PACE YOURSELF ON THE Mid North Coast

You’ll notice the more relaxed ebb and flow of life the minute you leave the Pacific Highway and start heading for the coast, with Pacific Palms your first stop on the Mid North Coast.

It’s the quintessential Australian beachside holiday spot – creamy crescents of soft sand protected by imposing rocky headlands, forests of melaleuca and palms swaying softly in the sea breeze.

Snazzy holiday villas featured in glossy magazines capture the best views, with Boomerang Beach the place to see and be seen. Another great spot for watersports is Smiths Lake, where you can hire catamarans, kayaks and windsurfers.

Luxury accommodation & cottages in Mid North Coast, NSW

Heading north, Forster is a buzzing holiday town on the edge of the Wallis Lake, the largest producer of oysters in Australia. You’re spoilt for choice for things to do – lake cruises, walking and eco-tours, 4WD expeditions, boat hire, deep-sea angling, and dolphin and whale watching.

Tobwabba Art is a long-established community art centre for the Indigenous people of Forster. Their artworks reflect their coastal living and are very different to the works of Aborigines of Central Australia. You can visit from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday.

The Port Macquarie area has grown from a sleepy beachside village to a vibrant region home to some 80,000 permanent inhabitants. It remains an extremely popular holiday destination for east coast Australians. All the right elements are there – beautiful beaches, cafes, clubs, pubs, rainforest walks, a koala hospital and observatory.

The Cassegrain Winery, which has become renowned in recent years, operates a top-rated restaurant and has an atmospheric wine-tasting room with unusual and tempting produce.