Think Ballina is just a gateway to Byron Bay? Discover its stunning beaches, river adventures, burgeoning craft beer scene, and the famous Big Prawn.
The Big Prawn and Ballina’s reputation
In the presence of true Australian greatness, it is possible to do little else than stand silently in humbled awe.
Amid the glamorous surrounds of the Bunnings car park, the Big Prawn rises like Kilimanjaro from the plains. This behemoth crustacean, a high temple of gaudiness, is surely the greatest of Australia’s Big Things.
Alas, this nine-metre high, 35-tonne photo opportunity tends to be one of the two things Ballina is known for. The other, of course, is Ballina Byron Gateway Airport. The name of the airport is a sheepish confession in itself. It admits that, every week, thousands of people fly in, then head half an hour up the road to Byron Bay.
It is fair to say that Ballina is overshadowed. But it would like to be regarded as a destination in its own right. In these parts, it’s the Big Smoke, with a population of just under 50,000. It also has one thing that Byron Bay doesn’t have – safe mooring for boats.
Whale watching and river adventures
This is where Out of the Blue Adventures comes in. The boat tour operator runs a series of trips with marine biologist guides. The focus depends on the time of year. Come between May and October, and it’s all about the whale watching. Whale populations are so reliable on this stretch of the NSW North Coast that a whale sighting guarantee is offered.
Between December and April, however, there is a larger menu. Dolphin-watching cruises are the staple, snorkelling trips to the turtle-surrounded Julian Rocks provide the adventure, and sunset cruises along the Richmond River provide the romance.
Walking the Richmond River
In a weirdly disjointed city, spread over several very loosely connected sections, it’s the Richmond River that provides a binding glue. In Ballina’s early years as a timber town, this was where wood was shipped from. These days, it’s where you first start to feel a bit of affection for the place.
The North Wall Walk takes in the final section of the river from North Creek to the Ocean. It begins at what was once the Ballina Pilot Station, and is now the Reflections caravan park. Frangipani flowers waft down from the trees by Fenwick House, the city’s only remaining Victorian-era mansion. It’s made of the cedar wood that brought the early settler families to Ballina in the 1840s, as the interpretive signs along the route helpfully explain.
The walk continues along the breakwall past the Shaws Bay lagoon, a perfect playground for kayakers and paddleboarders.
Eyes, though, are on the other side of the river, where tidal swells smash into the opposing breakwall. Dolphins are a common sight near the river mouth, but even if they don’t put in an appearance, other wildlife fills in. Water dragons scuttle along the rocks, and sea eagles swoop down to rest on a wooden post.
The North Wall Walk continues until it juts, lonely and battered, into the ocean beyond Lighthouse Beach.
Ballina’s beaches and coastal escapes
The beach is one of a series of East Ballina beaches lining the coast towards Lennox Head, every single one of them magnificent and reliably pounded by surf.
Ballina may be a river city rather than a beach city, but its slightly detached beaches are what bring the joy. At Shelly Beach – which is sandy, not shelly – there’s a sense of escape. Elsewhere on the North Coast, a town would be built behind it, with a sculpted esplanade, ice cream parlours and fish and chip shops. Here, there’s just a solitary café on top of the dunes, a perfectly peaceful perch for watching surfers attack the waves.
The Shelly Beach Café has a surprisingly adventurous menu. Halloumi banh mi croissants and nasi goreng with karaage chicken are amongst the genre-bending departures from standard café fare. And it demonstrates that Ballina is, just quietly, beginning to embrace its food and drink scene.
Eating, drinking and embracing Ballina
The Seven Mile Brewing Co leads the charge on the craft beer front, with the deliberately light Cali Cream seemingly laser-targeted for post-surf refreshment. Experimental seasonal efforts, such as a peach IPA and a fruit sour, make it worth moseying along to work through the list.
The riverside Wharf Bar and Restaurant, meanwhile, brags about its woodfired pizzas. But the real lure is the seafood, caught by the fishing boats heading out along the Richmond every day.
The chowders, seafood mixed grills and lavish platters are made for indulging in as the sun goes down over the river. And the constant in them all is that time-honoured symbol of Ballina – big prawns.
More New South Wales travel
Other New South Wales travel stories on Planet Whitley include:
- A first time visitor’s guide to the Blue Mountains.
- Climbing Mt Kosciuszko – Australia’s highest mountain.
- Enjoying nature in Murray Valley National Park.
- Why visit Wategos Beach in Byron Bay?
- A luxury travel guide to Sydney.
