Harrington Waters
Days:
4 Days
Activity:
1. Easy
Transport:
Drive
$1,495.00
Tour description
Discover the peaceful beauty of the NSW North Coast on this relaxed escape based at the charming Harrington River Lodge. Set on the tranquil banks of the Manning River, this newly refurbished 4-star waterfront resort provides a wonderful home for exploring the region’s pristine beaches, sparkling lakes, lush farmland and rainforest-covered mountains. With its quiet setting and welcoming atmosphere, it’s the ideal place to unwind, soak up the views and enjoy the gentle pace of life along the coast.
Each day brings a new highlight, from the dramatic headlands of Crowdy Bay National Park to the sweeping vistas from North Brother Mountain. You’ll wander rainforest boardwalks in Port Macquarie, visit a working buffalo farm at Eungai Creek, explore the historic charm of South West Rocks and cruise the calm waters of Wallis Lake. With journeys through Newcastle, Forster, Diamond Beach and the Great Lakes region, this tour showcases the best of coastal New South Wales—its landscapes, its wildlife and its welcoming country towns—all with meals, admissions and comfortable travel included.
Itinerary
This morning we head north leaving the highway to travel through Doyalson, Lake Munmorah and Swansea where we will pause for morning tea on picturesque Lake Macquarie. We continue along the eastern shoreline through Belmont where we will head for the coast and Newcastle’s spectacular beaches. We will pass Merewether, Bar Beach, Dixon Park, City Beach and Nobby’s before following the river mouth back into the centre of the city. Newcastle has undergone a major transformation in recent years, especially around the waterfront and we will explore this vibrant city, taking in much of the new development along with many of its fine heritage buildings.
This afternoon we will travel through Raymond Terrace, detouring from the highway to the riverfront to take in some of the town’s heritage buildings and perhaps see some of the prawn trawlers based on this part of the Hunter. We will have a short break at Bulahdelah where we will see a fleet of houseboats lining the Myall River. Continuing north, we will leave the highway just after Taree and follow the mouth of the Manning River to Harrington and the delightful Riverside Lodge. (Our home for the next 3 nights, Ph: 02 6556 0555). We will arrive with time to settle in and appreciate our surroundings before dinner tonight at 7.00pm.
Overnight: Riverside Lodge, Harrington
Meals Included: Morning tea, Lunch, Dinner
After breakfast, we visit Pilot Hill and stroll along the Harrington seawall before venturing to Crowdy Head and the rugged beauty of Crowdy Bay National Park. Morning tea awaits at North Brother Mountain, followed by a scenic drive via Laurieton and Bonny Hills to Port Macquarie. We enjoy a picnic lunch and wine tasting at Cassegrain Vineyard, then take in the town on a coach tour and wander the Sea Acres Rainforest Boardwalk. Free time allows us to soak up Port Macquarie before returning to Riverside Lodge.
Overnight: Riverside Lodge, Harrington
Meals Included: Breakfast, Morning tea, Lunch, Dinner
This morning, after breakfast, we depart for Eungai Creek to indulge in Devonshire Tea at the buffalo farm. Continuing north, we arrive in South West Rocks for lunch and time to discover its relaxed coastal charm. In the afternoon, we explore the historic Trial Bay Gaol, whose striking ruins overlook the sea. As the day winds down, we journey back to Harrington, where dinner is served at Riverside Lodge.
Overnight: Riverside Lodge, Harrington
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Sadly we leave Harrington this morning although we will enjoy more spectacular scenery along the Lakes Way and Forster Tuncurry Coast. We will explore Hallidays Point and Blackhead area before travelling on to Forster where we will board our cruise on the beautiful Wallis Lake. We will pass by many oyster leases and perhaps see some of the resident bottle nose dolphins during our 2.5 hour lunch cruise.
We continue along the Lakes Way passing through Pacific Palms, Elizabeth, Bluey’s and Boomerang Beaches before reaching Smith’s and Myall Lakes. We rejoin the Pacific Highway at Bulahdelah for our journey back to Sydney arriving late afternoon.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch
Activity Levels
-
1. Easy
-
2. Moderate
-
3. Active Moderate
-
4. Adventurous
Testimonials
Dear Kerry and staff Thank you for organising the Temora airshow and Wagga tour for our club. We all enjoyed the four days away. The tour length was just right for us ‘oldies’. The Mercure Wagga was very comfortable and centrally located, and there was plenty of free time to explore the galleries, gardens Riverina Museum, and shops on offer in Wagga. The Tamora airshow was an opportunity to view old planes and to see an aviation display for novices to aviation displays. We learnt so much about the RAAF presence in Wagga and Temora during WWII. A highlight of the Junee Rail Museum was the dedicated locals who told us all about trains and privatisation of New South Wales rails. A special bouquet of thanks to Paul , our wonderful coach driver and Marie, our friendly tour guide. Nothing was a problem for them. Both Marie and Paul worked as a great team and put us all at ease. We greatly appreciated all their work, effort, fun and friendship to make our trip memorable. Thanks Guys! It was great to be travelling with Oncourse again. Our club is looking forward to seeing what tourism plans you have in store for 2024. Again, many thanks for your help. Best wishes to all the On Course team.
Regards, Elizabeth
Dear John and Kerry, Debbie and Steve, thank you all so much at On Course Tours for the hugely successful and absolutely wonderful trip to South Australia. Tricia and I loved every moment and were amazed and delighted by how much South Australia has to offer in so very many ways, food especially and of course very many superb wines and wineries – topped off, as John rightly said, by Max’s selection of a delightful crowd of good club friends! John, you and On Course Tours are certainly a class act. You always try very hard, and you succeed, in going that ‘extra mile’. We could not have had better service, right from being picked up at the gate by Kerry, then enjoying your nearly 4,000km of safe, always careful but wonderfully exploratory driving, your delicious picnic provisioning, your excellent selection of accommodation and eateries and your very broad knowledge of all we saw, right thorough to being delivered safely home last night. With our best wishes and so many thanks to you all at On Course Tours for another truly wonderful holiday. We look forward with keen anticipation to the next!
