Mid-North Coast Archives - Page 9 of 9

Tacking Point Lighthouse Port Macquarie Australia

Designed by James Barnett and built in 1879, Tacking Point Lighthouse is the thirteenth oldest lighthouse in Australia. With its own small carpark and located only 9km from Port Macquarie, it’s easy to get to.

Only a small building, the blue and white lighthouse looks over the Pacific Ocean from its rocky outcrop. From here, we had excellent views up and down the coast.

Lighthouse Beach to the south is nice and sandy and was very popular with visitors. To the north, Little Bay was not as popular because it is rocky with little sand to relax on. However, there are steps down to it, so we went to investigate. The waves and surf crashing on the rocks was interesting, but the best part was the view looking back up at the lighthouse.

An interesting place to visit if you are in Port Macquarie, especially for the coastal views.

Tacking Point Lighthouse at the Top of its rocky outcrop — The Lighthouse at the Top of its rocky outcrop

To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.

Ricardoes Tomatoes and Strawberries

A favourite with locals and tourists, Port Macquarie’s Ricardoes Tomatoes and Strawberries is a fun place to pick your own fresh produce. Located only 20 minutes from the Port Macquarie CBD on the New South Wales mid-north coast, it’s a must-see place for visitors.

A large car park caters to the many visitors. On arrival you are greeted by koala painted in strawberry leaves, flowers and fruit. These koalas are a feature around Port Macquarie, being places outside many businesses and decorated to reflect their location.

After saying hello to the koala, we went inside to get a bucket and scissors and a few instructions including which greenhouse to go to. It was then off to collect our strawberries. At the end you pay before leaving for the weight of the strawberry’s that you have picked.

Ricardoes grow their tomatoes and strawberries hydroponically in greenhouses. Only certain ones are open to the public at a time because the others are either undergoing maintenance or not ready to harvest.

We spent some time picking strawberries, making sure to pick ripe ones. Signs tell you that the best ones are at the back, because most people go to the front rows of plants first. Once our buckets were full, we returned to the entrance to pay for them.

Café and Shop

Inside the main building, a display room has other products for sale, and we bought some strawberry jam. A café also sold Devonshire tea, so we finished off the morning with coffee, and scones with jam and cream.

This was a fun morning out, with strawberries to eat on the way home.