The goals of our ‘East Coast Australia Family Friendly Road Trip’ are in the title, but the fine-print is to reach the Daintree Rainforest from New South Wales at a leisurely pace, explore the inland road less travelled on the way back, to stay healthy and have fun together.
We estimate the round-trip will take a little more than a month. We planned this family adventure in winter hoping that warmer pastures would sustain our good health, as windows close and respiratory illness rips.
While progress is a priority, so are fun, flexibility and comfort. To maximise autonomy and avoid enclosed spaces such as trains and planes, we travelled by car. On average our plan is to wake up in a new town most days but in transit we endeavour to stop and smell the roses (or eucalypts!) by weaving in playgrounds, eating out and getting to the local sights and experiences.
We hope you enjoy this travel diary and recommendations from the road.
PART ONE – South Coast NSW to Byron Bay NSW: The First 10 – 14 Days
We begin our journey on the South Coast of New South Wales in the small town of Berry. Berry is an excellent location for a couple or family to stop-over for a relaxing weekend or single night. It has a busy main street with plenty of casual and a few fine dining options, and more coffee shops than you’d possibly need to service the town. There are also lots of boutiques to browse, many of which have berry punny names. We enjoyed an al-fresco dinner at Tre Bambini Italian & Seafood Restaurant, which was delicious and plentiful. The vibe was friendly making a night out with children easy. While there are many options for accommodation we chose The Berry View, an updated mid-century modern hotel on the edge of town overlooking the green expanse of dairy country. It is less than a 10 minute stroll until you’re on the main drag.
With kids in our life we have visited a lot of playgrounds in the past 10 years. The Boongaree Rotary Nature Play Park is an all-ages stand-out! After working up an appetite Milkwood Bakery is popular and delicious, pies on the bench outside hit the spot. We picked up sweets from The Berry Chocolatier as energy for the next leg, to curry favour with the back seat, and as gifts for the friends we will visit along the journey.
Arriving in Sydney to The Old Clare Hotel we find the former pub is now a chic place to rest your head, and entertain. The roof-top bar was a stress-free way to host friends of all-ages and the location near Central Station meant that day-time activities such as brunch, White Rabbit Gallery, or exploring the city were either done on-foot or jumping onto public ferries, buses, trains and more.
As per our rule to keep it moving we were soon on to Newcastle. Another space given new life, Newcastle’s old observatory is now QT Newcastle. This location also had a roof-top bar and dining options which again proved handy for catching up with friends and colleagues while multi-tasking with family. The accommodation is near the water and so incidental exploration was just outside the door.
A local friend suggested we visit Blackbutt Reserve. It was fantastic for the twitchers among us, the aviaries there and other native animal encounters were special and relaxed. The bush environment itself was nice with plenty of residents out for their weekend walks and runs. A pub lunch and big group get together outside was enjoyed at The Young Street Hotel, Carrington. For bonus points there was an enclosed kids playground and in-lieu of the usual ‘burger n’ chips’ on the kids menu, we had a snack plate of fresh fruit, veg and cheese available – simple but good fuel for little bellies.
We are trying to keep our daily drives between 2 and 4 hours. With that in mind we head to Port Stephens for the night, just north of Newy. Checking into The Anchorage is best done pre-sunset as it’s absolutely stunning to either have some seafood and bubbles over the golden hour or just to walk the coastline and jetty as various boats dock for the night and people pull in fish. For the next day, given the youngster, we couldn’t go past the Toboggan Hill Park which has various games in a bush setting, including the toboggan and a huge trampoline. Different but delightful are the residents of the nearby Koala Sanctuary, where an energetic rescue called Midnight Rose stole our hearts.
As we make our way from Forster to Port Macquarie a great and healthy way to break up the day was a stop at Ricardo’s Tomatoes and Strawberries. Armed with buckets and scissors the whole crew collected a great crop of sweet berries. It was the perfect activity that sorted out the next car snack and had us a bit sugared up for the Sea Acres Rainforest Walk, an easy elevated boardwalk that you might want to bring a pram to if on the other side of said sugar rush.
Soon after we hit official ‘Warm Weather’ at Emerald Beach and had our first swim and surf of the trip. We lingered for lunch at Rattle, right on the beach and outdoor dining. Greeted by sun-showers and rainbows in Byron Bay, we were primed to be enchanted at Elements of Byron. The hotel is a calm expanse of self-contained villas and cabins, with all the amenities a family would want from bath-tub to ample lounge area, spa facilities and the less glam realities you need on the road such as a washer and dryer for laundry.
“When in Rome”, they say… So while in Byron Bay, we visited Crystal Castle an impressive mature tropical garden with larger than life crystals, a sound-bath dome, outdoor café, temple, massive labyrinth and sculptures. It was a beautiful labour of love which we spent hours exploring.