The Holiday Park With an Extra Something
Can't believe I'm here!
How lucky am I? Last year a simple conversation with friends Britt and Greg, mid-north coast locals, set me off on a romantic adventure. At the time we were driving through Emerald Beach, 20 kilometres north of Coffs Harbour. As we pass a quiet street lined with hibiscus trees Greg says, "Look over there - it's a holiday park with deluxe cabins. Beachfront.
You'd love it". Meanwhile, all I could see were bushy palms and a sign. No sign of cabins, caravans or even a beach -
just blissful privacy.
Fast forward 12 months and here I am again: visiting the same friends AND checking-in to a Deluxe Two Bedroom Cabin at
Discovery Parks Emerald Beach Holiday Park! From that first glimpse, I sensed something special about this place, and my intuition turned out to be right…let me tell you why...
1. The Pathways.
I've just been handed the cabin keys, but I'm not ready to go to my room...
not just yet. I spy the entrance to a mysterious forest trail just up ahead, and I swear it's calling my name, "
Katherine, follow me..."...I must obey. After just a few steps the path becomes sandy, and the sound of crashing waves is loud. Whoa..! Soon enough I'm here - this is
THE Emerald Beach. With my bag dumped I follow my urge to get into that sea! As expected, the water's warm (it's early April) and quite rough. But the tension of city life is washed off, and
it's good...Looking around I'm happy to see how well connected Emerald Beach is - the 60 kilometre stretch of coastal walk from Red Rock in the north to Sawtelll in the south winds around the hills. I plan to do a long walk tomorrow morning along
Look At Me Now Headland - no, I didn't make that up!
Pathways galore...
With my morning plans set, I notice that the sky's turned apricot-mauve. It must be time to find my cabin. Heading back through the park, I'm suddenly struck by FOMO - the fear of missing any detail of the changing light and misty banana plantations on the hills. I swear it really feels like I'm standing in Brazil...But then... a few kangaroos hop by...
My sense of knowing where I am is short-lived: remember those old
Footy Show skits where the player's fridge door opens to reveal a huge supermarket inside? It's the same thing when I open my Deluxe Cabin door- this place is deceivingly massive! And sparkling clean. With a double room, a second room with four bunk beds, two flat screen TVs, a large modern kitchen and outdoor deck backing onto the forest, this place is more like a bush castle than a cabin.
How can I be staying here for only two nights?
Now that's a cabin!
3.
"Getting Hungry".
Now that I've settled in, the kitchen looks impressive. Hmm, a microwave, oven and plenty of pots...
I could grab supplies at Emerald Beach General Store and cook. But there's lots of talk about
Emerald Beach Pizza Pasta, just a few metres away. My friends and I decide to meet there with a bottle of red and wow - the pasta is fantastic and everyone raves about the wood fire pizzas. Luckily I arrive early and grab an outdoor table. When the evening fairy lights come on it turns into a magical Italian cantina. The restaurant next door
La Hacienda 101 is just as popular. I'll try Mexican next time for dinner but meanwhile, I grab a La Hacienda coffee the next morning...
Italian or Mexican tonight?
4.
Other Fun Stuff
Speaking of food, communal barbecuing looks entertaining and sociable; grownups spending the evening cooking and laughing while kids whip around the park on their scooters - I am surprised though that the kids have the energy after a day spent in the pool/waterpark/trampoline playground... Geez, it seems there's a movie night on too. All this fun stuff adds up to a happy park vibe. Importantly, the natural setting and bush surrounds create the right amount of serenity to balance the pace of kids on a mission!
Plenty of fun in the park
Well, all too quickly the day has come for me to check out and return to the city -
Emerald Beach Holiday Park, we didn't have long enough...
I promise to return . It may be a long distance love affair for now, but a real relationship is blooming... As I said, I sensed something special from the beginning.
