Norah Head is one of those places that all the locals know of but it’s not widely advertised as a must do on the Central Coast of New South Wales.  It’s a bit of a blessing for those that do find this gem as it’s only a relatively small place and crowding could easily spoil what is an ideal location for a family holiday.

Norah Head has all the ingredients for the perfect family holiday along with a few hidden attractions that are available for those that like to explore.  By mid morning there is a steady stream of families heading for the relative safety of the rockpool.  The water is largely sheltered from the waves that break prior to the rock wall and whether swimming, snorkelling or just playing in the sand, there is at least a few hours of fun to be had – remembering of course to slip, slop, slap.

With space at a premium in the rockpool confines, we decided to head off on a trek along the beach to the most famous landmark at Norah Head, the lighthouse.  Having been to Norah Head before, I was wary of the wear and tear on the feet caused by the rocks and I made sure we all wore appropriate footwear for our little adventure.  While the beach was fantastic, it was the rocky areas that the kids really wanted to explore.  Crabs, starfish, fish, shells and more were on offer as we climbed and searched the rocky coastline on the point.

After an hour or so exploring we made it to the base of the point and made our way up the stairs to the base of the lighthouse.  There are guided tours of the lighthouse on weekends and public holidays.  They start at around 10.00am and run every half hour until 3.00pm.

There are plenty of parks and covered public eating areas, along with restaurants and takeaway outlets.  The Norah Head Sports Club has meals, a courtesy bus and plenty of cold beer on tap!  Toukley is also only five minutes away for those that cannot find food to their liking.  Soldiers Beach is a patrolled beach with a good surf break (so I’m told).

Accommodation at Norah Head ranges from holiday apartment rental to the Norah Head Holiday Park, the latter containing a variety of options from camping to on site cabins.

My family thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Norah Head and found it an excellent place to explore.  As a bonus it is also only minutes away from places like Toukley, Budgewoi, The Entrance and all the other towns on the great lakes of the Central Coast.  The only real advice I would give is that you have all your sun safety gear well prepared, including hats, sunshirts and plenty of sunscreen.  With all the sites, parks and water in the area, we spent most of our waking hours outdoors.  The one benefit of all that excercise was that the kids went to bed without any arguments at all.  The downside was that their parents were also too tired to take advantage and went to bed soon after.

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Wicksteed Park is situated in the town of Kettering in Northamptonshire. To call it a theme park is a bit of a stretch but it can be a fun day out for all of the family, depending on your personal tastes.

The park itself has been around for just short of a hundred years and I first visited it as a child over 30 years ago and although the mind does play tricks on you it doesn’t seem a great deal different now to how it did then. Anyhow, if you’re intersted in the associated bumf then why not pay their website a visit at www.wicksteedpark.co.uk

As the parents of four typically unappreciative children (ages 15, 13, 11 and 6) my wife and I had relatively low expectations when we decided to treat the kids to a day out from the usual routine of arguments and fighting that make up the school holidays and to be honest I think we set our expectations too high.

That’s not to say that Wicksteed Park doesn’t offer a reasonable range of entertainments but it’s not really a Theme Park in the sense that somewhere like Alton Towers, for example, is. It has a range of rides, including a log flume, new for this year, but those that would interest the older children are few, there is no massive, heart stopping rollercoaster but there is a smaller not unacceptable version, a pair of Pirate Ships, some tired looking dodgems and one or two other rides, in the main though it is disappointing fare for children brought up on the high octane thrill of queuing for an hour before boarding a ride that will make you feel like your stomach is being wrenched out of your throat whilst your heart tries to exit the other end.

There is also a selection of the traditional smaller rides for the smaller children but in the main these attractions are only a small part of what the Park has to offer. If planned properly and with the unlikely helping hand of the great British weather this can be a good and relatively cheap day out. The Park is situated in extensive, attractive grounds with many great spots for a picnic and with lots of play areas for the kids, there is plenty of room to bring a ball, even a bat and some stumps for the more refined among us. There are various entertainment shows to attend if that’s your thing and you can take a rowing boat out on the water too if feeling energetic or even go fishing.

For us it wasn’t a great day, the weather was not great but could have been worse and whilst the older three kids had a reasonable time on the attractions our youngest was far from impressed with his day, our children are of the generation that feel the need to be entertained and baulk at any suggestion that occasionally they might take responsibility for their own entertainment though. As for us, there is only so much pleasing scenary you can take in before trudging round the grounds becomes a chore. If you’ve never been and you’re prepared to temper your expectations, then I would recommend it as a day or maybe even a half day out.

At the time of writing the cost for the day, exculding petrol and food was £81, £6 for parking (steep), £45 for 3 older children wristbands, £20 for 2 adults and £10 for the youngest child. There are various discounts, group tickets etc on offer, details on the website I’d have thought.

A little piece of Dutch heritage in Coffs Harbour

Having Dutch in-laws means that I have probably stopped at The Clog Barn in Coffs Harbour more times than most would have.  There are plenty of reasons to stop, not the least the chance for a coffee and something to eat and a break from the driving madness.

For those visiting for the first time there is literally a whole world to discover at this attraction, namely the miniature Dutch world built on the other side of the gift shop.  Everything from old style Dutch buildings to windmills and a miniature railway has been lovingly, and no doubt painstakingly, created for the viewing pleasure of tourists.  Whether you have a Dutch background or not, this is a surprisingly interesting attraction for the whole family.  My kids seeem to love anything miniature and it proved to be a great way to show them some of the landscape that Oma and Opa recalled from their childhood.  

Perhaps the thing I most looked forward to over the years has been Big Omas Dutch Kitchen.  I really looked forward to my croquettes with mustard on a bread roll.  Truth be known, they are better with a decent Dutch beer, but as I was normally driving, coffee wasn’t too bad an accompaniment either.

I have to confess to being a little disappointed on my last vist to Big Omas Dutch Kitchen.  While the look and feel hadn’t changed much at all, it was a little disappointing to note that none of the staff spoke or understood any Dutch and the famous croquettes on bread rolls has been seriously downgraded.  While I can’t speak or understand much Dutch, it does make you feel a little more comfortable if the staff, or at least the cook, can speak Dutch in a Dutch kitchen.  To make matters worse, my much loved croquettes with mustard on bread rolls had been relegated to a single croquette with a squirt of mustard and half a slice of bread – seriously disappointing.

Having said that, the rest of the facility was just as good as I remembered, and the break was just as important.  I recommend it as a break location for anybody travelling through Coffs Harbour.

Grand old buildings are the norm for Ulmarra

Having managed to drive past this little town on previous Brisbane / Sydney roadtrips, I was feeling confident that I could again distract my wife for long enough to scoot past the turnoff.

I must confess to being the type of driver that plans his trip on an A to B basis.  That is I plan on getting from here to there and anything in between is merely a distraction and even worse, something that adds precious time to the trip.

Ulmarra was always one of those beautiful little craft towns that my wife often pinpointed as a must do, but invariably I was able to distract her for long enough each trip to sneak past the turnoff.

This time was different.  My wife warned me before we set off that we would be stopping at Ulmarra, and despite my best efforts at distraction, stop we did.

The first impression of this little town was one of heritage.  The main street was filled with shops and galleries that looked right out of the early 1900’s.   Straight away I knew that this would not be a five minute stop.

We ate at the local cafe, which had a surprisingly tasty and modern menu, and toured many of the art and craft galleries before buying a few gifts and piling back into the car.

As much as I hate to admit it, I quite enjoyed my brief visit to this little nostalgic town built on the Clarence River and highly recommend it to those travelling in the area.

Saki anyone?

Murasaki Sushi and Teppanyaki Restaurant – Southport Queensland Teppanyaki is a fantastic way to feed the kids a healthy meal and keep them entertained at the same time.  A good Teppanyaki resaurant will offer fresh, simple Japanese style food with the utensil and entertainment skills of the Chef.

Murasaki Sushi and Teppanyaki Restaurant is in the heart of Southport, in the culinary district surrounding Australia Fair.  The menu is extensive, though we stayed within the Teppanyaki range.  Fish, chicken, beef and a wide array of seafood is available in a variety of styles.  Most of the kids went with the Terriyaki sauce over a range of proteins that include prawns, chicken and beef.

With  knives twirling, food flying and condiments spinning, our chef kept the kids entertained to the extent that the adults were able to conduct a conversation without the obligitory interruptions.  I would have excused a sub-par effort with the food for the relative peace we experienced, but even the food was great.

Prices were reasonable, particularly as we had alot of seafood and drank plenty of saki.  Kids meals were around $12 and our platters (for 2) were in the $45-60 range.

Family Compass is an exciting new concept in social networking.  This site is dedicated to providing families with advice on travel and travel related activities.  The best thing of all is that the advice will come from other families, not from travel consultants or operators.  We encourage you to explore the information on our site and to share your experiences, so others may learn from you.
This is a new concept, and we are constantly seeking new ideas and feedback from those that use the site and its facilities.  Please be patient whilst we roll out version 1 of familycompass.com, and whilst we busily integrate the features we have already planned for subsequent versions.
Things will be changing rapidly in the next couple of weeks as we get the site online.  In the meantime please contact us if you have any queries, at admin@familycompass.com