Located in World Heritage Nightcap National Park, Protesters Falls is a must-see while exploring the Lismore Hinterland. The easy 1.4 kilometre walk from Terania Creek Picnic Area winds its way through the Bangalow palm forest to the base of the falls.
Swimming is not permitted in the area as it is home to the endangered Fleay's barred frog.
Protesters Falls and Terania Creek is home to the first successful anti-logging protest in 1979.
Patient nature lovers may spot a platypus at Rocky Creek Dam. The dam wall is 27 metres high, 187 metres above sea level and, when full, the dam holds 14,000 mega litres of water. The 29 square kilometres of catchment area include sections of Nightcap National Park, Whian Whian State Forest and revegetated farmland.
The dam has a platypus viewing platform, an elevated boardwalk and a pontoon bridge. There are picnic and barbecue facilities with wood supplied, benches, tables and children's play equipment.
Four walks are available, ranging from 1.2 kilometres (20 minutes) to six kilometres (two hours) in length. Water Dragon Walk takes you up the hill to the lookout. Platypus Walk goes alongside Rocky Creek and back across the dam wall. Cedar Walk takes you towards the edges of the Rous Water Rainforest Reserve. Scrub Turkey Walk passes through tall a variety of forest environments.
Big Scrub loop walking track offers the chance to experience some of the most magnificent subtropical rainforest in NSW. Part of Nightcap National Park, near Lismore, it’s a popular track for community and school groups, with excellent birdwatching opportunities, crystal clear creeks and lush vegetation.
From the shallow creek crossing, the track is clearly marked with orange markers so you’ll stay on-path. You’ll see enormous fig trees, giant stinging trees and yellow carabeen towering above, forming part of the rainforest canopy. Beneath the forest giants are lush bangalow palms, black bean and maidens blush, while jackwood and lawyer vine form the understorey.
There’s an abundance of birdlife all year round, including Albert’s lyrebirds, brush turkeys and rainforest pigeons.
The Bexhill Open Air Cathedral is located at Inspiration Point, Bexhill, and overlooks the Corndale Valley with views of the Nightcap National Park in the distance. The panoramic view from the Open Air Cathedral makes it a popular spot for outdoor weddings or just a quiet place to sit and ponder.
The Bexhill Open Air Cathedral was built by the Bexhill Christian Youth Fellowship and dedicated on Palm Sunday 1958 as a place of Christian worship. The Cathedral has been maintained by the Christian Church for over fifty years, and both the Open Air Cathedral and the Church of the Good Shepherd which is only a few hundred metres down the road, are open to all branches of the Christian Church for weddings, baptisms, funerals and other worship services.
The Bexhill Open Air Cathedral is just 15 minutes from Lismore. While you are in Bexhill stop in at the Bexhill General Store to pick up local goodies or pop into Dhezi's Deli and order a picnic hamper to enjoy.
Bodhi Tree Forest Monastery and Retreat Centre was founded by Venerable Pannyavaro an Australian monk of over 25 years service in 2005. Ordained in the Thai tradition, he spent many years studying and practicing in Burma and Sri Lanka.
Pannyavaro plans to develop a meditation community to serve both lay and monastic practitioners on ninety-five acres of beautiful land at Tullera five minutes from Lismore in the Northern Rivers of New South Wales, Australia. This land has been purchased as a sanctuary and hermitage - known as Bodhi Tree Forest Monastery and Retreat centre.
House of Alwaans, located on the main street in Clunes, is a boutique store that specialises in a vibrant selection of handmade crafts and art from Arabia.
The shops showcases a variety of unique items including Moroccan rugs, home decor and other artisanal products.
Their collection is colourful and diverse with their handcrafted goods allowing customers to add a touch of exotic elegance to their homes.
Uncle Peter's Books is a general second-hand bookshop located in the beautiful village of Clunes. Book lovers can wander through and browse the seven rooms of wall-to-wall books, neatly categorised to suit all interests, and organised alphabetically by author where possible.
Uncle Peter's Books has a collection of over 30,000 quality second-hand books in this Northern Rivers Hinterland bookshop, and a further 6,000 collectible, out-of-print and rare books listed on the Abebooks website. With 24 hours' notice, they are happy to arrange an in-store viewing of any publication from their Abebooks catalogue.
The front room of Uncle Peter's Books is home to 'Little Green Clunes', a charming emporium of gifts, soaps and candles, cards, art prints and lots of little treasures.
As you drive through the village of Clunes, a visit to Uncle Peter's is worth the trip to stock up on books for your travels.
Just to the north of Lismore, Whian Whian State Conservation Area was formed to protect an area that surrounds Nightcap National Park. This charming area and its surrounds are chock-full of fantastic, fun things to do outdoors.
It's a great spot from which to enjoy some of the day walks in the area, take a picnic, or go on a mountain bike ride. For longer adventures, you can base yourself at the tranquil forest setting at Rummery Park campground. This small but well-equipped campground is popular with overnight bushwalkers undertaking the Historic Nightcap track from Mount Nardi, some 18km to the west.
There are plenty of trails in Whian Whian and Nightcap, where you can hike, cycle, or even horse ride among the ancient towering kauri, bunya and hoop pines. Native Australian animals such as goannas, kookaburras and brushtail possums will accompany your adventures, as well as threatened species such as the spotted-tailed quoll, koalas and Albert's lyrebird.
Boggy Creek walk is an easy, short walk that allows you to meander through the rainforest at your leisure between Minyon falls and Rummery Park campground in Whian Whian State Conservation Area.
The walk is a great one for the kids and is popular throughout the seasons. In the cooler months, it’s much quieter and you might even find you have the area all to yourself.
Along the way, you can relax by swimming in the many pools near the creek side section of the walk. This area is lovely; large turpentine trees, water gums and brushbox line the creek, as well as blackbutts and flooded gum.
Stop for lunch at Rummery Park campground or head back and take in the breathtaking views at Minyon Falls lookout, where Repentance Creek plunges over 100 metres, flowing down over enormous cliffs that were once part of the Tweek Volcano. If you still feel like walking, Minyon Falls walking track starts from Minyon Falls.
On the eastern edge of Nightcap National Park, near Lismore, Minyon Grass picnic area has beautiful views of the cascading falls and the surrounding forest. It's a little quieter than popular Minyon Falls lookout, making it ideal for wildlife and birdwatching enthusiasts.
Relax at the picnic tables, and enjoy a leisurely lunch on the edge of the rainforest. Look skywards for soaring peregrine falcons, or to the forest floor for brush turkeys and Albert's lyrebird. Male Albert's lyrebirds have long, ribbon-like tail plumes. You might even hear the call of the threatened Fleay's barred frog.
If you feel like a walk, head along Minyon Falls walking track and enjoy the invigorating waterfalls close up. The pools at the base of Minyon Falls are a great spot for a refreshing swim on a hot summer day.
The view from Minyon Falls lookout is the best in the area. From the lookout platform you can admire not only the falls themselves and the valley beneath, on a clear day you might be lucky and see all the way out to the coast.
Watch the cascades flow over Minyon Falls to a deep palm-shaded gorge roughly 100m below, and enjoy the sounds of local wildlife, the peaceful ambience and the spectacular natural surroundings. The tops of the cliffs are forested with Australian eucalypts, like blackbutt and scribbly gum, and a beautiful pool at the base of the falls is an ideal place to cool off and relax.
Minyon Falls is great for a quick stop, but if you'd like to spend longer at this majestic location there's a picnic area with plenty of shady trees and picnic tables. There are also a couple of bushwalks that leave from the picnic area, including Boggy Creek walk which leads to Rummery Park campground, and Minyon Falls walking track which takes you down to the base of the falls.
And while Minyon Falls does offer stunning vistas and beautiful scenery, it's more than just a spot...
Minyon Falls walking track offers the opportunity to experience a range of forests, pristine creeks and a spectacular waterfall in Nightcap National Park. Winding through Nightcap escarpment, in northern NSW, this beautiful track will challenge and delight bushwalking fans in equal measure.
Leading through dense rainforest, be sure to lookout for the spectacular stand of old-growth brushbox trees on the western side of Repentance Creek. Stop for a tranquil picnic lunch along the fern-lined creeks.
Choose to start this track from either of the picnic areas at Minyon Falls. The track links to Boggy Creek walk, which leads north to Rummery Park campground, in neighbouring Whian Whian State Conservation Area.
Spark up one of the free gas barbecues at Minyon Grass picnic area. With its picnic tables and beautiful views of cascading falls and the surrounding forest, this low key spot is a little quieter than the popular picnic spot at Minyon Falls lookout.
Nestled in the rugged ranges of Nightcap National Park, World Heritage-listed Protesters Falls walking track leads through magnificent rainforest to a spectacular waterfall. An ideal short walk for families and nature-lovers, it’s a great stop on a driving tour of the beautiful NSW North Coast hinterland, near Lismore.
Named after the Terania Creek protests of the late 1970s that saved this precious patch of pristine rainforest, it’s an important habitat for a range of endangered frogs, including the threatened Fleay’s barred frog and pouched frog.
As you walk along this easy track, you’ll notice how subtropical bangalow palms and native tamarind give way to towering rainforest giants of yellow carabeen and strangler figs. Listen out for the call of the rose-crowned fruit dove and the barred cuckoo-shrike. You might even see a pademelon darting through the bush. If you’ve worked up an appetite, enjoy a leisurely lunch at Terania Creek picnic area.
Head along Historic Nightcap walking track to experience a World Heritage rainforest with breathtaking escarpment views across Nightcap National Park. This 18 kilometre track is popular with experienced walkers looking for a remote wilderness adventure.
With the option to camp overnight at Rummery Park campground, west to east is the easiest way to take this scenic walk, but you can easily start at either end of the track.
During the 1800s and 1900s, sections of Historic Nightcap walking track were traversed by travellers and postal workers making their way between Lismore and Murwillumbah.
There’s plenty to see along the way, so remember to pack your camera and capture shots of rock orchids brightening the path, and wildlife such as the long-nosed potoroo, brush turkey and Albert’s lyrebird, who call the area home.
The Nimbin Rocks are volcanic extrusions of Rhyolite left over from the Mount Warning Tweed Volcano that erupted around 20 million years ago. As part of an eroded dyke of the volcano, Nimbin Rocks are located just outside the present day caldera wall about 20 kilometres from Mount Warning and three kilometres from Nimbin Village.
They are an extremely significant cultural site to the local Bundjalung tribe who believe the rocks were home to the Nmbngee, or Clever Men. They were also the initiation grounds for young boys.
Viewing from the road only.
Byron Bay Workers Gallery is a purpose-built, collaborative exhibition space dedicated to fine ceramics from leading local and national artists. Curated by creatives John Stewart and Leonie Lane, the gallery champions nationally recognised ceramicists while actively supporting emerging and next-generation talent.
Open every Sunday, the gallery offers a relaxed opportunity to explore thoughtfully curated exhibitions, with light refreshments available.
If you'd like, I can tighten this further to meet a specific ATDW character limit or tweak it to lean more local, more art-forward, or more visitor-friendly.
The grassy Terania Creek picnic area is an ideal place to relax for a picnic or barbecue lunch with family and friends in Nightcap National Park, near Lismore.
This special area has a rich history of conservation and was the site of historic protests to save it from further logging. Beyond its natural beauty, Terania Creek holds an incredible story of passionate environmental protection that played a key role in preserving our World-Heritage listed rainforests. Sculptural elements throughout this location bring this history to life. Pause for a moment to take them in and learn about the the protests to protect Terania Creek for future generations.
The rainforest setting, home to birds and goannas, is sure to delight children and adults alike, and the secrets of Terania Creek are waiting to be discovered.
If you need to work up an appetite before your picnic or feel like stretching your legs after a tasty barbecue, the easy Protesters Falls walking track starts from near the carpark.
Step into a vibrant journey where nature, creativity, and community spirit come together on the Nimbin Rainbow Walk. This 750-metre scenic trail offers locals and visitors a safe, accessible, and inspiring way to explore the lush beauty of Nimbin's natural landscape, while also celebrating its rich cultural and artistic heritage.
Follow the gently winding path, thoughtfully designed with formed walkways, charming boardwalks, and small bridges that guide you through shaded greenery, native gardens, and serene viewing points.
As you stroll, be inspired by captivating local artworks and interpretive storytelling signage, including pieces by local artist Ross Wallace, sharing stories that connect the land to its people and past.
The Nimbin Rainbow Walk links Nimbin Village to the town's vibrant recreation precinct, including the playground, skatepark, swimming pool, and Aquarius Park.
Designed with inclusivity in mind, the majority of the trail is accessible for all ages and abilities, so everyone can enjoy the experience at their own pace. Whether you're walking with kids, using a mobility aid, or simply enjoying a peaceful stroll, you'll find the Nimbin Rainbow Walk welcoming and easy to navigate.
Additional amenities include bike racks, newly upgraded toilets, and ample parking at the Nimbin Pool entrance. The trail is dog-friendly too—just remember to keep your furry friend on a leash.
Experience the variety of the unique landscape along the Mount Matheson loop. On this short walking track, you’ll hike through the lush rainforest that encircles Mount Matheson, before reaching the dramatic cliff edges that feature eucalypt forests. It’s not a long walk but some might find it challenging, so you’ll need to be reasonably fit, and remember to bring plenty of water.
The walk starts and ends at Mount Nardi picnic area, a small grassy area with a couple of barbecues and a picnic table.
You may want to use this loop walk to reach the Pholis Gap or historic Nightcap walking tracks. Pholis Gap is a good option to extend the loop into a day walk, and you can take the Nightcap track if you’d like to do some overnight walking and bush camping.
Length and Duration: 3 kilometres, 1.5 hours, easy-moderate
Location: Mt Nardi, Nightcap National Park
Travel Information: For opening times, fees, weather and climate information, maps and up-to-date access and road conditions see the NSW National Parks and Wildlife website.
Nightcap National Park, part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area, is a dramatically beautiful park full of ancient rainforests, magical waterways and spectacular views.
The lush rainforest provides a home for the newly discovered nightcap oak as well as a number of threatened animal species, including Albert's lyrebird and Fleay's barred frog which takes shelter under leaf litter and makes an 'ok-ok-ok-ok-ok' after rain.
With easy access from Lismore and Nimbin, you can enjoy a picnic, bushwalk or overnight camping trip amid the park's escarpments, waterfalls and crystal clear creeks and enjoy incredible views of the 20 million year-old Wollumbin shield volcano. Learn more about the special origin of this park and the protests to protect Terania Creek.
Lismore Speedway hosts a series of scheduled events involving six, sometimes up to ten drivers competing over eight anti-clockwise laps of the oval circuit.
Come and check out the action where you will see fast paced machines sideways, power sliding or broadsiding into the bends.
The speedway track is located at the Lismore Showground in North Lismore on Alexandra Parade.
It is a 400 metre long raceway made up of a Clay / Sand Mix which offers great racing without the dust or too many large ruts. The track is 15 metres wide all round providing plenty of room for side by side racing.
The Green Bank is an exciting retail and healing space for Nimbin. With a mission to provide extensively researched health and lifestyle products - with an emphasis on ethical and sustainable products.
The Green Bank is a proud supporter of selling locally handcrafted wares. You can find authentic Nimbin-made products like organic Australian-grown herbal tea blends, organic and locally-made skincare range and locally-made homeopathic kits, creams and colloidal silver products.
The Green Bank healing zone brings together a cast of massage therapists, beauty therapists and qualified counsellors, with a different practitioner working each day to pamper your body, mind and soul.
The Nimbin Mad Hattery is a one-stop hat and party shop. They stock unisex hats, top hats, bowlers, and trilbys, all 100 per cent wool felt. They also sell one-off hats made by The Hat Lady from Nimbin.
In-store, you will also find retro clothes, funky sunnies, and t-shirts, plus all your party wear including masks, wigs, boas, make-up, costumes, corsets, hats, gloves, stockings, one-off t-shirts and lots more.
The Nimbin Swimming Pool is a free pool operated for residents and visitors to the village of Nimbin. The pool has multiple shaded areas, a free barbeque and picnic tables for your enjoyment. The pool is the perfect place to cool off in the warmer months and is family friendly.
Open seven days a week.
