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australia, birdwatching, Coffs coast, Coffs Harbour, dolphins, Muttonbird Island, NSW, Photography, Sawtell, Solitary Islands, Solitary Islands Coastal Walk, Surfing beaches, travel, whale watching, whales
About half way between Brisbane and Sydney, positioned on the East Coast of Australia in NSW is the area known as the Mid North Coast. The part of this area that I visit regularly is the Coffs coast, Coffs Harbour.
Over the years, I have walked parts of the Solitary Islands coastal walk many times including Sawtell, Jetty, Park Beach, Macauleys Headland, Diggers, Charlesworth Bay, Korora, Sapphire and Moonee.
The Solitary Islands coastal walk is a 60km stretch between Sawtell in the south to Red Rock in the northern beaches, linking a string of long golden beaches, rocky headlands and lush rainforest along the Coffs Coast. It is certainly one of the most beautiful walks on the east coast of Australia.
Solitary Islands and Muttonbird Island are picturesque and make for perfect bird watching, so bring your binoculars. Little terns and white bellied eagles are often seen along the shores. Dolphins surf the waves of these beaches all year round and the headlands are ideal for whale watching throughout the winter months.
The tracks are well set out with the walks to various grassy headlands. While some of the tracks are steep in places, they are well maintained and always provide interesting sea and mountain views.
There are kangaroos among the rocks on the beach as well as on the grass on the headland. Along the way there are surfing beaches where you can take amazing pictures of surfers. It is a magical experience.
This Coastal Walk is superb and can be done in stages. It is amazingly diverse – with long gorgeous beaches, steep stairs in suburbs, headlands, wildlife & estuaries along the way. Resting after walking at a pristine beach makes it even better
There is plenty of coast line to see with not a lot of bush restricting views. You are also able to get easy access to all the beaches and can then take a swim or just saunter along the sand.
These are some of the prettiest beach coves along the northern NSW coastline, with plenty of lovely coffee spots or picnic locations en route. You can visit lookouts and headlands and join the walk in many different places.
The total distance of the walk is 60 km but you can choose to do as much or as little as you like.
Overall it is a fabulous experience, mostly clearly signposted and comfortable walking. I would definitely recommend it.
So beautiful!! I have always wanted to visit Australia :)
Thanks Lorrie, it truly is beautiful and I feel so blessed that this is my home.
Isn’t it wonderful to love where you live? So many do not. Blessings to you, Lyn. <3
I once planned to move to Australia permanently for various reasons. We were so settled in Norway (still are) so my plan wasn’t acknowledged by other members of the family. I will visit Australia one day, that’s for sure. Beautiful landscape and coast. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks Isabelle, I believe that everything happens for a reason and I also believe that you will surely visit Australia one day. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for reading my blog and your comment. Lyn
Thanks Lyn. I will.
I agree it is a lovely area. I have done short walks and car drives between coffee shops in the area!
And that is a really good way to do it also Denise, walk a little, stop for coffee, drive a little, stop for a wine, walk a little. Very pleasant.
Most certainly a beautiful place Lyn, I have visited the area and it is a very picturesque place to adventure in :D
Thanks Mark, so glad that you liked it. It is also very serene and calming and healthy. Lyn
Coffs is just a beautiful part of Mid Nth Coast. I love it. Daphne
Gosh Lyn, I had never heard of this walk! it looks so beautiful. I would love to take on the 60kms – over several days of course! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Mary, I have no doubt that you would do it comfortably and you would really enjoy it.
Our beautiful Aussie coastlines. Yay!! Great photos Lyn.
Thanks Sue, we really do have so much beauty here hey,
Noice Lyn. You bring the wine and I’ll bring the cheese and bikkies.
That sounds like a lovely plan Gail. Fun, fun fun.
Our coastlines are so wonderful and we are so lucky to live in this country. You still need to go to the West…Love Kay
Thanks Kay, I have been to the west and I am going back next year to see the beauty over there.
Thanks for the blog beautiful pictures. Paul said he has done it a few times used to fish at moonee. Enjoyed the read. 💜💜
Thanks Leah. Yeah it is a popular area for locals. I often see people fishing around many of the beaches there. 💜💜
Looks beautiful. I don’t know if I will make it back to Australia again….but this makes me really want to!
There are walks along the coast also in QLD and great coastal walks in Sydney. I kinda think you will make it back to Australia one day Lyn
Awesome!
My husband loves Australia and actually, he would love to go back to Perth. I’d like to visit, especially Darwin… but ahhh, those snakes 😂
Have a lovely day!
Thanks Elitsa. So much to see. I hope that you make it here one day. Yes, snakes are here but I cannot remember the last time I saw one
I have never got that far up to Coffs. My cousins live on the central coast of NSW, and I have always wanted to check out further north. The beaches are amazing. Thanks Lyn. :)
My memories of the central coast are of a very pretty area. Yeah, Aussie beaches are amazing. The more I travel the more I realise this. Australia is a very beautiful country. I love travel and I love to come home. Thanks.
Wow.. spectacular is right Lyn. What a gorgeous area to stroll and enjoy the water. I always hear how beautiful Australia is. But oh, so far away from the States, so not an easy travel spot :-(
Thanks for sharing your beautiful country with us.
Hi Rae, yeah, it is a long way, I know. Good to hear from you. Lyn
Thank you for sharing these photos. Looks beautiful and serene.
My pleasure and thanks for reading. Lyn
Looks lovely! Reminds me of trails along the Pacific coast of USA!
I imagine there would be similarities, same ocean just the opposite hemisphere. Thanks Lyn
Looks stunning – I love the names!
Thanks Georgie. How have you been? Lyn
Hi Lyn – now home-based with sudden trips to see friends. It’s grand to be back but much harder to find the time to focus on my writing. I hope a routine will start later this summer when my husband begins a new job. Hope all is well with you. It seems as though Aus will be your base for a while? Georgie
Georgie. Australia is my base although it is a very long way from most other countries. I look forward to your new posts. Lyn
I like returning to base, and the travelling helps me see ‘home’ with clearer eyes. Australia must be huge to explore. I hope you’ll show us more of it … and that I’ll be still enough to follow properly! All the best Georgie
Reblogged this on Vietnam Travel & Trade Portal .
Superb!!
Thanks Christie
Love the ocean photos in particular…I could walk these trails over and over, they are so beautiful!!
Thanks Susan. I agree, I walk those areas every time I am visiting Coffs which is about 5 times a year. Never tire of it. Lyn
Looks absolutely gorgeous ❤️
Thanks Sam. It is a great escape. Beautiful. Serene. Enjoyable
Oh, I enjoyed your photos so much. I was an exchange student in Australia in high school, and have so many lovely memories. 😀
Thanks Jennifer. I really enjoyed taking them as it really is a lovely area. Enjoy those memories. Lyn
Great pictures of a beautiful country! We’ve been to Oz twice and would love to go back again – waiting for another good airfare sale from the US!
Thanks so much. Yes, it is a long way and expensive from the US. I hope that you do make it again some day. Great that you liked my photos. Lyn
This is beautiful! Need to get over my fear of flying long distances…
Thanks. Yes it is beautiful and all so natural
Australia is such a beautiful place, really enjoyed going through the images
Thanks Joanne. I believe there is beauty everywhere we go. And yes, we are blessed here in Australia
Looks really stunning. Got to make it back to Australia one day.
Thanks. It is stunning all year. Yes, you must make it back some time. Lyn
Stunning pictures! Coffs Harbour is a great area. I just published a post about it myself. Interesting to see what you got up to over there. Feel free to check out my post as well if you like 🙂
https://vividual.wordpress.com/2018/06/20/east-coast-trippin/
Thanks. The Coffs Coast is particularly beautiful as is most of the east coast of NSW. I spends a lot of time there as my family lives there.