Start at Australia’s newest gin distillery, Cape Byron Distillery, set in the gorgeous grounds of Brookfarm Byron Bay. Explore the rainforest plantations, home to 18 of the 26 botanicals used to make Brookies Gin, before joining the team in the distillery to try the tipples at their purest and in cocktails. Next, make a beeline for Byron and lunch at the Byron Bay Brewing Co and a tasting-paddle tour of Stone and Wood Brewery. The afternoon is spent on the Tweed swapping stories with the crew from Husk Distillery, home of the now famous Ink Gin and the paddock-to-bottle Husk Rum. Mix a cocktail or two with their white or dark rum. It’s a day you won’t forget … or maybe you will. The $199 cost covers all tastings, touring and meals on the day.

Tasting Plate Tours: tastingplatetours.com.au

2. THE POPCORN PLAN

Kingscliff’s charming arthouse cinema captures the movie magic of a bygone era. From heavy curtains to plush red seats it’s an atmospheric setting for catching the classics or one of the regular special screenings. Upgrade your popcorn to something from substantial from the extensive menu. Moviegoers can munch on everything from steamed pork dim sims to half a kilo of beef ribs slathered in spicy sauce.

Cinemax: 17/60 Marine Parade, Kingscliff

3. SOAK UP THE SCENERY

Perched high on a hill at nearby Murwillumbah, the Tweed Regional Gallery is beautiful inside and out. Lose yourself for hours exploring art-lined hallways, before soaking up the scenery from the cafe. The outdoor balcony offers the best vantage of the Green Cauldron, with the Mt Warning Shield Volcano punctuating the dramatic skyline. There’s also a recreation of Margaret Olley’s home studio, where you can peer through portals to the knick-knack flooded inner world of Australia’s most celebrated painter of still life and interiors.

Tweed Regional Gallery: 2 Mistral Road (Cnr Tweed Valley Way), Murwillumbah