If the weather is good, Red Rock is the perfect destination for a relaxing day out with your special someone or the whole family.

The picturesque park by Red Rock River invites a rest, a picnic and a swim

Here are just a couple of things you can do when you’re in Red Rock:

• Swim across the crystal clear river to the sand bank, walk in the direction the tide is going, get back in and float back to the park where you entered the water. 
• Go fishing in the ocean or the river, from under a tree on the riverside or the boardwalk, or from your boat you can launch at the boat ramp (the caravan park kiosk sells bait).
• Bring a good book, a blanket and a picnic and relax under a tree in the picturesque park, or bring a ball or frisbee and play on the lawn of the riverside park.
• Launch your canoe, kayak or rubber dingy in the river and go for a paddle up through the undisturbed nature of Yuraygir National Park that starts here.
• Go for a walk along the boardwalk, you’ll see and hear lots of  birds by the waterside.
• Swim or surf in the ocean near the actual ‘Red Rock’ the village is named after.

Plus anything else you can think of that you can do in a park, on the beach, in the surf or on a river!

The near-deserted beach at Red Rock and the formation the village is named after

Just remember that there’s only the one shop/kiosk/takeaway at the Red Rock Caravan Park and no other shops, so you’ll have to bring most of what you need with you.

You’ll find it fairly quiet even though it’s a fantastic holiday destination, except for the summer school holidays when it can be pretty packed.

I guarantee it will be one of the most utterly relaxing days you’ve ever spent anywhere!

Get to Red Rock by heading north on the Pacific Highway from Coffs Harbour. It’s about 10 minutes past Woolgoolga, and signposted as a turnoff via Corindi. The trip from the Coffs CBD should take no longer than 35 minutes.

The Coffs Creek Walk is right in town but nicely hidden away between the trees, and I can guarantee you’ll feel far away from it all. It’s a real bushwalk through the forested fringes of Coffs Creek, with several boardwalk sections across wetland areas and mangroves.

The Coffs Creek Walk is a real bush walk right in the middle of Coffs

Reasons to do the Coffs Creek Walk – or sections of it:

• Beauty: It’s a pretty walk along the water
• Accessibility: It’s very close to the Coffs Harbour city centre as well as the Jetty area
• Flexible length: you can join or leave the track from many different points along the route
• Easy: It’s not strenuous as it’s all flat – no hills!
• Cool: If the sun is hot, you’ll be protected by the shade of the trees
• Places to rest: You’ll pass many benches to rest on plus several cafés where you can stop for a drink.

The Coffs Creek Walk is a circuit that takes you from the Coffs Harbour CBD to the mouth of Coffs Creek at the Jetty and back to the city centre along the other side of the creek.

The full circuit is about 9km, but really, the trail is as flexible as anything and you can make the walk as short or as long as you like. Since the Hogbin Drive bridge over Coffs Creek was completed early 2008, you can do a half circuit as well.

Of course, you can always just do little sections of the walk here and there, picking a 2km or 3km walk for instance. The most popular sections of the Creek Walk are between the CBD and the Promenade, and between the Promenade and the Pet Porpoise Pool at the Jetty (and vice versa).

Points of interest and places to stop along the way:

• Shops, cafés, restaurants at the Coffs Harbour CBD (one block away from the trail)
• Coffs Harbour Olympic Swimming Pool
• Coffs Harbour City Gallery
• Coffs Harbour Regional Botanic Garden
• Boutique shops and restaurants at The Promenade
• Great fishing spots
• Secluded benches and picnic areas
• Mangrove boardwalk
• Excellent swimming spots near the Orlando St road and railway bridge
• Pet Porpoise Pool & riverside café

Amazing panoramas over the Coffs Creek estuary at the coastal end of the walk

The northern side of the creek is officially a walking track only, but the southern side is a shared pedestrian/cycle path, so just watch out for bicycles when you’re walking.

You’ll come across beautiful vistas, especially when you see the sunlight reflecting in the water or can just make out the bends in the creek through the trees. The open parts around the creek’s wide and sandy estuary are equally stunning.

There are plenty of places to stop and rest, and you’ll hear all sorts of birds singing in the trees, no matter what time of day you’re there. If you’re really early, you may even cross paths with a koala or encounter other wildlife.

Best of all, it’s free, it’s healthy and you can end your walk with a nice refreshing swim in the creek or a cool drink at an al fresco café overlooking the water at The Promenade or the Pet Porpoise Pool!

To get an idea of the route and the distances, just look at the map that’s available on the Council website, which also has a PDF of the Coffs Creek Walk brochure that you can download.

• great natural beauty,
• an attractive main beach (Sawtell Beach) tucked in between Boambee and Bonville headlands,
• picturesque Boambee and Bonville Creeks to swim, fish or paddle a canoe in, and
• a charming main street (First Ave) lined with great old fig trees, boutique shops and galleries and lots of al fresco cafés.

A great way to really enjoy all this beauty, if the weather is nice (which it can be year round), is to go for a stroll around Bonville Headland (also referred to as Sawtell Headland), look at the waves and the surfers, and to take a dip in the ocean, creek or rock pool.

The rock pool on Bonville Headland, Sawtell

Drive through First Ave (if coming from Coffs Harbour), turn left into Boronia Street and drive to the end. Park your car and go for a stroll or just sit down on a bench to take in the magnificent views across the ocean and south along Bonville Creek and Bongil Bongil National Park.  

All you need to bring is your swimmers/bathers and a towel, and go for a swim in the ocean or in the bend at the mouth of Bonville Creek. The rock pool on the south of the headland is ideal to do some short laps, protected from the waves.

Of course, you can also bring your kayak, canoe, air mattress or other inflatable device and paddle up and down Bonville Creek. You’ll soon be surrounded by the trees and birds of Bongil Bongil National Park.

I must admit I don’t go to Sawtell often enough. I know it’s there, I know I love it there, I know it’s only 10 minutes by car from Coffs Harbour, but somehow I don’t often actually go.

Today though, we went for breakfast at the Sawtell Surf Club Café which is right on Sawtell Beach. It’s outside seating only (partly under cover), it has wide open views out over the ocean and serves fantastic food. I wouldn’t go anywhere else after a swim in Sawtell, as you’re virtually still on the beach!

The view from just in front of the Surf Club Café, Sawtell