{"id":156,"date":"2013-10-20T04:11:02","date_gmt":"2013-10-20T04:11:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/the-foodie-playground-in-byron-bay\/"},"modified":"2022-08-08T23:18:55","modified_gmt":"2022-08-08T23:18:55","slug":"the-foodie-playground-in-byron-bay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/the-foodie-playground-in-byron-bay\/","title":{"rendered":"The Foodie Playground in Byron Bay"},"content":{"rendered":"

Between the December influx of schoolies, toolies and year-round Hippies, Byron Bay can get crowded. That doesn\u2019t stop this seaside town being one of the most popular summer holiday spots along the NSW coast.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s one spot where people will go out of their way to be in the crowds.<\/p>\n

The Byron Farmers Markets<\/a> take place on Thursday mornings in Butler St Reserve, behind the train station and just a block from the main drag, Jonson St.<\/p>\n

Early on a sunny Thursday morning, locals and a smattering of tourists are rushing to their favourite stalls before they sell out.<\/p>\n

By the time I reach the Stone Fruit stall, the last pink-blushed peaches are tucked into wicker shopper baskets right in front of my eyes. These are the first stone fruits of the season, picked from the orchard yesterday, and they\u2019re hot property. Peering into a box of seconds, the slightly bruised fruits give off a sweet aroma that smells like summer, and is impossible to resist. Juice dribbles down my chin as I tuck in. At the next stall, the Byron Bay Muffin Men have sold out of Banana muffins but I\u2019m content with a fluffy dairy free carrot cake.<\/p>\n

With a basket to fill, we dash around the stalls to check out what\u2019s on offer and breathe a sigh of relief. There\u2019s plenty of fresh Byron Bay Pork chops, bags of The Witches Broom Stick\u2019s mushrooms are still for sale and Rainforest Foods<\/a> have brought enough homemade macadamia spread (like peanut butter but with much better health benefits) to feed an army.<\/p>\n

Regulars know to get here early, arriving in droves to support the all-local stall-holders, who\u2019ve come from the Byron Bay Hinterlands to sell their wares.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the worst kept secret of the town and the team at\u00a0The Byron at Byron Resort and Spa<\/a>\u00a0are doing their bit to make sure the word gets out. Every Thursday head chef Gavin Hughes leads a free market tour, taking guests down to the stalls early and showing them what the region has to offer. He stocks the restaurant\u2019s kitchens while he\u2019s at it, sourcing as much as he can from the local area.
\n
\nWhile you\u2019re at The Byron at Byron it\u2019s easy to see those local touches \u2013 from crunchy Brookfarm muesli at breakfast to the decadent local macadamia oil used at the Spa. The hotel is keen to show off the area, and a rainforest regeneration program sees the self-serviced villas tucked into pockets of leafy bush land.<\/p>\n

Boardwalks connect the rooms to the rest of the resort and a lucky few see koalas wandering through the rainforest. Everyone sees (and hears) the resident bush turkeys as they crash about in the underbrush. For such a light-footed animal, they make enough noise for an elephant. A cheeky chick manages to sneak into the pool area but he\u2019s quickly shooed back to the rainforest.<\/p>\n

The birdsong wakes you early at The Byron at Byron, especially if you\u2019ve kept the shutters open, but that just means you\u2019re up in time for the daily 8am yoga class.<\/p>\n

After finding inner peace and the buffet breakfast, I\u2019m ready to hang out by the pool but there\u2019s just too much to do. A hike to the lighthouse, with a stop at local caffeine and burger hotspot The Top Shop, and a trip out to neighbouring Bangalow for hatted nosh at\u00a0Uptown<\/a>\u00a0are all on the itinerary.<\/p>\n

Expedia\u2019s Aussie travellers spend around 3-5 days in Byron Bay and you\u2019ll need that time to squeeze in a visit to the beach, a yoga session or two and of course to eat all your fresh veggies from the markets. For more ideas on where to go and stay, check out Expedia’s\u00a0Byron Bay Travel Guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Images by Lisa Perkovic\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Between the influx schoolies and Hippies, Byron Bay can get crowded but that doesn’t stop the locals flocking to one spot, the Byron Farmers Market.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,2,3,39,14,7,18],"tags":[8,96,40,184],"authors":[],"class_list":["post-156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-destination","category-experiences","category-explore","category-food-and-wine","category-interests","category-oceania","category-relax","tag-australia","tag-byron-bay","tag-foodie","tag-spa","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Foodie Playground in Byron Bay - Expedia AU Stories<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Between the influx schoolies and Hippies, Byron Bay can get crowded but that doesn't stop the locals flocking to one spot, the Byron Farmers Market.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/the-foodie-playground-in-byron-bay\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Foodie Playground in Byron Bay - 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