Where to play
Head for the hills - or in this case, the mountains - where you’ll find the Mountain Growers Market at The Barn at Peats Ridge Village every weekend between 8am and 2pm. The welcoming, intimate market is the place to purchase antique furniture and homewares, while filling your bags with just picked fruit and vegetables and freshly baked bread.
If you’re looking for adventure, you’ll find it all in one place at Glenworth Valley Outdoor Adventures, a 1200ha wilderness property in the Central Coast hinterland. Apart from their signature horse rides, you can choose from a thrillseeker menu that includes quad biking, kayaking, abseiling and laser skirmish.
Switch to two wheels for the rewarding Tuggerah Lake ride between Tuggerah train station and The Entrance. An easy, 14km cycle path winds alongside scenic Tuggerah Lake before you get to The Entrance with its buzzing collection of shops, restaurants, cafes and daily pelican feeding.
Get a taste of the high life at the TreeTops Adventure Park in the Ourimbah State Forest at Wyong Creek. Surrounded by bush, you can strap yourself in for a soaring flying fox ride or test your nerve on the Vertical Challenge, where ages five and up can choose one of three levels to climb a towering eucalypt using a zigzag ladder.
Where to stay
Located at the Central Coast’s southern end, NRMA Ocean Beach Holiday Resort at Umina is the perfect base from which to explore the region. Near the stylish enclave of Pearl Beach and within easy distance of the town centre, Ettalong and Woy Woy, the resort is just 100m back from the beach and has uninterrupted views across Broken Bay. Like a small town, the resort’s accommodation options range from tent and caravan sites to safari tents, villas, cabins and cottages. There’s even a luxury treehouse! Elsewhere, the resort boasts a heated pool with spa, a water park and adventure playground, a games room and entertainment barn, bike hire and cooked to order pizzas at Bluebottles Cafe. A kids’ holiday activities program completes the picture.
Image credit: Daniela Constantinescu