Locale Magazine Blog – Local Stories, Events, Guides & Inspiration from the Northern Rivers & Gold Coast

Welcome to the Locale Magazine Blog

Your destination for discovering local stories, events, businesses, people, and experiences
across the Northern Rivers & Gold Coast.

From hidden gems and weekend inspiration to community highlights, food, wellness, travel, lifestyle and local business features, our blog is designed to help you explore the region like a local. Whether you live here or are visiting the area, you’ll find fresh inspiration, local insights and authentic stories that celebrate the people and places that make this part of Australia so special.

Explore the latest articles below and discover what’s happening across the
Northern Rivers & Gold Coast with Locale Magazine.

A New Chapter for the Coast

Pottsville Properties and Witheriff Group Join Forces In a coastal town like Pottsville, real estate has never just been about property. It’s about people. It’s about understanding the nuances of the neighbourhood — the streets that catch the ocean breeze, the pockets yet to be discovered, and the families who’ve called it home for decades. For Katie Kofoed, that understanding runs deeper than most. Katie was raised in the very office she now works in. Her parents, Roger and

Big Wave Energy

Laura Enever Surfing has long been a male-dominated sport, but the tide is now turning. Laura Enever is one such surfer carving her own line. written By Lisette Drew Image credit: Matt Dunbar Growing up in the hype of the Blue Crush era, there was a shift suggesting that, yeah, maybe girls can surf. But back then, males still dominated the line-ups around the world and it was intimidating just to paddle out, let alone catch a wave. Surfing now feels entirely different. I see

THE FEMALE ECONOMY

Leadership in the Northern Rivers has a powerful through-line: women — building organisations, creating opportunity, advocating for reform and strengthening the social fabric of our communities. written By Donna Rishton-Potter This could be described as a female economy: a system shaped by shared knowledge, collaboration over competition and a commitment to collective progress. Grounded at a grassroots level, its influence reaches far beyond it. In a world that often feels fr

Something in the water

There’s a buzz on the Queensland and New South Wales border, and no, it's not just all the new cafes popping up. From the river to the sea, this once sleepy border town is rewriting its own story. This is Tweed Heads, turned up a notch. written By Lisette Drew HISTORY Tweed Heads has long been the unassuming sibling to its shinier surfer-town twin, Coolangatta. For years, it existed quietly in the background, content to move at its own pace. Aboriginal people have lived on th

THE EVENT EDIT

Here’s the thing about events — everyone remembers the venue. It’s the backdrop to family reunions and friendship gatherings, heartfelt speeches, champagne moments and a little dancefloor chaos. Get it right and everything else falls into place. From sleek corporate gatherings and milestone birthdays to weddings and parties that lean all the way in, our region is stacked with venues that know how to host. Think intimate spaces with serious atmosphere, show-stopping settings m

OPA! LET’S GO GREEK

Pass the pita, pour the wine and shout OPA! This autumn we’re embracing a full-blown Greek renaissance — all sun-drenched flavours, slow feasts and Aegean blue-and-white energy. Luckily for us, a wave of vibrant Greek kitchens across the Gold Coast and Northern Rivers is serving up the Mediterranean dream right here at home. From beachside tavernas to mountain hideaways, here’s where to find Greek food worthy of the gods. Kouzina Kouzina feels like being welcomed into a villa

HOME SWEET HOLIDAY

Look, we’d all love to pack up the whole house for the holidays — the favourite pillow, the coffee machine, the kids’ must-have toys and maybe even the dog’s bed. Because it’s those everyday comforts that make switching off instant and easy. No hunting down a laundromat. No squeezing everyone into one hotel room. Just space to spread out, slow down and settle in. That’s the magic of a holiday home. You live like a local, relax like you mean it, and still get that “I’m on holi

THE REGENT RISES AGAIN

There’s a particular kind of magic that lingers in old theatres. You can feel it in the old pull-down chairs, in the well-trodden carpet and in the hum of anticipation before the lights dim. In Murwillumbah, that magic lives inside The Regent, an Art Deco beauty that has stood proud for almost 80 years, surviving fire, flood and the slow fade of time. Now, under the care of new owner Troy Stanley, she’s shining once more, not just as a cinema but as the heart of a community.

PITCH PERFECT

There’s just something about old-school summer camping — packing the car to the hilt, hitching on the surfboards and bikes, and heading for a place where the wifi’s non-existent and the days are blissfully free of routine.

LADY OF THE REEF

Just a short flight from the mainland, Lady Elliot Island offers a rare chance to experience the Great Barrier Reef as it once was — raw, thriving and remarkably untouched. Invited for a day and a night, LOCALE went for the adventure and found something truly otherworldly. By Karen Kinnersly Flying out from the Gold Coast with Seair, the anticipation of seeing the Great Barrier Reef never gets old. The scenic flight alone is spectacular, tracing the curve of the coastline bef

RIDE THE NORTHERN RIVERS

There’s something special about exploring the Northern Rivers on two wheels — the winding country lanes, the scent of eucalypt in the air, the sweeping ocean views one minute and lush hinterland trails the next. For those who love to ride — or simply want to see the region in a slower, more connected way — Northern Rivers Cycles & Bike Hire is the ultimate starting point. Founded by lifelong cyclist Jeff Harris, who’s been in the saddle since childhood and once held Austral

WHERE BYRON'S CREATIVE STORY BEGINS

In a region defined by natural beauty, creative energy and entrepreneurial heart, Lauren — known locally as That PR Girl — has become a quiet force behind some of Byron’s most meaningful stories: the sustainable makers, the community trailblazers, the creatives and innovators, and the founders with vision and heart. A strategist, storyteller and connector, she has built a reputation for amplifying local voices and championing purpose-led brands. Her focus is on shaping storie

BREATHE NEW LIFE

A new chapter in wellness has arrived in Byron Bay with the opening of CellRegen — a regenerative health centre designed to help you lift energy, accelerate recovery and nurture true cellular healing. The centre combines world-leading Mild Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (mHBOT) and Red-Light Bed Therapy in a purpose-built, restorative space in the heart of town. Grounded in Byron’s thriving wellness community, CellRegen reflects the region’s evolution toward sciencebacked recovery

RIDING THE COAST

Andrew McKinnon — or as most surfers know him, Andy Mac — has been a voice of the waves for over 50 years. From his early days competing as a shortboard champion in the 1970s to winning the World Longboard Championship in 1988, Andy has lived and breathed surf culture. He’s reported surf conditions on radio and TV for more than three decades, written countless articles, and stood at the heart of major surfing movements — from commentary to conservation. An advocate for the Go

WHERE CULTURE MEETS THE SEA

Juraki Surf & Culture Inc. is an Indigenous not-for-profit born from a shared vision of connection — to culture, to community, and to the ocean. Founded in 2016 by Fingal Head locals Joel and Mary Slabb, Juraki began as a response to something the couple witnessed firsthand: young Indigenous surfers with enormous potential drifting away from the sport they loved. “After running the Banaam Indigenous Surf Invitational in 2015, we saw how many of our young people were being aff

PINTS OF THE PAST

There’s something deeply Australian about an old country pub — places where the beer is cold, the floorboards creak, and stories stretch longer than the verandas. From timber-getters’ bars to Art Deco beauties, the Northern Rivers’ oldest pubs have poured through war and depression, fire and flood, serving as gathering places for generations — and the ghosts of publicans past. Each one tells a story, so next time you’re cruising the backroads between the cane fields and the c

BEYOND THE BREAK

From chasing surf glory to confronting grief on screen, Byron Bay filmmaker Johnny Abegg has carved a raw, personal path through cinema and climate activism. By Chris Ashton Johnny Abegg was broke, burnt out, and chasing waves on borrowed time when he first picked up a Handycam. What started as a desperate attempt to document a dying dream became the beginning of something else entirely. After years chasing the World Surf League Qualifying Circuit, the self-described “mad-kee

ADAPTIVE BY NATURE

Mark “Mono” Stewart is a name that commands respect in the surf world. At 63, this six-time world adaptive surfing champion, Byron Bay local, and recent inductee into the NSW Sports Hall of Champions, is still competing — and still winning — against surfers half his age. But these days, his focus isn’t just on trophies. It’s on building a future for adaptive surfing in Australia. By Donna Rishton-Potter When bone cancer took his leg at fifteen, Mono found the ocean — and a ne

WHAT THE WATER REMEMBERS

For renowned artist, Otis Hope Carey, everything begins and ends with water. The ocean — Gaagal — has always been both his totem and his teacher, shaping his identity, his art, and the rhythm of his life. By Donna Rishton-Potter Carey grew up on Gumbaynggirr Country on the mid-north coast of New South Wales, where his earliest memories are of rock pools and headlands — memories that taught him how deeply water is woven through life, as cleanser, healer, and keeper of storie

TOUCH DOWN, CHECK IN, UNWIND

There’s a certain charm in finding a place that feels like a getaway, even when your journey begins or ends just steps from an airport terminal. Rydges Gold Coast Airport has mastered this balance, offering the rare combination of effortless convenience and genuine holiday comfort. Located directly adjacent to the airport, it’s the ideal choice for travellers who value speed and simplicity — but don’t want to compromise on atmosphere or experience. Just steps from the domesti