IN THE MEDIA: The Bower / Sydney Weekender

Mike Whitney and The Sydney Weekender crew chose the jewel in the bba collective of luxury holiday accommodation, The Bower, to stay at on a recent visit to Byron Bay, a coastal paradise sitting on the far eastern corner of new south wales. Their filming schedule included a visit to a couple of our favourite spots too.

Byron Bay Harvest with its commitment to Syntropic Farming, a unique agricultural system developed by a clever Swiss guy, Ernst Götsch, which translates natures own processes and ecosystem dynamics into producing profitable crops while maintaining the soil the crops grow in. It’s a system which earns huge respect from all the team behind Byron Beach Abodes. The Skinners Shoot Rd farm, just outside town, offers a fabulous ‘Pick to Plate’ lunch which includes a hands-on agricultural experience in the landscaped veggie gardens while the chooks roam free within the tranquil melaleuca edged meadows. It’s a pretty special dining experience without a doubt.

Mike and the team checked out Beach too, in its tucked away location right on the dunes of Byron’s Clarkes Beach. It’s another one-off, being the only cafe sited right on the Beach in Byron and in fact the only one with such an exclusive address from the Northern Rivers up. The Beach is all about relaxed dining with menus created from the freshest of local seasonal produce. As their website says, they have ‘everything from chia, vanilla and almond pudding with mango and rainforest honey for breakfast, Caserecce pasta with spanner crab, chilli, garlic and parsley for lunch and Byron Bay mozarella ravioli with raw tomato and curry leaves for dinner ‘ and lots more. An Aperitivo on The Deck at The Beach would be a perfect spot to watch the annual migration of Humpback whales en route to their breeding grounds in the warmer waters off far north Queensland.

And as to the sleepover, Mike was seduced by the sumptuous offering of The Bower Cottage, the original 100 year old dwelling that sits in the lush luxury compound that is The Bower. With bold original timbers and lots of original features, a soft interior palette and a delicious mix of hand-selected vintage and modern detail, metre upon metre of squishy linen furnishings, French doors opening from the living room to a large undercover deck overlooking the plunge pool and spa, three lavishly appointed bedrooms, two stunning bathrooms and a most alluring outdoor bathtub and shower, why wouldn’t he be?

See why the Sydney Weekender team enjoyed their time in Byron and why not plan your own visit soon?