Discover Byron’s best side

Heavenly hamlet of Federal offers another perspective on the famous region

Fewer travellers find Federal. The Northern NSW idyll is just 25 minutes’ drive from Byron, but eons from the Bay cliche.

The roads narrow once we’ve passed Bangalow, canopies arcing overheard to form a portal of dappled light.

It’s not until our dusty HiLux huffs its way to the ridge line that we’re ejected into a pastoral panorama, gentle hills rolling to the horizon under a big sky.

Heartwood Farm Byron Bay – the scene for my girls’ getaway – is perched at the end of a finger of farmland, capturing views that unfold beyond the Wilson River at its boundary.

We have 40ha to ourselves and there’s not a barefoot Hemsworth in sight (although, like many of the region’s residents, Heartwood is happy to moonlight when film crews knock).

Owners Nicole and Craig Spencer have poured their hearts into the whitewashed cottage, with Craig’s building credentials behind the respectful transformation of one of the area’s original homesteads.

The couple live on the working cattle farm, but their home isn’t visible from the guest accommodation.

Visitors are more likely to spot kelpies Levi and Rippa and their small, scruffy sidekick Bonnie, forming a tailwagging welcome party.

The cottage has two bedrooms – pre-empting any room-claiming squabbles, both are beautiful.

Picture-panelled white walls with an injection of moody navy, beds loaded with tactile linen, and timeworn treasures arranged on antique furniture.

Cosy couple getaways are Heartwood’s bread and butter and there’s room for two in the claw-foot bath hunkered in the vintage bathroom.

A farm-style kitchen is kitted with every home comfort, including a jar of Monte Carlo biscuits and fat, speckled eggs from the chicken caravan.

There’s freshly ground coffee from Maxima Coffee Roasters, a Central Coast operation owned by Nicole’s brother.

Every booking comes with a little black book of contacts – private chef, yoga instructor, masseuse – for those who want to scale up the splurge factor.

But Heartwood is also a place to do a lot of very little.

There are big, old trees to climb – swings hidden in their tangle of branches – and picnic blankets to spread on the sandy banks of a reflective river.

There are stories to swap around the firepit, with a careful eye on marshmallow-loaded forks in the flames.

We revolve between the heated plunge pool and its sun-warmed deck, our noses in books.

When we do get in the car, it’s only to chug the few minutes to the village of Federal, its country charm concentrated on a single street.

It’s home to Doma – a rustic Japanese restaurant with a reputation that precedes it – the cafe HQ of the very smooth Moonshine Coffee, and a timewarp of a general store that heroes the homegrown.

We also visit Minyon Falls, where walkers have the choice of a short stroll from the carpark to the top of the falls and refreshing rock pools – with long views down a canyon of dense rainforest – and a range of more intrepid immersions into Nightcap National Park.

The hike to the base of the falls (start at the Minyon Grass picnic area and allow three to four hours) rewards the extra effort.

It’s at its most magic after rain, but the trade-off is you’ll need to take some extra precautions to deter leeches that will find a way into the longest of socks.

Pop into Bangalow for breakfast (try the Full Farmers at Butcher Baker, if only for the local pork and fennel sausages) and to browse eclectic shopfronts.

A plaque spruiking the services of a witch doctor shares the street with polished homeware stores, an old-school bakery and a fantasy of a florist.

The epicurean options expand further if you make it to Bryon proper, but once you’ve found Federal, it becomes very hard to leave.

Heartwood Farm Byron Bay rates start at $425 per night for up to four adults on a minimum two-night stay. For the cheapest rates, book direct at heartwoodfarmbyronbay.com