It seems churlish to complain about Byron Bay. It is, after all, a place of extravagant natural beauty, famed for its lovely coastline and picture-perfect beaches. The town, which has a year-round population of some ten thousand people, seems to me to cope quite well with the huge demands made by the two million visitors who visit those beaches every year.

And yet. Growing popularity has meant for Byron Bay what it has meant for other places, the inevitable creep of gentrification and the uniformity that always accompanies it. Locals are quick to say that property prices have risen far beyond the means of everyone except wealthy outsiders. The downtown is dominated by overpriced clothing stores, restaurants, and coffee shops, and by far too many upscale, global brands. Stroll around the town on a day you’re feeling a little sour and it can seem like Australia’s equivalent of the horrible Hamptons. You may be repulsed by the hordes of the young and over-privileged at play. If so, and you want something a little less pampered, head a few miles north to Brunswick Heads. The coastline is just as beautiful, the downtown is small and quaint, and the hippies not as affluent.