The North Coast Regional Botanic Garden sits five minutes' walk from the town centre, wrapped around a remnant pocket of mid-north-coast rainforest that the town never cleared. The collection focuses on subtropical species — the local hibiscus, banksias, the rare bunya pines from south-east Queensland — and includes a Chinese, Japanese and sensory garden in the more cultivated section near the entrance.
Allow an hour to walk the boardwalks through the rainforest gully and the mangrove section by the creek. Entry is free; a small visitor centre at the gate sells walking guides and seedlings. The garden is a favourite spot for the seven-coloured Rainbow Lorikeets, which are loud and obvious in the flowering eucalypts.