If you love nature, marine life and the sea as well as modern luxuries like fine restaurants and cafes - you'll be in paradise in Coffs Harbour.
Crowned with many golden beaches like Gallows, Diggers, Sapphire and Emerald, you can take to sea to go whale watching (in season). Try your hand at catching your own fish dinner or go after a 'big one' in a professional reef and deep sea fishing charter boat.
At Coffs, you can visit a working organic fruit farm and learn about sustainable farming methods while having a great time helping to feed the chickens and animals.
A highlight of Coffs Harbour is the award-winning Pet Porpoise Pool, a marine park where you can interact with dolphins and seals, and feed fairy penguins. Special swimming sessions with dolphins are available and well supervised.
The Pet Porpoise Pool has a comfortable picnic area and a well-stocked cafe.
The Clog Barn is another popular attraction where you can experience Holland by walking around the model Dutch village, enjoy afternoon tea in Big Oma's Coffee House, and browse a huge range of collectable spoons, Danish and Swedish clogs, and Deft pottery. Clog making demonstrations are at 11am and 4pm daily.
Butterfly House
At Bonville, about 9km south of Coffs, is the Butterfly House Maze and Tearooms, featuring one of the world's largest collections of live butterflies. You can walk amongst the beauty and diversity of Australia's vast range of butterflies in an indoor subtropical rainforest setting.
Coffs has many arts and crafts attractions such as the Bunker Cartoon Gallery housing the Coffs Cartoon Collection - the largest contemporary collection of original cartoons in Australia. The building is a restored 1943 WWII bunker built on what is now called City Hill. When it was built, it housed many young servicemen and servicewomen including a young Gough Whitlam, former Prime Minister of Australia.
For cuisine, Coffs is tops as it has attracted many talented chefs to open their own restaurants and cafes. To exercise away the over indulgence in local culinary magic, there are many nature walks, sporting facilities and golf courses. You can even stretch your legs by taking a tour of a gold mine (no steps or ladders) and learning how to pan for gold.
If you are considering a holiday in the Coffs Harbour region, the Comfort Inn Park Beach, has some special accommodation and tour offers. These offers include two nights for two people, continental breakfasts, whale watching tour onboard the Spirit of Coffs Harbour, and Porpoise Pool presentation, for $269.
The Comfort Inn Park Beach, features a licensed air-conditioned restaurant and bar, heated spa pool, 17-metre pool, sauna and fitness room, guest laundry, outdoor BBQ area, and is a five-minute stroll to the beach.
Two days not enough time to experience the attractions of the region? The Comfort Inn Park Beach, which welcomes seniors groups, has reasonably priced six-day/five-night holiday and tour packages so you can enjoy your perfect holiday. For details phone (02) 6652 2055 or www.comfortinncoffsharbour.com.au
Coffs by rail
IF you love rail travel, CountryLink offers some of the best value tours in NSW - all you need to do is get to a CountryLink train station to begin your holiday.
The cost per person for CountryLink's fully-escorted seven-night/six-day Coffs Discovery Tour is adult $730, Concession $711 and Pensioner Travel Voucher $645. For more details and bookings, phone 13 28 29.
People with disabilities
CountryLink aims to take into account the special needs of all passengers. If you have special requirements, discuss these with CountryLink's reservations staff on 13 28 29.
