New South Wales (Northern NSW)
Mid North Coast Region
Halfway north from Sydney to Brisbane you find pleasant coastal region between Port Stephens and Coffs Harbour. This coast is more densely populated and much more touristy than the southern coast (south of Sydney). Popular holiday destinations are strung up the coast north from Newcastle. Port Stephens, Port Macquarie and Coffs Harbour attract local tourists as well as overseas visitors. 

There are plenty of beaches and forrested hills. Inland forms the north flank of the hunter Valley, where you find the Barrington Tops National Park. Tempered rainforest and rare selection of native Australian animals you will find here.

The coastline consists of myriad inlets, bays and coastal lakes, interspersed by white, sandy beaches and rocky promontories. 

The coastline between Port Macquarie and Nambucca Heads, 115km north, has some magic spots. Kempsey, a large service town on the Macleay River, 49km from Port Macquarie, is home to a prominent Aboriginal population: the Dunghutti people. There are some wonderful waterfront campsites here: Crescent Head Tourist Park, which also has some very pleasant verandah-fronted wooden chalets ($31–$94); and Delicate Nobby Camping Ground, which is in extensive but secluded bushland, ten minutes’ drive from the township. 

Parallel to the coast, the rocky plateaus of the Great Dividing Range rise steeply from the plain; so steep is the eastern edge of this range, indeed, that it defied even the efforts of the early foresters, so that to this day the hills remain densely wooded. A handful of townships still depend on the timber industry, but most forest areas are now protected as either national parks or state forests. 

From the highlands, numerous streams tumble down from the escarpment in mighty waterfalls, and once on the coastal plain they flow together to form short, very wide and fast-flowing rivers. In the fertile river valleys the predominant agricultural activity is cattle breeding, while in the north subtropical and tropical agriculture takes over, especially the cultivation of bananas. For bushwalkers there are vast areas of totally remote, rugged, wild terrain to explore in the national parks of the Great Dividing Range.

Getting up the north coast is easy, with frequent train and bus services between Sydney and Brisbane stopping en route.

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Maps

midnorthcoast.gif (289058 bytes) Mid North Coast

wpe14E.jpg (280549 bytes) New South Wales