Resorts at Coffs Harbour
 

Hi All,<BR>I'm looking at staying at one of the following resorts: Novotel Opal Cove, All Seasons Pacific Bay, Aanuka or Nautlius. Travelling with hubby and 2 children (3 and 4 years) so we want a kids club. I have never been to Coffs Harbour before, so absolutely no idea whether these places or nice, on a nice beach etc. Also, unsure what to do at Coffs? I'm tossing up between going to Coffs Harbour (and then a choice between the above resorts!) or perhaps a Queensland island (ie Dunk, Daydream and the like). Can anybody help me with their experiences (good and bad) or recommend a resort in Coffs? Thanking you all in advance<BR>Cheers

I have been to Nautlius on several occasions and its fine . Right on the Ocean. The others are probably good as well. You know here in Australia its really difficult to get away with being bad. I have been travelling the world non stop for most of my life and at times I have come across places in Aust which are not that good. But not very often. Even the ones I have met whom were not really good were at least trying to be good. And thats important. Coffs is a big Aussie town . They grow lots of wonderful banans and pineapples. To the south of Coffs about 100 mins in a car is Port Macquarie. WOW !!!! Port has cliffs, Views, Beaches, huge waves for surfers, nice little rock pools for the kids. Several nice restaurants. Lots of good old Australian style motel accommodations.<BR>There is a (excuse me) hoggs breath steak house there and I swear they cook the best steaks within a 50 mile radius of Port. Short drives both North and South of Coffs and West will be very rewarding.South West Rocks is in between Coffs and Port and is famous for its diving.There is beautiful scenery, big rivers, wonderful Oceans and beaches all through that country, lots of great fresh food and of course in that Part of Australia you will meet some real fair dinkum down to Earth true blue Australians. Paul Hogan had his little pad not far from Ballina. Not sure if he is still there or not. But the bloke who helped him write Croc Dundee had a nice pub there as well. The pub is still there, maybe some one can tell us if ole Stop is still the owner. Here is some thing special. If you have a little spare time drive from Coffs to Ballina along the coast, from Ballina inland to Glenn Innes. From Glenn Innes to Armidale, to Uralla and Bendemeer. Do a left turn at Bendemeer and head back East for the Coast. You will be following the wonderful Hastings river down through the mountains, lots of little towns and pubs, beautiful country, you will be doing the last leg of the drive on the Oxley Highway. Through Ellenborough,Bagnoo, Long Flat, Wauchope large town HUGE TREES they say some of Australias tallest timber is cut through there. And eventually after Wahchope as the Hastings begins to open up onto the planes you come to Beautiful Port Macquarie. Now write this down, during the last leg after you have turned left at Bendemeer you will come to a little place called Yarras, 2 or 3 k past that is a turn of to the left. The turn off is right on the junction off the Hastings and the Forbes rivers. Take the little road up there through the mountains. You will come to a place called Birdwood, nothing there a couple of buildings thats all. Good spot for a picnic with the kids. From there you can take a couple of little roads back out to the East or you can backtrack to the coast. <BR>Try to do this itinerary over a two day one night period. And dont forget , while you are up in that high country around Armidale , you will not be far from Tamworth, an other great little Aussie Town. Tammworth is the country music capital of Australia. We have a big festival there every year. Singing , dancing,food stalls , cake making competitions etc little bit of drinking,not much just enough to wet your tongue ,, thats all. As you know, Aussies are not known for their abillity to drink beer. COULD SOME ONE THROW ME A VB WHILE I TYPE THIS THANKS. Ha Kristy !!! there is a bloke in Tammworth , and he makes the best Damm meat pies on the planet. Trust me. I have had a few. And while Im on the subject , there is a pastry Cheef whom owns a beaut little shop in Quirindi and his pies are not bad either. Quitindi is just to the South West of Tamworth. This bloke is or ( was ) actually a famous Australian Bull Rider. Believe it or not, a bull rider whom is the best pastry Cook in Australia. Talking about pastry all you people coming here for the first time sholud try a half a dozen lamingtons from a country bakehouse. Yum Yum <BR>Pete.

Hi Pete,<BR>Thank you so much for info about Coffs and surrounding areas. So, are we better of staying at Port Macquarie rather than Coffs? Might just have to go to Tamworth for the good ole Aussie meat pie- damn, where have I been all my life without even heard of half of these places! Sounds delightful! I agree with accommodation being generally good in Oz, although I have only have one problem is what you pay for I would except better sleeping quarters (in some cases). My only concern is whether these sights would be just boring for the young children - sitting in a car for lenghty periods is also a no-no, so not sure. Thanks

Hi, Kristy!<BR>Pete makes Coffs and Port Macquarie and even Tamworth sound great, but I think I'd be choosing the Queensland island if I were you. The type of holiday he describes seems (to me, anyway) to be somewhat incompatible with an inquirer who is comparing RESORTS; it's more for the type of tourist who wants to explore old pubs in NSW. As soon as you get away from the coast in Australia, you are looking at long stretches of open road, extremes of temperature, and dust. While Coffs and Port Macquarie are certainly geared to tourists (and the beaches all along that way are great -- not that you'd know this from motoring up the Pacific Highway, which looks at the water only occasionally), Arimidale, Tamworth, Wauchope, Bendemmer and the like are not tourist towns (Tamworth is, indeed, the self-proclaimed country music capital of Australia, but that's for one week in the year, when the place comes alive; the other fifty one weeks it reverts to its usual character-less self.) There is much to be said for a holiday like the one Pete descibes -- you get to see the &quot;real&quot; Australia, and meet real Aussies, and you may go for a week without seeing another overseas tourist -- but, when you talk about resorts, I think you may be looking for something different. Try Dunk or Daydream!

Yes Alan your right. So back to my original question - are the resorts at Coffs Harbour as good as the one's on the Queensland Islands? (ie Dunk and Daydream). When I say as good, I'm interested in the actual accommodation, the activities, service, things to do... I mean, if the resorts are equal to an island resort I would seriously consider going there instead. (mind you I haven't looked into the cost at Coffs, but have done alot into the Q islands). I've been saving for this holiday for 2 years, so I want it to be excellent! (be the last for a long time) well, the last &quot;long&quot; holiday anyway!<BR>Cheers

Hello Pete , I found your info on the Hunter valley and your little drive around NSW from Coffs Harbour very informative. We have now booked into one of theB@Bs you mentioned in the Hunter. We are aslo going to drive from the Hunter to Coffs Harbour via Port Macquarie . Do you think we would be beter to stay our two nights in Port Macquarie or Coffs Harbour. PS We will be driving to Brisbane once we have conducted the tour you set out.<BR>Jan

Kristy, We stayed at the All Seasons Pacific Bay in November 2002. It was a wonderful resort and we enjoyed our stay quite a bit. A nice scenic resort with a great nature walk through the woods behind the golf course. We spotted many pademelons on our walk in the wild.<BR><BR>We would highly recommend it. Our room was large with a nice kitchen, big bath and laundry ensuite. The bar and restaraunt were great too.

Hi AussieFan<BR>Thank you kindly for your info! sounds like what we're looking for...is there nightly entertainment? Would we get bored staying 7 nights or more? What were the staff like? Also, if its not to personal, what was the cost? (we'd be looking at a 2 bedroom type accommodation) I don't suppose they include food and drinks etc? Is this the resort that has been refurbished recently? Sorry bout all the questions, just trying to get as much info as I can.

My kids loved Aanuka--terrific Kids Club-you can stay in villas which have kitchens,living room etc or in rooms hich are very nice and closer to the main complex