Sails Port Macquarie by RydgesCredit: Destination NSW
Scenic views of the Hastings River from Sails Port Macquarie, Port Macquarie.
#feelnsw #newsouthwales
Take a relaxing, rewarding road trip along the southern sections of the Legendary Pacific Coast Drive, hugging the picturesque coastline north of Sydney to the beachside holiday destination of Port Macquarie, where laidback locals include heart-melting koalas. With a total driving time of less than five hours, you’ll never spend long in the car as you spend memorable days enjoying pretty beaches, great seasonal food in charming seaside towns and expanses of preserved natural beauty.
Activate holiday mode on the Central Coast
Start your epic drive by rejoicing in a string of beautiful beaches on the Central Coast, an hour’s drive north of Sydney. Refresh with an ocean swim or ease into a relaxed frame of mind with a stroll around the seaside villages of Ettalong Beach and Avoca and the larger beachside town of Terrigal.
Grab an energising caffeine hit — and maybe an exotic street food-inspired snack — at Lords of Pour in Ettalong, or linger in Terrigal for a long lunch at the likes of The Cowrie, where you can take in panoramic ocean views as you tuck into dishes spanning ocean trout tartare to sage and parmesan gnocchi with torched broccolini. Or take your taste buds to the Mediterranean via the Middle East and Asia at Yellowtail, a fabulous fine dining restaurant that offers tantalising lunch and dinner menus.
With an infinity pool spilling into a peaceful bush setting, The Outlook Cabana is a great base to relax and recharge before hitting the road again. The luxury cabin sleeps up to four people, and features an outdoor log fire you can cosy up beside on cool nights.
Embrace the new in Newcastle
Follow the curves of the coast northward for another hour to the vibrant port city of Newcastle. Learn about the changing face of Newcastle as you pedal through alleys splashed with street art on a cycling tour with Newy Rides. Then take a side trip back to your childhood at Mayfield Canteen, a novel café that has revived the roast of the day and other nostalgic takeaway classics, before joining fun-loving locals for an aperitivo at light-filled Humbug, a neighbourhood wine bar where the homemade pasta and noodles warm the soul.
Soak up more Newcastle history along with a slice of urban luxury at the slick QT Newcastle, where chic metallic furnishings reference the city’s mining heritage. Head up to the rooftop bar to bask in the golden glow of sunset with a cocktail in hand, then enjoy a hearty meal of local produce at in-house Jana Restaurant and Bar.
Avoca Beach, Central Coast Credit: Destination NSW
Woman heading out for a morning surf at Avoca Beach on the Central Coast.
#feelnsw #newsouthwales
Avoca Beach, Central Coast Credit: Destination NSW
Woman heading out for a morning surf at Avoca Beach on the Central Coast.
Jana Restaurant & Bar, QT Newcastle Credit: QT Hotels & Resorts
A selection of dishes from Jana Restaurant & Bar, QT Newcastle
#feelnsw
Jana Restaurant & Bar, QT Newcastle Credit: QT Hotels & Resorts
A selection of dishes from Jana Restaurant & Bar, QT Newcastle
Pair nature with fabulous food in Port Stephens
Get back to nature in a big way in Port Stephens, less than an hour’s drive north of Newcastle. Get a buzz watching wild dolphins frolic in the Port Stephens–Great Lakes Marine Park on a cruise with Moonshadow–TQC Cruises, work up a sweat on the 2.2km-return Tomaree Head Summit Walk in Tomaree National Park, or simply seize the opportunity to laze on picture-perfect Zenith Beach.
Toast to a day well spent with an ice-cold Little Beach Lager at Below Deck marina café and bar. Perched over the azure waters of Nelson Bay and surrounded by bushland, it’s a dreamy location to catch the sunset. Then head upstairs to savour the setting along with contemporary dishes celebrating the region’s bounty at Little Beach Boathouse restaurant.
Retire for the night in luxury at The Anchorage in Corlette, where sweet dreams come easy after an indulgent visit to the hotel’s Spa Lucca.
Breeze along the Barrington Coast
Slow down to fully appreciate the spectacular scenery as you trace the blissful Barrington Coast, north of Port Stephens, perhaps pausing for an invigorating dip at Blueys Beach, one of the region’s prettiest stretches of sand. Or take a longer break to immerse yourself in nature on the 7.3km Booti Hill and Wallis Lake Walking Track in Booti Booti National Park, which pairs inspiring views with sweet swimming spots.
Continue on the coast road to the seaside town of Forster, where the soothing blue waters of Wallis Creek set the tone for a relaxing long lunch at Mediterranean-inspired Isola Riva, housed in a historic boatshed overlooking the water. Or keep it casual with an ultra-fresh fish and chips feast by the water at Wallis Lake Fishermen’s Co-op, just across the Coolongolook River in Tuncurry.
Push on to Port Macquarie for the night, or check into Forster’s Dorsal Hotel, where you can wake up with the sun in its ocean-facing rooms, refreshed and ready for your final leg of the trip.
Peace out in Port Macquarie
Savour the last hour or so of your road trip as you drive past the lush farms, coastal national parks and lazy rivers of the Manning Valley on your way to Port Macquarie. When you arrive, take your cues from resident koalas — which you might be lucky enough to spot along the 1.3km rainforest boardwalk in Sea Acres National Park — and relax.
A leisurely walk along the expansive Lighthouse Beach is a great way to wind down, followed by a moreish seafood meal at Bills Fishhouse and Bar or the iconic Whalebone Wharf, where you can slurp oysters to your heart’s content. Top off your trip with a calming soak in the private outdoor spa pool of your quaint cottage at Telegraph Retreat, just 15 minutes north of town. Or, soak up waterfront views from the sophisticated, Sails Port Macquarie.
Tomaree Head Summit Walk, Port Stephens Credit: Destination NSW
Couple enjoying the coastal views along Tomaree Head Summit Walk, Port Stephens.
#feelnsw #newsouthwales
Tomaree Head Summit Walk, Port Stephens Credit: Destination NSW
Couple enjoying the coastal views along Tomaree Head Summit Walk, Port Stephens.
Whalebone Wharf, Port Macquarie Credit: Destination NSW
The interior of the Whalebone Wharf seafood restaurant with views across Hastings River, Port Macquarie.
#feelnsw #newsouthwales
Whalebone Wharf, Port Macquarie Credit: Destination NSW
The interior of the Whalebone Wharf seafood restaurant with views across Hastings River, Port Macquarie.
More Inspirational Stories
Mulwala Water Ski Club, MulwalaCredit: Destination NSW
Mulwala Water Ski Club located in the Riverina Murray region in Mulwala, offers an outdoor bar and casual relaxed dining overlooking Lake Mulwala. Learn to water ski on a world-class, private, twin lake the Max Kirwan Ski Park.
#feelnsw #newsouthwales
Cool off with an adventure: NSW is a watersports playground
Mulwala Water Ski Club, Mulwala Credit: Destination NSW
#feelnsw #newsouthwales
Hot sands, wild rivers, bays with towers of coral and waves that curl like a rockabilly quiff – NSW is a paradise for adventure on and under the water. For adrenaline-chasers, there are world-class waves and whitewater runs, foils and jet boats built for speed, and reefs home to sharks and turtles. For the quiet adventurers, try paddleboard expeditions, fishing for rainbow trout and bass in pristine rivers, and colourful snorkelling spots.
Your next adrenaline hit
Surfing may be the famous action-hero of the NSW watersports scene, but the state’s rivers, lakes, bays and beaches also host a huge diversity of aquatic adventures to get the heart racing. Take in Sydney Harbour’s icons, while spinning, splashing and thundering past in a jet boat with Oz Jet Boating or Thunder Jet Boat. In Western Sydney, Penrith is a hub for adventure. Penrith Whitewater Stadium, purpose-built for the 2000 Olympics, is uniquely set up for both beginner paddling and intense raft adventures, as well as kayak courses where you can test yourself against Olympic times; Cables Wake Park teaches you to wakeboard via zipline (jumps and obstacles included); and Jet Pack Adventures lets you feel like a water-powered Iron Man.
In Brooklyn, on the Hawkesbury River, Jet Ski Safaris will take you around the bends of the river at 30 knots, while Fliteschool Manly and OzFoiling (with multiple locations on the Mid North Coast) will teach you how to cruise the coastline via eFoil, a motorised surfboard that glides above the water like an elegant seabird. Outside of Sydney, on the Murray River, encounter one of the greatest and oldest waterski clubs in the world at Mulwala Water Ski Club.
Find a wave
With reliable breaks on some of the world’s most picturesque beaches, NSW is a premium spot on the international surf circuit. Surfers with their own board and years of experience behind them can find world-class waves all up the coast while newbies can join in on a surfing lesson, all you have to do is choose which one and which beach. You can also practice on a perfectly shaped, perfectly reliable wave (with multiple options suitable for beginners or experts) at URBNSURF, Olympic Park’s surf park, and finish off with a meal at RAFI, the onsite Applejack-run restaurant and bar that overlooks the waves.
URBNSURF Sydney Credit: Applejack_Sandy’s_URBNSURF Sydney
URBNSURF Sydney
#feelnewsydney
URBNSURF Sydney Credit: Applejack_Sandy’s_URBNSURF Sydney
URBNSURF Sydney
Oz Jet Boating, Sydney Harbour Credit: Destination NSW
Experience the incredible speed of the red shark boats as they blast across Sydney harbour at high speed with Oz Jet Boating.
#feelnewsydney
Oz Jet Boating, Sydney Harbour Credit: Destination NSW
Experience the incredible speed of the red shark boats as they blast across Sydney harbour at high speed with Oz Jet Boating.
Explore NSW’s coral reefs
The pristine, ecologically rich seas of NSW have seen the development of 10 protected marine parks covering more than 100,000 square kilometres, offering a haven to wildly diverse range of sea life. Beyond those areas, in the harbour and the bays of the coastal cities, there are also vibrant ecosystems ripe for snorkel or scuba dive trips. Self-guided snorkelling can be done in most places along the coast and, provided you have the equipment and training, so can diving. Or learn the ropes with a tour. Woebegone Expeditions and Courses will teach you how to explore the reefs of the South Coast with safe, freediving techniques; Region X Snorkel Tours has you jumping off a kayak with a snorkel around Batemans Bay; and Ecotreasures fits in a headland walk between time in the aquatic reserve around Manly. For new divers, you can explore the lower North Coast with Jetty Dive Centre or the tropical far North Coast with Cooly Eco Adventures. While Sydney Underwater Scooters will set you up with a handheld swim-assister and show you the clear waters and underwater fauna of Sydney’s Gordon’s Bay.
Paddling sunrise to sunset
Every river, bay and lake has a different scene and a different story, and cruising on a kayak, canoe or stand-up paddleboard (SUP) lets you discover at your own pace. NSW is also full of explorers and local experts ready to guide you along the way. In Sydney, Sydney Harbour Kayaks and Sydney by Kayak will introduce you to the harbour at its multicolour best with dawn and dusk paddles. Manly Kayak Centre has both hire and guided options for kayaks and SUP, as well as giving you the opportunity to try your hand at SUPBALL, which is like polo but replaces the horse with a SUP. Cronulla SUP and Balmoral Paddlesurf let you explore less famous, but no less beautiful, beaches of Sydney’s south and north respectively.
On the Sapphire Coast combine your next river adventure with a story, like on Navigate Expeditions’ Aboriginal Culture Tour, where you journey into the land’s Indigenous heritage, or a Kayak and Shuck Tour where you visit the oyster farms. On the North Coast, social enterprise and SUP tour guides Wajaana Yaam Adventure Tours offers cultural eco-tourism on a paddleboard around the pristine waters of Solitary Island Marine Park. Not far away in The Tweed, Watersports Guru offers SUP lessons and hire, allowing you to cruise the waters Cudgen Creek while taking in the local birdlife – if you’re lucky you may even see a pod of dolphins.
Reel in a new experience
With pristine rivers and wild oceans, NSW is a dream for fishing for both newbies and those looking for the next big catch. Out on the oceans of the South Coast Kiama Charter Service will help you pull in your first deep-sea fish (go for blue-eye trevalla, gemfish or hapuka). While Port Macquarie Fishing Charters, Reel Ocean Adventures (in Tuncurry) and Evans Head Deep Sea Fishing Charters, provide the boats, deep-sea equipment and vibes on the North Coast. Inland, learn traditional yabbying in the bush at Narrabri Fish Farm, or set up your own line on NSW’s most epic jetties at Coffs Harbour, Lake Macquarie and Lake St Clair in the Hunter Valley. If you know the ways of a fly fisher, the Snowy Mountains and Blue Mountains are the hot spots.
Kayaking, Sydney Harbour Credit: Destination NSW
Friends enjoying a day of kayaking on Sydney Harbour.
#feelnewsydney
Kayaking, Sydney Harbour Credit: Destination NSW
Friends enjoying a day of kayaking on Sydney Harbour.
Navigate Expeditions, Kalaru Credit: Destination NSW
Guests on a walking tour with Navigate Expeditions in Kalaru
#feelnsw #newsouthwales
Navigate Expeditions, Kalaru Credit: Destination NSW
Guests on a walking tour with Navigate Expeditions in Kalaru