We are driving from Sydney to Tweed Heads in late September. Plan to visit Koala Sanctuary in Port Macquarie - then have a day and a half - where else should we stop.

Crescent Head or Hat Head, inland from Kempsey, have beautiful beaches and you can also see lots of wallabies on the headlands. Nothing much on the culinary front there, but you can rent flat-like accommodation in Hat Head and do your own cooking.

Whoops, should read "on the coast near Kempsey." The history museum at Kempsey is worth a look, it's an early work of Glen Murcutt, the only Australian architect to win the Pritker prize (it's a kind of modernist woolshed).

Another koala stop is near Port Stephens, Tilligerry Peninsula.

The Tavern at Crescent Head & the Riverview Hotel at Smithtown (just north of Kempsey, detour about 10 mins) both had excellent food when I was there last month.

The Riverview is, as the name suggests, in a lovely settling right on the river and Smithtown is a charming little hamlet.

I would recommend that veering off the highway before reaching the border, and drive through little coastal villages, like Potsville, Cabarita Beach, Moobal (see the general store/cafe), and even stop & have a meal in cafe or restaurant at Kingscliffe.

Thanks folks. Any suggestions of which town we should stop in between Pt. Macquarie and Tweed Heads. Have to be in Tweed Heads for lunch around noon, so have two nights on the road - one in Port Macquarie, where else.

Maybe Grafton, it will be slightly too early for the Jacaranda festival, but I wonder if some of them will be in flower in late September. The town looks extraordinary when they are all in flower.

Alternatively, Byron Bay is further up the coast, maybe that's too close to Tweed Heads?