Stunning sunsets and much more at Port Macquarie

Port Macquarie and the surrounding area are full of natural wonders including beaches, lakes, rivers and Natural Parks.

A stunning sunset over the river at Port Macquarie

390 kilometres north of Sydney, the town is located where the Hastings River meets the ocean. Besides the River and other waterways Port Macquarie has a range of beautiful beaches and average temperatures ranging from 7 to 27 degrees. These all ensure its a popular holiday area for fishing, surfing, beach and nature lovers alike. 

 We visited in August and enjoyed mild days of 22 degrees allowing us to fish in the River, explore the rainforest and visit a number of beaches including Town Beach, Flynns Beach, Shelly Beach and Lighthouse Beach. 

Here's a snapshot of some of the activities to enjoy if you visit the area.

Sea Acres Rainforest Centre


Located a short distance south of Port Macquarie the Sea Acres Rainforest Centre is certainly worth a visit.

With a 1.3 kilometre boardwalk meandering through the rainforest the Centre is suitable for people of all ages.  Its also possible to spot wildlife along the boardwalk. We were luck to observe a bush turkey building its nesting mound and a small and large lace monitor. Birds can be heard in the surrounding rainforest and the sound of the whip bird  was a pleasing and regular occurrence. 

Lace Monitor

There is an amazing Aboriginal exhibit downstairs at the Centre called the "Spirit of the land exhibition". Hearing and seeing the 2 Birpai Aboriginal stories told via sand drawings was totally fascinating and well worth the gold coin entry fee. 

A cafe and souvenir shop is also located at the Centre.

Lighthouse Beach

A short drive south of Port Macquarie Lighthouse Beach is a 9 kilometre stretch of beach with Watonga Rocks sitting on the sand part way along the beach.

Lighthouse Beach from the Lighthouse

The beach is popular with surfers and at the southern end camel safaris and 4wd's share the sand.

Tacking Point Lighthouse 

The beach is named after Tacking Point Lighthouse  which is the 3rd oldest lighthouse in Australia,  built in 1879, after more than 20 ship wrecks occurred in the area. 

A number of viewing platforms have been built in the area around the lighthouse as its a great place to watch for whales as they travel along the coastline. Spotters for the whale watching boat tours are often seen at the lighthouse directing the boats to areas where whales are frolicking in the waters near the point.

A whale frolicking off Lighthouse Beach

Chinese Junk Cruises

For an interesting experience try a sunset cruise along the Hastings River in an authentic Junk.

There's also a lunchtime fish and chips cruise where I'm told dolphins are often spotted.


Ellensborough Falls

If you love waterfalls and don't mind driving a longer distance Ellensborough Falls is located in Manning Valley at Elands approx 85 kilometres west of Port Macquarie. 

The falls are one of the longest single drop waterfalls in the southern hemisphere and are easily viewed from the car park area. 

There is a short walk to the head of the falls or you can walk down more than 600 steps to view the falls from the bottom. 

A kiosk is located in the car park area but only open on Fridays, weekends and NSW school holidays from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Other useful information

Port Macquarie beach guide

Beach safety in Australia

Whale watching and more on the Fraser Coast

Hervey Bay

Hervey Bay is located on the Fraser Coast a region that is famous for its natural wonders including whales, dolphins and Fraser Island; which is the world's largest sand island and  Heritage Listed. 

We flew into Brisbane and drove the 3.5 hours to Hervey Bay along the Bruce Highway. But you can also fly into the Sunshine Coast or Hervey Bay itself. 

On the beach at Hervey Bay

Hervey Bay has a wide range of accommodation ranging from backpackers, apartments, resorts, caravan parks and house for rent. We chose to stay at White Crest Luxury Apartments as it was close to shops, restaurants and across the road from the beach.   

  
After checking into our apartment we booked a whale watching cruise for the next day, as this was to be a highlight of our visit to the area. We then set out to explore the local area and took a long walk along the beach.

Fishing at Hervey Bay

Like most beach side suburbs the town radiates out from the beach with accommodation, restaurants and shops lining the nearby streets. Hervey Bay has a number of suburbs which have grown over the years to cover quite a large area.  So don't be confused when you see names such as Torquay, Pialba and Point Vernon as these are all located along the coastline at Hervey Bay.

Great Sandy Straits Marina

The next morning we were collected outside our accommodation and taken to the Marina for our whale watching cruise with Whalesong, who are one of the many whale watching companies in Hervey Bay. We did a morning cruise but you can also choose an afternoon or full day cruise.

Smooth sailing even into a storm

We enjoyed a breakfast of quiche, bacon, sausages, salads and bread which was served shortly after we departed the Marina. The weather wasn't looking great as we headed out of the bay in search of whales. We went through some small rain storms but it was still very smooth sailing and we continued to enjoy staying out on the deck.

Our first experience of a whale breaching

After about an hour of cruising we came across our first whales which caused a lot of excitement and everyone moved outside onto the decks.  We observed a number of pods as the boat cruised from one area to another looking for more active whales.

A whale swims underneath our boat

The whales mainly travelled in pairs, some mothers and calves, we saw them waving with their fins, swimming up and down and breaching as they played in the ocean nearby.

Swimming close to the boat

Just before we headed towards home a whale decided to come so close to the boat that it swam beneath us and then popped up on the other side. It was an amazing experience being so close to this gentle but gigantic creature.

A final breaching before we head for home

Watching the whales breach was one of the best experiences of the morning. I found it hard to catch them on the camera but we did manage to some great acrobatics on video. 

Whale watching video

What to do in Hervey Bay

Best meal was at Maddigans Fish and Chips in Torquay, its a take away, but the range of fish and other seafood was fantastic.

Tin Can Bay

We left the highway and dropped in to see this quaint fishing and boating haven whilst travelling south to the Sunshine Coast. Tin Can Bay is also renowned for dolphin sighting at Norman Point, normally between 7.30 and 8 a.m.  

Tin Can Bay Harbour

Prawns, scallops and spanner crabs are all caught in this area with many destined for the overseas market.  We also saw a number of houseboats moored in the Bay demonstrating the range of water activities that draw people to the live and holiday in the area.

View from Les Lee Park, Tin Can Bay

Rainbow Beach

We took another diversion to Rainbow Beach another lovely seaside village known for fishing, boating, surfing. prawning and crabbing. 

Rainbow Beach is also known as the main entry point to Fraser Island due to the short ferry ride from Inskip Point.    Its where we crossed a number of years ago to spend 5 days on this amazing Island.

The town of Rainbow Beach has grown substantially since we last visited and there is now a range of shops, accommodation and activities to enjoy.

Fishing at Inskip Point,  Rainbow Beach

We were surprised at the extent of camping areas that line the road as you drive to Inskip Point.         These looked like amazing camping sites shaded by cypress pines and other trees and shrubs in walking distance to the beach and close to the town of Rainbow Beach. 

The coloured sands at Inskip Point (once known as Black Beach) are explained in the Kaby Dreaming story of Yiningie, the spirit of the gods, who often took the form of a rainbow. Yiningie was killed in a fight when he crashed into cliffs and his spirit coloured the sands.   

Ferry crossing from Fraser Island to Inskip Point

 More information about Inskip Point

A glimpse of Fraser Island