When an escape from the city is needed a road trip to Port Macquarie is an excellent destination. Only 5 hours drive from the workshop (Caringbah) and our worries were left in our wake.
From the minute you turn onto the Pacific Motorway it’s an easy level drive right through to Port Macquarie. To keep safe and avoid driver fatigue we stopped at Heatherbrae’s Pies – and wow – you will want to add this to your destination list for your travels.
From the moment you arrive there is plenty of parking and even a dedicated trailer and caravan parking lot. The pies are made fresh daily and the Lamb Shepherds Pie and the Spinach and Cheese Roll are our pick of the bunch. The milkshakes were cold and frothy – just like you could always get at the local take away shop when we were kids and the cakes – well they could have their own article. Sweet pies, custard delicacies, cakes, cones, slices, biscuits…. Baked goods for days and plenty to take a few in the car for the rest of the journey.
Onward to Port Macquarie and we were there before we realised it. There are plenty of caravan park options in Port Macquarie but our favourite is the NRMA Port Macquarie Breakwall Holiday Park. With sites right on the water you have the Hastings River on one side of the caravan park and Town Beach on the other side. There are multiple kids playgrounds, good amenities, coffee and cafe’s within a 2 minute walk and a skate bowl at the end of the caravan park – all surrounded by water. If you haven’t hooked up the caravan there are plenty of cabins to hire here too.
Talk about boat ramps – they are everywhere, even in the middle of town. You can easily access the open ocean and the Hastings River, fishing is plentiful and if you don’t have a boat you can hire one or take on a kayak, canoe or stand up paddle board to enjoy.
Jump in the car and explore the rural countryside that is an easy 20 minutes from the centre of Port Macquarie. Our pick of the wineries is Bago Maze and Winery. The have a large hedge maze for the kids (big and little) to get lost in while you sit back and enjoy a wine tasting and cheese platter. Looking for something sweet? 10 minutes down the road you will find Vicker’s Fudge and we can assure you we tested enough fudge flavours to make sure this should make our list.
When is comes to food Port Macquarie has no shortage of great options. Grab a bacon and egg roll and a coffee from Little Shack on the rivers edge at the end of the caravan park. Looking for places for dinner? Hidden Gem restaurant at the Marina and Botanic Wine Garden both rated highly with us.
To counteract all the good food and wine there are plenty of walking tracks ranging from 2km right up to 8km. You can choose from coastal walks along the beach front to tracks and boardwalks through Nature Reserves and old cemeteries – there is something for everyone.
