Coastal Calling

Spring marks the start of daylight savings and those extra hours of sun are a major mood-booster. At the tip of the Northern Beaches, there’s a narrow part of the peninsula bordered by the Tasman Sea - here lie the golden sands of Palm Beach, a go-to destination for surfers, but only a pit-stop for our trip. We took the ferry at sunset and headed to a place encompassing coastline, rainforest, bushland and beaches - Coasters Retreat.  Caught in a sandy ’70’s time warp, Coasters is the mythical Australian landscape you always dreamed of but could never find.  We found it and we weren’t leaving anytime soon.

Gary’s Retreat at Coasters feels like home, not just in itself, but also in it’s surroundings. His place has been lovingly restored into a beautiful, secluded beach and bush hideaway. Perfectly positioned, the retreat’s north west aspect lets you enjoy the sun all day and watch it set over the National Park headland.  Perched on a rock and nestled amongst trees and wildlife of the Ku-Ring-Gai National Park, the house hovers above the bay. You feel like you’re a million miles away, but everything is within reach. The overhanging deck makes time at home far more enjoyable with it’s ever changing outlook - whether cooking on the barbecue and eating lunch outdoors, or reading a book on the hammock in the sunny corner. It has everything you need to kick back, explore, enjoy time with friends and feel far removed from the city grid.
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Things We Did

  • Food & Drink
  • Boat
  • Wildlife
  • Beach
A charming beachside cafe in the original Barrenjoey Boathouse. Oysters and a seafood platter took our fancy on the timber deck overlooking Station Beach....
We love spending time on the water and the drowned valley estuary of Pittwater is a great spot to do so. You don’t need your own boat or kayak to get around, when there’s two ferry services running, one around Pittwater and the other all the way to the Central Coast....
Tucked away in the meanders of Pittwater, The Basin is an isolated gem on the fringe of the National Park, a camping ground only accessible by boat - populated by friendly wildlife and shaded by Australian natives....
We hiked to Portuguese beach up through the meanders of Ku-Ring-Gai National Park, home to wildlife and historic aboriginal art. At the peak we found a vantage point helping us spot some ideal swimming holes, where we later explored by foot and kayak....

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Where we stayed
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