A Canberra Girl’s Guide to The Tweed
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When Canberra’s winter mornings have you scraping frost off the car windscreen and questioning your life choices, there’s a subtropical paradise just waiting to thaw you out.
Welcome to The Tweed in northern New South Wales – a region where ancient volcanic soils nurture everything from exotic fruits to award-winning restaurants, and where the closest thing to a cold snap is deciding between indoor or outdoor dining.
An unexpected foodie paradise with a distinct hipster twist, this is one region to put on your radar. Here’s our Canberra Girl’s Guide to The Tweed.
ABOUT THE TWEED
Nestled within the largest caldera in the Southern Hemisphere, The Tweed occupies a unique landscape where the remnants of an ancient volcano have created some of the most fertile ground in Australia. The dramatic peak of Wollumbin Mount Warning – sacred to the Bundjalung people and meaning ‘cloud catcher’ – rises 1,157 metres above this tropical playground, creating a backdrop that’s equal parts stunning and spiritually significant.
Conveniently close to Gold Coast Airport, The Tweed feels a world away from Canberra’s crisp winter air. Here, the volcanic soils sprout coffee plantations, tropical fruit orchards, and the kind of produce that makes restaurateurs weak at the knees. It’s the perfect winter escape for anyone craving warmth, incredible food, and a relaxed pace.
EAT
Tweed River House, Murwillumbah
Tweed River House. Image: Destination NSW.
Perched on the lush banks of the Tweed River with panoramic views of Wollumbin and the hinterland ranges, Tweed River House is a magnificently restored century-old building that recently earned a chef’s hat in the 2025 Australian Good Food Guide Awards.
The elegant pressed tin ceilings create the perfect atmosphere for lingering over lunch on the River Terrace, where sweeping views make every meal feel like a celebration. For something more relaxed, the Lawn bar by the river serves signature cocktails and craft beers alongside a tempting bar bites menu.
131 River Street, South Murwillumbah NSW | tweedriverhouse.com.au
Bistro Livi, Murwillumbah
Bistro Livi. Image: Destination NSW.
Set within an Art Deco building in Murwillumbah’s cultural precinct, Bistro Livi serves up Spanish-influenced fare with excellent service. This intimate spot, run by a team who clearly share a mutual obsession with exceptional food and wine, focuses on quality Northern Rivers produce served as shared plates.
The fact that The Good Food Guide named it 2024 Regional Restaurant of the Year should tell you everything you need to know.
Open Wednesday to Saturday for dinner and Saturday lunch, Livi welcomes both reservations and walk-ins, though we’d suggest booking ahead – especially when you’re escaping winter for the weekend.
1A 1-3 Brisbane St, Murwillumbah | bistrolivi.com
Pipit, Pottsville
Pipit. Image: Destination NSW.
Since opening in 2019, Pipit has become the kind of coastal restaurant that locals try to keep secret (unsuccessfully). Chef-owner Ben Devlin brings serious credentials – think Esquire in Brisbane, Noma in Copenhagen, and Paper Daisy at Cabarita – to this small family business that values creativity, sustainability, and collaboration above all else.
This award-winning restaurant embodies everything wonderful about the region’s dining scene – intimate, innovative, and impossibly fresh.
Shop 4/ 8 Coronation Ave, Pottsville | pipitrestaurant.com
Farm & Co, Cudgen
Sometimes the most beautiful dining experiences happen surrounded by the very ingredients on your plate. Farm & Co is a working 52-acre organic farm where you can wander through sunflowers with your barista-made coffee, then settle in for a refined rustic dining experience overlooking the fields.
Their seasonal menu is designed for sharing, featuring produce picked daily from their own soil. The Farm Store stocks their organically grown produce plus carefully sourced goods from other local suppliers, making it the perfect place to take a piece of The Tweed’s bounty home with you.
529 Cudgen Rd, Cudgen | farmandco.com.au
DRINK
Husk Distillers, Tumbulgum
Husk Distillers. Image: Destination NSW.
Australia’s only single estate paddock-to-bottle rum distillery deserves a spot on every spirits lover’s bucket list. Set on 150 acres along the Tweed River banks, Husk Distillers offers views across the valley to Wollumbin that are almost as intoxicating as their award-winning spirits.
The 45-minute behind-the-scenes distillery tour includes a guided seven-spirit tasting and teaches you the fascinating process of creating Husk Rum and Ink Gin from paddock to bottle.
The cellar door serves cocktails and lunch, plus limited-release products you won’t find anywhere else.
1152 Dulguigan Road, North Tumbulgum | huskdistillers.com
The Imperial Hotel, Murwillumbah
Born in 1931, “The Impy” stands as one of The Tweed’s oldest hotels and a stunning salon pink example of the region’s famous Art Deco architecture. A thoughtful 2016 revamp took three years to complete, masterfully weaving together old and new.
Upstairs, the accommodation now features all the mod cons you’d expect – ensuites, flatscreen TVs, and fridges – while the bar and bistro celebrate the building’s heritage with 1930s concrete sinks, original copper pipes, leather booths crafted from the original bar, and a pair of Chesterfield sofas that command attention in the bistro.
The Imperial Hotel 115 Murwillumbah Street, Murwillumbah | impy.com.au
STAY
Crystal Creek Rainforest Retreat, Upper Crystal Creek
Crystal Creek Rainforest Retreat. Image: Destination NSW.
When you want to completely disconnect from the world (and Canberra’s winter blues), Crystal Creek offers the ultimate escape. This adults-only retreat nestles among 250 acres of pristine ancient rainforest, where 13 individually positioned villas and lodges offer complete privacy and seclusion.
Each spacious villa features cosy lounges, log fireplaces, and floor-to-ceiling windows that frame incredible rainforest and mountain views. The Mountain Lodges take luxury up another level with generous decks and private heated plunge pools overlooking those breathtaking vistas. All accommodations include fitted kitchens and outdoor Weber barbecues, plus the option of discreetly delivered breakfast baskets and gourmet hampers.
The new Wine Cellar and Bar Lounge houses over 1,000 bottles from international and local wine regions in the onsite wine cellar, inviting guests to unwind over rare vintages and cocktails by the fire. A new chef and fresh menu selection for private dining options (from in-room to creekside) mean you won’t even need to leave this enduring hinterland haven.
201 Booka Road, Upper Crystal Creek via Murwillumbah | ccrr.com.au
PLAY
Rainforest Walks at Crystal Creek
Crystal Creek Rainforest Retreat Sunrise trail. Image: Destination NSW.
When you’ve had your fill of fine wines and dining at Crystal Creek, eight kilometres of rainforest walking trails winding through 400 types of flora and numerous native species are (literally) at your doorstep.
With 150 bird species call the retreat home, and there’s something special about a sunrise stroll to the soundtrack of birdcall. Rock pools and hammocks along the creek offer perfect spots for afternoon naps – because isn’t that what winter escapes are really about?
201 Booka Road, Upper Crystal Creek via Murwillumbah | ccrr.com.au
Tweed Regional Gallery and Margaret Olley Centre, Murwillumbah
Tweed Regional Gallery and Margaret Olley Centre. Image: Destination NSW.
Housed in an architecturally award-winning building with breathtaking views to rival its collection of art, this impressive gallery complex presents seven exhibition spaces featuring everything from historical to contemporary touring exhibitions.
Until 31 August 2025, it’s home to Ben Quilty’s Archibald Prize-winning portrait of Margaret Olley in The Margaret Olley Art Centre (MOAC). MOAC celebrates the career, life and legacy of its namesake, Margaret Olley – Australia’s most celebrated painter of still life and interiors – and features a fascinating and painstaking recreation of areas of Olley’s famous home studio, filled with over 20,000 items Olley collected over many years as subject matter for her paintings.
2 Mistral Rd, South Murwillumbah | gallery.tweed.nsw.gov.au
M | Arts Precinct, Murwillumbah
M | Arts Precinct transforms the typical gallery experience into a unique cultural destination, bringing together micro art galleries, cinema, restaurants, and creative retail spaces where you can connect directly with artists and makers in their studios.
The precinct also houses cafes, bars, and food outlets, making it the perfect place to spend a leisurely afternoon exploring The Tweed’s thriving arts scene.
Cnr Brisbane & Wollumbin Streets, Murwillumbah | m-arts.com.au
Tropical Fruit World, Duranbah
Tropical Fruit World. Image: Destination NSW.
Tropical Fruit World’s tractor tours take you through vibrant orchards where over 500 exotic fruit varieties thrive in the region’s unique volcanic soil. Expert guides share fascinating insights into sustainable farming techniques and the area’s agricultural history while you taste flavours that simply don’t exist in Canberra’s winter markets. Chocolate Pudding Fruit (Black Sapote) anyone?
Tour highlights include picking bananas directly from the trees, cracking open fresh macadamias, and sampling whatever exotic fruits happen to be in season.
29 Duranbah Road, Duranbah | tropicalfruitworld.com.au
Retail Therapy
VESII.G. Image: Amanda Whitley
The Tweed’s shopping scene is a vintage lover’s dream, where Art Deco storefronts house treasures spanning decades of style. Start your retail adventure at Scarletts Wardrobe Vintage in Murwillumbah – a wonderland of fashion from the 1940s through to the 1970s – think matching bag and shoe sets, winter coats, and original headwear from every era. Relative newcomer VESII.G tempts passersby (and caffiends waiting for a great brew from KEITH) with a vibrant assortment of one off vintage and recycled clothing and acessories.
For serious collectors, Heath’s Old Wares and Collectables in Burringbar is legendary, with a floor-to-ceiling collection so authentic that Hollywood producers source props here for major films like Peter Pan and Elvis.
Find a carefully curated range of bespoke giftware, sustainable lifestyle products, cards, magazines, stationery, toys, games, books, local tourist mementos and more at The Foundry Murwillumbah in a lovingly restored 1908 building.
Or browse New Release Antiques in the original Austral Cafe building, where art deco window displays showcase everything from vintage clocks to Persian rugs.
It’s the perfect way to spend a warm afternoon while Canberra shivers.
Plan your boutique break at visitthetweed.com.au. The author travelled to The Tweed courtesy of Destination NSW.
