I have been living on the Gold Coast my entire life and at 40yrs of age I had just discovered this beauty just 2 hours drive from home!
Evans Head, NSW: A town I would rather keep to myself but feel the need to share its' wonders for others to enjoy.
When I initially viewed North Coast Holiday Parks, Evans Head online it appeared massive! I felt it would take 10min just to walk from one end to the other....especially when it is known to be one of the largest holiday parks in NSW. However... once we arrived, set up and went for a wander, (prepared for a bit of a stroll to find the water), I was more than excited to see the water after only two camping blocks (like 1min walk lol) SWIM FISH CRICKET
You will find a secure gate (so the public can't enter this part of the caravan park) there is a nice little playground for the kiddies and (as pic on left) this amazing swimming spot directly in front of you.
This is in between high and low tide. Low tide is great for catching yabbies and walking out to the deep sections for fishing (we did catch some small bream, and 2 eating size whiting... and we are very amateur fishermen)
Take a stroll along the footpath heading east and there are some great fishing spots off the rocks to your right and a pretty decent size skate park for the kids. You could easily let them skate all day while you chill on the sand in a little cove I will share shortly or fish off the rocks.. all close enough for keeping an eye on the kiddies.
Walk further down this path and you will feast your eyes on this gorgeous beach! (right pic)
The conditions were absolutely perfect the day we arrived and my husband and son went for a surf while my youngest and I went for a swim close to the rocks where the waves were a little smaller and calmer.
SURF SKATE TENT
After exploring around the beach areas of the park we headed back to our campsite for some lunch ( we bring prepared fried rice to reheat, chook and wraps and snacks).
(I scored the yellow kombi tent on Gumtree (Aussie selling app)... I was in Bali at the time and saw it advertised and got my husband to pick it up which so happened to be in our street! A bargain at $100. About a year later we were camping and someone offered to sell us their blue kombi tent for $150 and we swiftly took up the offer)
This set up was for our family of four ( My husband and I and our 17yr and 11yr old boys) We also had my brother and his family on the site next to ours. They are very generous sized sites.
EXPLORE CLIMB DISCOVER
The next day was a bit overcast so we decided to explore Evans Head. We drove up to Razorback lookout (Ocean Drive: about 5min drive from park). The lookout is equipped with picnic tables, bbqs, toilets and plenty of parking. It has a great view of Evans Head and surrounds. We spent about 10 minutes here then drove up to explore some more of the unknown. We decided to park literally on the exit of the lookout car park as we saw a track leading onto the headland.....
The track divides off every few hundred metres and we decided to just keep left so it was easier to find our way back...
Once we got to what we thought was the edge and about to turn back.. we discovered a track venturing down the rocks to a hidden beach down below...
From the bottom of this track, we explored to the right where we found another little beach and plenty of rock pools...
Scroll through the photos slideshow below to see what we got up to....
We attempted to find a new track back but ended up finding out they were kangaroo tracks we were following to no where so we backtracked the way we came...
MEAL WITH A VIEW
MUST EATS: On the way to Razorback Lookout is Evans Head's Fisherman's Cooperative. They have hot and cold seafood options straight off the trawlers. You can order and eat there (a couple of tables near the boat docks) or grab takeaway and head to Shark Bay ( the next left turn on the way up to lookout).
There are picnic tables there, however they didn't seem to have a good view of the beach so we grabbed some towels out of the boot and chucked them down for a good ole picnic lunch with a view.
Ice cream and lollies at old fashioned prices...this local milk bar has pick and choose good quality lollies and delicious ice cream at some amazing prices. Be sure to visit MUZZA’S milk bar !
FISHING DOLPHINS STINGRAYS
We ended the holiday with some night fishing and watching the NRL final at the Hotel Illawong Pub across the road. (Great family friendly pub with decent meals at average prices)
Keep an eye out for Dolphins and Stingrays at the river entrance. We were quite lucky to have a pod of dolphins play around while we were fishing for quite some time.
Also had this little friend (right pic) come for a visit. Stingrays are one of my favourite creatures :)
If you have any questions regarding this area please contact me.
Enjoy your travels!!
