CUT LOOSE ON Coffs Coast

Bellingen is the jewel in the crown of the Coffs Coast, one of the most desirable holiday destinations in Australia. It’s a beautifully contained example of Australian country living in harmony with itself.



Luxury accommodation & cottages in Coffs Coast, NSW

One needs only drive through Bellingen on a Saturday morning to sense the term “community” applies in the truest and most positive way in this town, home to some of Australia’s most creative people. It’s small wonder that the valley was chosen as the location for a Russell Crowe film, Eucalyptus, which was aborted at the last moment.

There’s a good chance you might spot a wallaby of the two-legged variety at the Bonville International Golf Course just outside Coffs Harbour. The national rugby union players call Coffs Harbour home for significant stretches of the year when in training.

Bonville has long been regarded as one of Australia’s top public-access golf courses, and certainly among the most photogenic. There’s a top-class restaurant at the clubhouse and in the evenings guests can enjoy a view of the ghostly illuminated gums.

For watersports enthusiasts, the Coffs Coast is up there with the best, be it whitewater rafting, surfing, sea kayaking or scuba diving. You can also take a whale and dolphin-watching expedition from Coffs Harbour.

There are any number of restaurants in the vicinity of the Coffs Harbour Jetty, one of the most attractive “eat streets” on the Australian coast.

Coffs Harbour welcomes up to eight flights from Sydney and Brisbane a day, so it’s dead easy to organise a break and spare yourself the drive. For the energetic, there are plenty of walking trails around the area. You can use the time to learn from an indigenous Australian some of the ways in which his or her ancestors sustained themselves in the forest.