Even if you’d told me how beautiful the Brunswick Heads river is, I wouldn’t have believed you. As we drove into town and turned onto the bridge to cross the river, my jaw dropped. The sparkling, clear blue water  was dotted with kayaks, canoes, little jet boats and swimmers who were jumping off the bridge. There are a few sand banks just below the surface of the water, so in some spots it looked as if people were walking on water.

We were on our way to Byron Bay from Brisbane, so Brunswick Heads was the perfect place to break up the drive with a lunch break – definitely beats a roadside McDonald’s stop!

Straight after the beach we went and got lunch at the charming Hotel Brunswick. It’s got a busy, beachy atmosphere with views across to the river and tasty food. I ordered the grilled octopus salad, which was essentially lettuce, tiny octopus and loads of balsamic. David did a great job of making me squeamish mid-mouthful of tentacles and there was a bit too much balsamic and too little carbs for my liking. I prefer my octopus packaged as calamari!

After lunch we walked across the street and stretched out on the banks of the river. The “Brunswick Bucaneer” has been covered in plywood and painted up to look like a pirate ship! Very cute! Questionably sea-worthy. I don’t think it gets out much, but you can hire it.

Next time I go back I will definitely be hiring a kayak. Only $14 for half an hour or $20 an hour!

I could easily have spent all day here. Between hitting the beach, hiring a canoe or kayak, going for a swim in the river, eating lunch and then relaxing on the riverbank there’s plenty to do for a lazy day. The river was definitely popular, but it wasn’t too crowded or noisy. In fact, there were only two people I remember hearing when we were on the riverbank. One was a local guy telling his friends how his mate had smoked “wayy too much green maaaan” and the other was a little boy who was horrified that someone was going to eat “the cwab” (crab). Cute.

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