PORT MACQUARIE – THE AUSTRALIAN TRAVELLER GUIDE

Little-known pocket of paradise Hat Head National Park, NSW Beaches, sand dunes, rainforest and crystal lakes meet to create the picturesque Hat Head National Park. “It hasn’t been truly discovered yet so if you’re looking for a place without other people, this is a great part of the NSW north coast,” says Scott, scoring it 8.

Lee Atkinson follows the Hastings River from its subalpine wilderness source to the sea at Port Macquarie Not all great journeys are long journeys. At less than 200km long, the Hastings River may not be our longest river, nor our grandest, and it certainly doesn’t get all the media attention of the Murray and Darling. But following its course from its source high in the subalpine wilderness of Werrikimbe National Park to the point where it spills into the sea at Port Macquarie is a journey through World Heritage rainforest and some of the prettiest rural countryside in New South...

The Glasshouse, a multi-million dollar arts, conference and entertainment centre in Port Macquarie, has already had more than 60,000 visitors since its opening in July 2009. Linda Hall, Tourism Manager at Greater Port Macquarie Tourism, says, “The Glasshouse marks a new beginning for cultural tourism in Port Macquarie, and for people living in regional areas. They now have access to Australia’s best performing arts events in a sophisticated venue, without the cost of travelling to a city.” In fact, visitors don’t have to travel any further than the CBD, where The Glasshouse is within walking distance of the city’s waterways,...

AT's Sol Walkling joins the crazy thrill-seeking set in the unpreposessing seaside town of Port Macquarie. She went for a relaxing weekend and got waaaaay more than she bargained for . . . Not just any Port in a storm Standing on the edge of Jollynose, an – admittedly quite small – mountain in the Greater Port Macquarie region 400km north of Sydney, the mixed group of five novice abseilers wholeheartedly agrees that only entirely crazy thrillseekers would possibly strap themselves into a harness attached to two frail-looking trees to step over the precipice and hang on for dear life....

In search of that slippery, suckery, erotic delicacy, Lee Atkinson gets well and truly shucked on the NSW mid-north coast. Let’s not beat about the bush. Oysters are one of the world’s ugliest foods. Despite their decidedly icky looks, however, they have long been the stuff of legend, myth and desire. Aphrodite herself, Greek goddess of love, emerged from the sea on an oyster shell, giving birth to the word “aphrodisiac” – which has been closely linked with the briny bivalve ever since. Roman emperors apparently liked them so much they paid for them by their weight in gold, sending...