We left Port Stephens on Monday morning, heading towards Nambucca Heads with a stop at Tidal Bay Gaol. Our accommodation at Nambucca Heads was The Beach Rooms, a 60’s refurbished motel overlooking the river. The rooms are all refurbished in a coastal style. There is also an excellent open-air lounge/kitchen area near the pool which would be useful during a longer stay.

ACTIVITIES

Tidal Bay Gaol: is a 317 km drive from Bannisters Port Stephens and 50 km south of Nambucca Heads near the small town of South West Rocks. Tidal Bay Gaol was built in 1886 to house prisoners building a breakwater to provide a safe harbour between Sydney and Brisbane. It was not a good plan and only ever reached 20% completion. It was ultimately abandoned after almost 20 years and the gaol closed. During World War 1, the site became an internment camp for males of German Descent. There is an entertaining film to watch detailing the history and signage throughout the gaol with more information. You can explore the area yourself.

After touring the gaol, we did a quick walk up Monument Hill, named for the monument built to commemorate the 5 internees who died while at Tidal Bay or shortly after.

Nambucca Heads Lookouts: We arrived in Nambucca Heads at sunset so we didn’t have time to have a good look around. It would have been nice to walk around. Instead we drove around to some of the lookouts the Tuesday morning before we drove out.

FOOD

Matilda’s Pizza: For dinner on Monday night, we walked down to Matilda’s, a pizza and wine bar near the water. We could see it from our motel room. We had a lamb pizza and a prosciutto pizza. The pizzas were pretty good and the place had a fun vibe.

Good Time Charlie’s: After checking out the lookouts, we drove to Good Time Charlie’s on the main street for breakfast. We had oat lattes and breakfast burgers. Both were good. The brekky burger was only $10, it’s been a long time since I’ve got a fresh, decent brekky burger so cheap. Excellent value and hit the spot. While we were there a steady stream of locals passed through picking up their morning coffees.