BEAUTY CRYSTAL CLEAR
IF you thought Byron Bay was just about beaches, you’d be wrong.
Tucked away in the northern NSW hinterland are Crystal Castle and the adjoining Shambhala Gardens.
Call it magical or spiritual, these subtropical gardens pay homage to Buddha while giant amethyst crystals in the gardens are there to help relax visitors.
You’ll need it, after spending 90 minutes getting to Mullumbimby via the Pacific Motorway from the Gold Coast.
To see the crystals and gardens, you’ll need a day pass, beginning at $23 for a child and $29 for an adult.
Fringed by tall eucalypts, the gardens host an array of interesting offerings including a sacred World Peace Stupa, which was built to protect against negative energies.
It is the only one in the southern hemisphere – and one of just seven in the world.
The Buddha Walk is a 500m stroll through subtropical gardens, bamboo and meditation spaces. You’ll even see a large 4m-high Buddha statue and a number of other monuments to gods and goddesses.
A labyrinth inside the gardens is supposed to help you quiet your mind as you follow it all the way towards the middle, where you can then meditate or say a prayer.
Of course, your trip to the Crystal Castle is not complete without viewing the massive 5.5m-high purple geodes, speckled with amythysts and quartz.
And if you have time, try their other walks including a massaging reflexology path, a rainforest walk, the Damanhur Spiral path and enchanted cave.
Crystal Castle is open every day of the year from 10am to 5pm except Good Friday, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.