If you think two of the big drawcards for Coffs Harbour are the Big Banana and beautiful beaches, you’d be right. However, if you add interesting art and design, relaxed waterfront dining and some marvels courtesy of Mother Nature to the mix, you’ve got a destination made for a cultural coastal adventure.
My first memories of Coffs Harbour are from the 80s – my parents in our Datsun 200B, driving past the iconic Windmill Motel and then enjoying a chocolate-coated banana at the Big Banana. We’d all take a ride on the ‘Plantation Tours’ monorail and listen to a tape recording of the life cycle of a banana tree.
Back then, bananas were a mainstay of the region, and Coffs was the country’s biggest producer. But these days, there are more blueberries produced in the region.
Fast forward a few decades, and I’m heading to Coffs Harbour’s Yarrila Arts & Museum (YAM) to learn about the roots of this working-class city that sprang from beachside shanty towns, with locals growing food, fishing, and adopting a more alternative lifestyle. There’s an entire section dedicated to the Big Banana, including a range of the endearingly retro souvenirs.
The interactive museum covers the rich Indigenous heritage of Coffs Harbour – known as Garlambirla by the traditional owners, the Gumbaynggirr people – and there are always interesting travelling exhibits to be explored.
Don’t get me wrong – droves of tourists still visit the Big Banana and grab the obligatory Big Thing selfie out front, but Coffs has gone through a re-invention of late, and many now head to this charming Mid North Coast city for a host of other reasons.
Exotic wonders and a 500-year-old tree
A ten-minute walk from the museum has me wandering through the enchanting, eco-accredited North Coast Regional Botanic Gardens. Covering 20 hectares, there are rainforest gullies, open, arid lawns, curated gardens and an entire section for rare and endangered species. Surrounded on three sides by the tidal, mangrove-lined estuary of Coffs Creek, it’s got to be one of the most impressively vast peaceful botanic gardens in regional Australia.
The on-site open-air eatery called The Leaf and Bean Café is a cheerful place – the lime green chairs on a shaded terrace area filled with explorers getting a morning fix.
I grab a coffee and download the handy Coffs Explorer app to my phone. It explains all there is to discover in the gardens, and it’ll be my trusty guide for the days to come as well.
There’s a series of walks to choose from, including The Botanists Walk and a Journey into the Subtropics, but I choose the Nature Trail and the Our Habitat, Our Home circuit walk, which includes a stop at an awe-inspiring 500-year-old Pink Bloodwood tree.
Native flora thrives alongside masses of exotic species, and I pass towering figs and fragrant frangipanis, colourful heliconias, blackbutt trees and scribbly gums, all the while keeping an eye out for resident koalas. Birdlife is everywhere – lorikeets flash overhead while water dragons sun themselves near the creek. I learn from the app that one of the many drawcards to the gardens is that this piece of paradise is home to elusive powerful owls. I silently pray that I’ll see one, but their distinctive speckled plumage camouflages them well.
Stepping into the garden’s impressive glasshouse, I’m surrounded by orchids, bromeliads, ferns and other plants in need of special conditions to flourish.
Having built up an appetite, I head to a newish local haunt – Stef & Co, which was established by three local Italian friends on a mission to share their passion for Italian food.
On the edge of the gardens, rising from the banks of Coffs Creek, the venue is spread across two storeys and is home to a café and bakery dishing up awesome pastries with excellent coffee, a pizzeria, a cocktail bar for fun times and laidback vibes, and Osteria – a modern Italian restaurant offering fine dining.
The staff welcome me like an old friend, and I opt for a Caesar salad and a zesty Amaretto sour, which is the perfect combo for some waterfront indulgence in the early arvo sun.
Fresh air, kangaroos and majestic Muttonbird Island
After lunch, it’s time for a hike with a view, so I head to the Muttonbird Island Nature Reserve, which starts at the end of the Coffs Harbour Marina’s walkway atop a break wall.
The sealed path climbs gently to the summit, where there’s seating to enjoy the sweeping views stretching across the Pacific Ocean, and then out across the marina, city centre, green hinterland, and then back to the golden curve of the coastline.
From May to November, migrating humpback whales are often spotted offshore, breaching and tail-slapping in full view. They draw quite the crowd.
The island is also an important seabird nesting site, and during breeding season shearwaters (known locally as muttonbirds) return after dark, filling the air with their calls. I keep going past the summit, and the path leads all the way over to the other side of the island, where I stand on the edge of the cliff and look down into the jagged rock chasms – the ocean roaring and crashing into the rocks far below. It’s like being on the edge of the world.
Less than a kilometre walk from the marina has me on the famous Coffs Harbour jetty. Stretching out into the Pacific since the late 1800s, it was once a working port built to load timber onto coastal steamers.
Locals and visitors carrying ice-creams, coffees and paper bundles of fish and chips from the popular Fishermen’s Co-op stroll to the end of the jetty and back, as anglers cast for bream and mackerel.
Kids scooter along the timber planks, pelicans patrol for dropped chips below, and dogs bound about by their owners. From the end, I take in the uninterrupted ocean views, understanding why this is one of the most popular places to watch the annual whale migration.
There are so many beaches in the area that it’s tough choosing which ones to enjoy. To snap an Insta-worthy pic of kangaroos on the headlands, I head over to Emerald Beach.
Charlesworth Bay in Coffs Harbour is a peaceful, relatively protected north-east facing beach about 500 m long, tucked between Diggers Head and Fowlers Head headlands. Its calmer waters and quieter vibe make it ideal for gentle swims, rock platform exploring, picnics and beach strolls, rather than being a big surf spot.
Working up a thirst for the arts and a top brew
Keen to get a taste of the Coffs Harbour arts scene, I walk through the laneways and city streets that are plastered with bold murals, quirky installations and stories drawn from sea, land and local life. From marine-inspired pieces to cheeky koalas, bold tags of creators, crazed critters and a retro-style Welcome to Coffs mural, the trail is a great place to take photos, and it’s also a bright snapshot of Coffs’ evolving identity.
Plus, part of the trail leads you straight into King Tide Brewing – a locals’ favourite tucked into Studio Lane that has more art adorning its walls.
The independent brewery pours a diverse range of beers – from crisp lagers to hazy pales and rich stouts – with labels and flavours deeply rooted in the coast’s culture and landscapes. I can’t go past one of its best sellers that celebrates a local industry: blueberry cider. It’s so deliciously refreshing that I buy a six-pack.
There’s also the Woolgoolga Brewing Co and Mogul Beer offer beachy vibes and experimental small-batch brews, while Critters Distillery crafts paddock-to-glass spirits with sustainable flair in a cool warehouse-style space bursting with greenery.
Another popular venue is Latitude 30, which is a relaxed, stylish waterfront restaurant with stunning Pacific Ocean and marina views that’s perfect for lunch, dinner or a special occasion. Championing fresh, off-the-trawler seafood, the Signature Feast for two includes oysters, ceviche, king prawns, caramelised pork and fish of the day, with a pear and walnut salad, sirloin steak and miso cabbage.
For an early dinner as the sun goes down, I sit outside on the deck and enjoy the signature seafood chowder with smoked cod, sweetcorn chowder, prawns, scallops, local fish andtoasted sourdough, paired with a perfectly buttery chardonnay.
The Jetty Pavilion is another go-to for locals, dishing up great food, specialty coffee and top notch drinks. Robert Irwin recently had the place in the news when he accidentally did a diner-and-dash.
Like everything from Coffs – the art, beer, eateries and outdoorsy activities are unpretentious, often unexpected and packed with coastie vibes. By the time I’m posing in a departure selfie at the Big Banana with a banana fridge magnet stuck on my bag strap and a ‘for-old-times’ sake’ chocolate-coated in one hand, I’m already planning another visit.
A new world rises at Yarrila Art & Museum
If you are in Coffs Harbour between March 28 and July 19, YAM is hosting RELICS – A New World Rises, which is an exhibit created by Perth duo and LEGO Masters winners Jackson Harvey and Alex Towler. Coffs Harbour is the first regional town to host it!
Set in the year 2130, the show envisions Earth long abandoned by humans after exhausting its resources. Within relics like vintage refrigerators, typewriters and even old cars, crazily complex LEGO communities have adapted and flourished, turning each object into a tiny city, newsroom or cryogenic resort. The playful, thought-provoking scenes invite visitors to explore layered narratives, find hidden details, and reflect on consumerism, sustainability and our relationship with material culture.
The experience is designed for all ages – kids will be dazzled by the tiny scenes, while adults will appreciate the nostalgic nods and deeper themes. Interactive elements such as LEGO building zones and scavenger hunts add to the fun, making RELICS more than just an exhibit.
There are some great packages available if you want to stay a few days, see the exhibition and then explore the city as I did!
There’s the BIG 4 Park Beach priced at $412, which includes two nights’ accommodation in a villa at Coffs Coast Holiday Park, and a family pass to RELICS.
For couples, there’s a luxurious stay at The Observatory, valued at $595, which includes two nights’ accommodation in an Ocean View Studio apartment. You’ll receive two adult tickets to RELICS, and a $70 breakfast or dinner voucher for Stef & Co.
To explore more incredible culinary delights in Coffs Harbour, click here.
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