How to spend two awesome days in Port Macquarie

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to spend two days in Port Macquarie with a bunch of awesome Australian photographers. I had only ever been to Port Macquarie once before as a pit stop on a road trip that I did from Brisbane to Sydney which you can read about here. That was a few years ago now so I was excited to be invited by Port Macquarie tourism to come and explore the area. I have honestly been missing out of this beautiful little beach side town for so long. It is absolutely stunning and I could quite happily move here. So let me show you how to spend two awesome days in Port Macquarie.

Bago Maze and Vineyard

After arriving at Port Macquarie airport, myself and Melissa Findlay met up with Will Patino, Rob Mulally, Daniel Tran, Natalie Sum and Matt Donavan. Then we headed off towards Wauchope to check out Bago Maze and Vineyard which is about 30 minutes south of Port Macquarie. I was a wee bit excited as I have never been to a maze before and this one was huge! We were greeted by the lovely owner while his wife was preparing us a delicious Thai lunch which consisted of mainly vegetable from her garden which I loved. I am all about paddock to plate. She even cooked a vegan meal for myself, Mel and Will which was so sweet!

While we were waiting for lunch to be prepared we all headed down to the maze for a wander. There is four main gates and the goal is to get to the gong tower. It was lot’s of fun getting lost and trying to figure out the way. Eventually myself and Rob made it to the gong while the others gave up and waited for us to come out.

We headed up to the restaurant to enjoy our amazing lunch before flying our drones over the maze to take in the views of this impressive structure.

Bago Bluff

After playing around in the maze and with our drones it was time to head off for sunset which was going to be a view of Bago Bluff. We found a gorgeous landscape on the side of the road with views across the paddock to Bago Bluff. It was so nice to be back in the countryside as this was where I grew up as a kid. I used to ride motorbikes with my brothers through lucerne paddocks and swam in the creek everyday of Summer. It was the best way to grow up and I miss the simple life of living in the country some days!

Crowdy Bay National Park

The next morning we were all up early in anticipation of a beautiful sunrise. We headed to Crowdy Bay National Park a bit further down from where we were staying at Camden Haven. After a short 10 minute walk to the headland we found a beautiful spot overlooking a rock formation with a whole through the middle. We all set off to capture our own unique take on this place. Once the sun started to rise the sky turned some gorgeous shades of pink, purple and orange. It was such a stunning way to start the day!

Camden Haven

The next stop was back to Camden Haven for some brekkie and kayaking in the stunningly pristine waterways near Dunbogan Boatshed. The water was so aqua blue and the sand so white I honestly thought we were at the Whitsundays. Its was a gorgeous sunny day and we all had fun flying our drones up and down the river harassing Matt as he tried to have a nice paddle around. Camden Haven is 30 minutes south of Port Macquarie and a stunning little coastal town.

Port Macquarie

After having too much fun cruising around with the kayaks and nearly crashing our drones into each other it was time to head back to Port Macquarie. Once arriving back in this gorgeous little town we headed down to the Salty Crew Kiosk for some lunch. The green smoothie bowls are to die for and it was lovely sitting in the sun right on the beach enjoying our lunch. After lunch we check into our hotel rooms and had a little rest before heading off for an Instameet at the Lighthouse.

Lighthouse Beach

After a quick rest in our hotel rooms we headed up to the Lighthouse for a quick drone session over Lighthouse Beach before the Instameet started. Once our batteries had drained from the drones we packed up and went to meet everyone that came for the Instameet. We had a quick chat to everyone and then went for a walk along Lighthouse Beach to capture some photos at sunset. This beach is absolutely gorgeous and would be amazing to swim at in Summer.

Tacking Point Lighthouse

The next morning we were up bright and early again for sunrise. This time we were heading to the Lighthouse. By the time we all met at the van we could see some colour in the sky. That is always a good sign for a cracking sunrise. After arriving at the Lighthouse we all went our seperate ways. I headed up to the Lighthouse because I wanted to get the iconic shot of it. I know that it has been shot 1 million times before but I hadn’t ever photographed it and I wanted to get my take on it. Plus it is such an iconic and cute lighthouse. It is also the thirteenth oldest lighthouse in Australia being built in 1879. Just as the sun was rising the sky lit up again with some more beautiful colours.

Conclusion

After spending two days in Port Macquarie and the surrounding areas I am in love with this gorgeous coastal town. It has stunning beaches, the people that live here are so friendly and welcoming and they have great cafes. Salty Crew Kiosk is my absolutely favourite. I wish they were in Brisbane. I could quite easily move here and live a happy little life. After talking to the locals it seem like everyone has that idea as there are a lot of people moving up from Sydney for a quieter life for their family. I will definitely be stopping over for a few days next time I do a road trip to Sydney. Port Macquarie you are so lovely! xx

Have you been to Port Macquarie or do you live there. I would love to know your thoughts on the place so leave a comment below! 🙂