Byron Bay is a coastal town on the far North Coast of the Australian state of New South Wales, located just off the Pacific Highway, approximately 800 km north of Sydney and 175 km south of Brisbane. Nearby Cape Byron is the easternmost point on the Australian mainland. Byron Bay is famed worldwide for its surfing beaches, scuba diving, whale watching,rural beauty and a laid back lifestyle. Byron Bay and its surrounding area have a population of about 30,000, the area mainly deriving its income from tourism (1.7 million visitors per annum) and farming. A new focus are the many thriving home-based businesses focus on alternative, cultural and knowledge industries, with a growing population of artists, writers and filmmakers. http://wikitravel.org/en/Byron_Bay