Why Coffs Harbour is a Good Stopover between Gold Coast – Sydney Road Trip

We break our Queensland Gold Coast – Sydney NSW Road Trip in Coffs Harbour. This is a regional city along the Pacific Highway between Newcastle and The Gold Coast. It took us about 4-hour drive to reach Coffs Harbour from Gold Coast. First, we went to the Big Banana to have our Big Banana Burger lunch then went to the beaches for the sunset.

Coffs Harbour is known for its banana plantations, holiday resort apartment & beaches.  There are several popular beaches in Coffs Harbour, such as Coffs Harbour Beach, Jetty Beach, Diggers Beach and Park Beach. We stayed in Park Beach but I will blog about Park Beach in another post.

Coffs Harbour Marina

This marina is worth the time to take a stroll and soak up the beautiful sunset. The yachts, fishing boats, and seabirds do make a good backdrop for the photos.

The Coffs Harbour Marina precinct has café’s, restaurants and retail specialty stores including a chandlery and surf shop. You can also go whale watching in season (June to November).

You will notice lots of holiday resorts in Coffs Harbour as this area has a mild climate even in the winter, the weather is pretty warm.

The Name Coffs Harbour

The name Coffs Harbour came from a guy named John Korff, who named the area Korff’s Harbour when he was forced to take shelter from a storm in the area in 1847.

Some other outdoor activities that may interest you in Coffs Harbour:

1. Sealy Lookout and Forest Sky Pier
– You will get the best views of Coffs Harbour which will include, rainforest, town and sea view.
– It offers an outstanding aspect overlooking the city of Coffs Harbour and extending outwards to the open ocean.
– No fees

2.The Clog Barn
– Dutch Style building which includes a miniature model Dutch village, windmill and railways.
– You will see clog making demonstration (base on the timetable)
– Free

3. Coffs Harbour Butterfly House
– Great for kids to learn about butterflies & insects
– Fees apply

4. Dolphin Marine Magic

–  Fees apply
– You will enjoy watching dolphins, seals, and penguins here.
– Sea creatures here are rescued due to injury that cannot be returned to the wild.

5. Muttonbird Island

–  Free
– Explore the areas of Aboriginal culture and history
– Whale Watching during seasons of migration.

Some other things you may like to do if raining:

• Solitary Islands Aquarium.
• Art galleries (e.g. Coffs Harbour Regional Gallery, 1st Avenue Gallery Sawtell, Woolgoolga Art Gallery & many more)
• Big Banana Fun Park (World of Bananas, Candy Kitchen, Skate Rink)
• Indoor Bowling (10-pin bowling or 9-pin bowling)
• Bunker Cartoon Gallery

Review of Vietnam Journey at Coffs Harbour

We prefer to have some Asian food for our dinner so end up in one of the local shopping malls, having Vietnamese at Vietnam Journey.  Let’s see what we ordered.

• Vietnamese Paper Roll with Prawn fillings.
• Beef Pho noodles soup
• Bun Bo Hue spicy noodles soup
• BBQ Pork, Lam Cheong and fish cake with rice

Food was served hot and tasty, friendly staff, clean dining area, stylish decor, free cool water, and reasonable price.

“Woolies” Review

After our dinner, we went into Woolworths, Australian called it “Woolies”; a local supermarket to get some snacks, drinks, and desserts.

Special tips:  You may want to get drinks and cooked food such as roasted chicken (Just Aud $ 10.00), salad, fruits and drinks for the picnic lunch during your Australian road trip.  Do not expect lots of varieties of cooked food in the bento like those found in the supermarket in Japan.  Over here, the choices aren’t that many, most foods are not cooked.  Oh yes, do get a bottle of chili sauce (available at Woolies too) to dip with chicken.  I know fellow Singaporean and Malaysian love dipping chili when having your roasted chicken.

BWS Liquor Store

This is a retail chain of liquor stores owned by Woolworths Limited.  So it is not surprising to find it next to Woolies. Unlike the Japanese supermarket or UK and Europe supermarket, you cannot find liquor in the local supermarket in Australia.  Usually, you have to go to the next door (not in Woolies) which only specializes in liquor. 

This is what we bought from Woolies, some snacks, dessert, fruits and drinks.

Final thoughts:

Blue sky, beaches, holiday resorts, yachts, and banana plantations (The Big Banana) are what I can think of in Coffs Harbour.  This city is a nice stop between Gold Coast and Newcastle / Sydney.