We woke this morning to torrential rain, a major change to the sun-kissed weather of yesterday.

As a result we decided to go and explore the hinterland and made our way to nearby Bangalow.

The town’s name is thought to have been derived from a Bundjalung word in the Wibadhabi dialect, ‘bangalla’, said to mean ‘a low hill’ or ‘a kind of palm tree’.

Bangalow has become a pleasant stop for holiday-makers and day-trippers like ourselves as its main street is lined with cafes and boutique-shops. Organic produce grown nearby is a regular feature in the cafes and at the monthly farmers market. The village is home to a number of heritage buildings with many of these built in the Federation style architecture.

Bangalow A & I Hall above was built in 1911 to be used for the annual Agriculture and Industrial show but it has been used since for many events; including as a cinema, a hospital during the 1919 Spanish flu and, in wartime, to farewell and welcome home soldiers.

We were really taken by the laid back friendly nature of the place, along with the plethora of cafes and boutique stores. So much so we have booked a couple of nights in a nearby guest house over the coming weekend.

The town has a rich agricultural and architecture history which was self evident as we walked around the town centre.

Dotted around the streets were some beautiful and colourful trees and we soon settled in at a nearby cafe for our daily mid morning coffee and cake fix.

After enjoying our time in Bangalow we drove down the road to Newrybar, a place we’d briefly explored when last in the area. Notably it’s the home of one of the Hemsworth brothers.

Later on in the afternoon we returned to Byron Bay and walked up to the Lighthouse summit to take in the views and enjoy some fresh air.

On our way back we came across a possum snoozing in the trees, which sadly was our only wildlife spotting despite the signs suggesting koalas were in attendance.

After a spot of late lunch, we found ourselves back at the beach, but due to a shark being spotted off the main beach we were unable to return to the ocean.

This evening we’ve enjoyed the benefits of our wonderful stay at Sunrise Guesthouse where we’ve had the use of a fantastic kitchen and a lovely dinning area.

Tomorrow we are off again but only a short distance traveling down the coast to just south of Lennox Heads for one night before moving in land for the weekend and a hinterland experience at Bangalow.