If you fancy an escape from the increasingly maddening world, Round & Round vintage coffee van is just about as chill as it gets. Set in the vast picnic grounds of the world’s only Koala Hospital in Port Macquarie, it’s fair to say their social isolation picnic game is on point. “Roscoe”, their retro black... Continue Reading →
Straight out of a coming-of-age story, the Byabarra Café Bakehouse Bar is set in rolling green hills at the foot of the Comboyne Plateau, around a forty minute drive west of Port Macquarie. Byabarra itself is a dot on the map, nothing more than a clutch of houses, an historic church and acres of prime... Continue Reading →
I guess it's a sad indictment on modern life that picking your own strawberries is now a tourist attraction. And it's going gangbusters, if my visit to Ricardoes Tomatoes & Strawberries at Port Macquarie on an ordinary Monday morning is anything to go by. Ricardoes is a ten minute drive out of town and is... Continue Reading →
Craft beer is the new golf. Ok, I made that up, but there's no denying that craft beer is getting more and more popular and starting to get almost wine-like in its hipster value. Black Duck Brewery in Port Macquarie, a four hour drive north of Sydney, has dovetailed nicely into the craft beer movement and... Continue Reading →
Back in the day, the Aussie caravan park was a symbol of the classic Aussie beach holiday: BBQ's, fishing, endless summer days spent lazing around and a permanent perfume of coconut oil mixed with that unmistakable toilet block smell. These days you can still do all of that (hopefully minus the coconut toilet aroma), but it comes... Continue Reading →
Port Macquarie, on the NSW's North Coast, was once known as nirvana for the blue rinse set. It was a sunny haven of bowls, wrinkles and clubs. All that changed thanks to (I can't believe I'm saying this) baby boomers. Many have seachanged to Port Macquarie, with their botox, flappy white sandals and fabulous hair.... Continue Reading →
Every day swathes of tourists and locals converge on Town Beach to do the Doctor's Walk and walk along the breakwater. I can see why. No matter what the weather, it's the most scenic thing you can do at 6am. There's plenty to see: surfers, stand-up paddleboarders, early morning canoers and personal trainer torture sessions... Continue Reading →
A week or so ago I was in the Port Macquarie hood. This not-so-sleepy coastal hang is around five hours drive north of Sydney and reputedly has the best climate in Australia. Not only that but it boasts beach and riverside scenery, hinterland, good (if expensive) restaurants, a swish new theatre complex and a pretty... Continue Reading →
Port Macquarie's boardwalk runs from the Village Green, in the centre of town, to Town Beach. By day it's a fave spot for fishos, surfers, walkers and anyone who is after a bit of a bludge by the water. Which kind of sums up the whole of Australia, really. But as the sun plops over... Continue Reading →
Port Macquarie and an edgy coffee scene don't usually go together ... until now. Part of the ex-ambo station on the street that leads to Town Beach has been turned into a small but dynamic cafe called, what else, but Casualties. Open from 6.30am til mid arvo, cyclists love it, as do people on the way... Continue Reading →
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