This was published 11 years ago
The Cape Beach House, Byron Bay review: All calm at the cape
Peace and quiet... the sense of calm that pervades Cape Beach House is its greatest asset.
Catherine Naylor revels in the space and privacy of a beach-side retreat.
I cut the engine of our hire car so I can hear this: the silence of the hinterland above Byron Bay. The landscape tumbles over the edge of the escarpment and reaches out for the Pacific. Small sounds emerge - leaves crinkling, the odd bird call - but no garbage trucks, no mobile-phone dings.
Yet the reason we have pulled up on this deserted country road is so NJA, the workaholic sitting beside me, can send an email that has to be dinging in someone's inbox by noon. While he tries to find a 3G connection amid the cow herds, I step out of the car to taste the start of my weekend - north-coast air minted with eucalypt and macadamia.
It's a 90-minute flight from Sydney to the Gold Coast, then a 50-minute drive to Byron Bay - longer if you take the back roads and stop to heed the ding of modernity. Once the email is sent, we wind our way out of the hinterland towards the sea. We stop to photograph a cow, to let a farm dog wander off the road, and to avoid the postman rounding a bend. When we pull up opposite Clarkes beach 30 minutes later, any thoughts of Sydney are miles away.
A barefoot Canadian girl opens the gate to the Cape Beach House and I'm impressed by the sense of space. Sliding doors are thrown back so the place is open from front verandah to back deck, galley kitchen and living area in between.
The look is crisp and white, from the lilies on the kitchen bench to the mints on the coffee table. Deckchairs are scattered outside; inside is a comfortable couch, an iPod dock and a selection of books and games. The atmosphere is relaxed and grown-up, in line with the beach house's child-free policy.
Our king-size bedroom, hidden at the end behind plantation shutter doors, is one of three that open on to the deck. There are another two rooms off the kitchen, one with its own verandah - all five have en suites.
Our bathroom with shower is a little sparse and could do with a few additions, such as racks for our towels, but our room is otherwise comfortable.
And then we ate We meet Katie Wilson, who runs the beach house with her husband, Marc, over breakfast - plates of fresh fruit, baskets of bread and bowls of home-made muesli topped with local honey. The continental offerings are fresh and light, as is the conversation with our fellow guests, who sit with us at the bar.
The breakfast banter is one of the rare occasions when we are aware of our fellow guests. Despite its popularity, the beach house is surprisingly private, and we come and go with ease over the weekend, never feeling like we are intruding or have been intruded upon.
The best meals of our stay are the lunches that bookend our trip - the first at Succulent Cafe on Byron Street, a locals' haunt with great coffee, and our last at the Beach Hotel, where we pull up a chair overlooking the water and, beer in hand, watch the stragglers cross the finish line in the annual triathlon.
Stepping out Clarkes is my favourite of Byron's beaches, within walking distance of the town buzz but far enough away to escape it. Staying at the beach house - 200 metres or so from the sand - means we get to make the most of it. We can hear the waves from our room at night and, in the morning, we swim out beyond them before breakfast, which we eat while still wearing our swimmers.
The weekend is spent reading on the sand, dozing and doing a little work. We browse the shops of Byron and nearby Bangalow. On our first morning, we walk along the beach to the lighthouse, perched on the cape after which the beach house is named, and take turns with binoculars trying to see turtles and stingrays in the water below.
The deal maker The sense of calm that pervades Cape Beach House is its greatest asset. When I turn the pages of the visitors' book, I realise I'm not alone in finding something here that you can't quantify.
The tranquillity is so powerful and seductive, I feel out of sorts at the thought of leaving, and do so only after agreeing with NJA that we will return - next time without the laptop.
Weekends Away are reviewed anonymously and paid for by Traveller.
VISITORS' BOOK
The Cape Beach House
Address 94 Lawson Street, Byron Bay.
The verdict A stress-free, child-free, breezy place by the beach.
Price $210 a night on weekends (low season, $225 high). Midweek from $135 a night (low season) to $185 (high). Tariff includes continental breakfast.
Bookings Phone 6685 5836; see thecape.com.au.
Getting there The Cape Beach House is a 50-minute drive from Gold Coast Airport, or 35 minutes from Ballina Airport. Virgin Australia and Jetstar fly from Sydney to the Gold Coast (1hr 20min) and to Ballina (1hr 15min).
Perfect for A weekend to unwind.
Wheelchair access No.
While you're there Sip an early-morning coffee at the Byron Beach Cafe across the road; walk to the lighthouse and look for whales; swim at Clarkes beach; take a drive in the hills and stop at Bangalow for ice-cream; and have Sunday lunch at the Beach Hotel.
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