Incredible sight from hotel balcony
I caught their antics while staying at the newly refurbished Rydges in Port Macquarie.
My family quickly raced down to watch these beautiful creatures frolic in the river for over half an hour before we spent three days exploring the coastal town.
We spent two nights at the revamped hotel where its rooms now boast airy and bright spaces, comfortable beds, a lounge to relax on, a dining table and chairs for planning, a massive bathroom and a much-needed large balcony to watch the sunrise (and dolphins).
It's in a central location too which gives you easy access to the town's stunning beaches, lighthouse and, surprisingly, wineries.
Our first night we decided to eat at the hotel's restaurant called Zebu. It was buzzing with live music in the bar area and requests for any cocktail you could imagine.
Given its popularity, the restaurant was packed but it was worth the wait for our meals.
We feasted on burrata, gnocchi with prawns, scotch fillet steak and charred broccolini - the portion sizes were generous too which is always a bonus.
Our room also came with buffet breakfast included which was incredible to set us up for the day. It included fruits, cereals, pastries breads, hot foods and made to order poached eggs. The highlight for kids was the pancake machine, which rolled them out with a press of the button.
Port Macquarie is known for its beautiful beaches and lighthouse. We spent a lovely morning checking out the epic views and playing on Lighthouse beach as nippers practised their surf lifesaving skills nearby.
However, one of the things that surprised me most was that Port Macquarie has a booming winery scene just 20 minutes out of the town centre.
The kids can explore the vineyards and parents can get a true taste of the region. We stopped in at Cassegrain Wines, which have an impressive amount of huge barrels to greet you before you enter the tasting room.
The winery has a large selection wines on offer to taste and it was interesting learning about the history of the vineyard. It's $10 for a tasting but you get that money taken off with any wine purchase.
The standout though for me was Long Point Vineyard & Art Gallery. They have a smaller section of wines but an interesting port collection. It's on a sprawling property where you can take a picnic and indulge in a delicious cheese board for just $25 and the kids can play on the sculptures dotted through.
Shout out too to the excellent customer service – the lady was an absolute delight and the kids were thrilled they were allowed to play with her dog.
I would also recommend checking out Billabong Koala & Wildlife Park. While it wasn't cheap for entry it was a fun morning watching the animals and marvel and taking in huge sculptures dotted throughout the park.
Back in town, there are a bunch of restaurants and cafes within walking distance of Port Macquarie Rydges. Literally a minutes walk away from the hotel was Pancake Place – a delightfully indulgent lunch spot for children, while the restaurant Pizza Obsession offered an easy takeaway dinner in the hotel room.
We also spent a night at the more exclusive Sails Port Macquarie by Rydges.
The room's direct access to the pool was a real highlight and the kids had great fun splashing between the various swimming options, including a heated sauna.
There was also a friendly lizard that frequented our balcony and the kids excitement was sweet – while we quickly discovered that spotting lizards dotted around the hotel grounds was an excellent game.
You could order cocktails and food directly from the pool area via a QR code. We had a pina colada and mojito and some chips and arancini balls. Unfortunately, service was a tad slow and they forget our chips and we had to chase them up.
I personally love a big bathroom and the one's at Sails were a tad small. There also appeared to be an issue with the hot water but thankfully it was fixed in no time.
During our stay at Sails, we dined at its Boathouse Bar and Restaurant, which offers front row seats to boats docked in the marina and some green space to go lizard spotting.
I was impressed they included cucumber sticks with the kid's fish and chips, while the warm sourdough was divine. We enjoyed the lamb shoulder to share with salsa verde, pickled spanish onion, mixed greens, chats and jus – which literally melted in your mouth.
For dessert, I had the chocolate crème brulee with raspberry sorbet.
We finished off our stay with a beautiful sunrise to start the day and a splash around the pool before the drive home.
As a family we preferred the refurbished Rydges rooms in the town centre for our stay. The only thing that would have made it better would be to import the Sails pool set up with the direct access to swimming through the room's ground floor balcony.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
Queensland trainer David Vandyke eyes Victorian Group 1 mission for the first time since Alligator Blood
David Vandyke will head back to the scene of Alligator Blood's first Group 1 triumph when he attacks the Empire Rose Stakes with exciting mare Philia during the Victorian spring carnival. Philia was an excitement machine during the Queensland winter carnival, winning four on the bounce and starting favourite for the Group 1 Queensland Oaks (2200m) where she endured a tough run and was beaten 2.5 lengths. Group 2 winner Philia has now returned to Vandyke's Sunshine Coast stable and the astute trainer will aim her at races in her sweet spot of 1600m-2000m. Vandyke and connections had been weighing up a potential mission to Sydney for the riches of the $10m Golden Eagle, but the decision was made that she will head to Melbourne. Mindful that Philia had a busy winter, Vandyke will give her a light spring campaign with the plan to then unleash her in some big races during the 2026 autumn. However, he has revealed that the $1m Group 1 Empire Rose Stakes over 1600m at Flemington during the Melbourne Cup carnival is a key spring goal. Flemington was where Vandyke won the 2020 Group 1 Australian Guineas with Alligator Blood when he trained the now retired seven-time Group 1 winning superstar at the start of the galloper's magical career. Vandyke doesn't think he has had a Melbourne runner since the Alligator Blood adventure, but is looking forward to deploying frontrunning type Philia. 'I want to give her a fairly light spring, she was up a long time going into the winter carnival,' Vandyke said. 'We just hop on a plane at Brisbane Airport and she is there pretty quickly. 'Potentially, she will have one run and then into the Empire Rose. 'Sydney was certainly a consideration, but we ended up making the call to go to Melbourne.' Kerrin McEvoy developed a strong association with Philia during the winter carnival and was impressed at every step of her winter journey. Vandyke says Philia, now four, is back in his stable and had bulked up after a six-week break. 'She will have a couple of runs in spring and then we will look at giving her a good, strong autumn campaign,' he said. 'She has had a good six weeks off and she has come back a lot stronger. 'I will look at targeting races from a mile to 2000m for her. 'I don't think less than a mile is suitable for her and I don't know about more than 2000(m) at this point.' In early betting markets on TAB fixed odds, Fangirl is the $4.50 favourite for the Empire Rose Stakes and Philia is rated a $26 chance.
ABC News
6 hours ago
- ABC News
Former outback station Thurloo Downs nears opening as NSW national park
A former outback New South Wales station, which is more than a third of the size of Greater Sydney, is edging closer to opening as a national park. The NSW government bought Thurloo Downs in 2023, in the largest-ever private land acquisition for a national park in the state's history. The 437,394-hectare property between Bourke and Tibooburra in the state's far north-west cost $108 million, according to an ABC Freedom of Information (FOI) request. Known to locals as Thurloo Downs — a 130-year-old sheep station — the property was previously five stations combined: Thurloo, Margalah, Caloola, Delalah Downs and Yarralee. By the time the state government bought it, it was owned by one family. The scale of the property was one of several reasons it was purchased, according to Rob Smith, executive director of park operations inland at the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). NPWS is installing visitor infrastructure and is looking at setting up driving tours to explore the park's key features. While the NPWS expects Thurloo Downs National Park to be open to the public in 2026, the priority is getting feral species under control. Since 2021, the NSW government has purchased more than a dozen properties across far western NSW to turn them into national parks. But pest management continues to be a challenge, according to the NPWS. Following floods in Queensland, it undertook an aerial shooting campaign targeting pigs, dogs, foxes and cats. "We've got an extensive program of feral animal control right across the state using a range of ground-based techniques," Mr Smith said. "It is a continuing focus right across the state, and certainly we'll be making sure we continue that work out here." The conversion of Thurloo Downs from grazing land into a conservation area has been met with disappointment by the Pastoralists' Association of West Darling (PAWD). PAWD head Sam Beven said pastoralists remained sceptical about the scale of outback stations to the NSW government for conservation and tourism purposes. "Some places such as Mutawintji National Park [where] there's Aboriginal artwork … something to attract tourists, but when it's just a random parcel of land that's difficult to get to because of a dirt road, I find it hard to agree that tourism is going to go through the roof because there's a national park there," he said. Graziers were also concerned about the impact on succession planning and whether the new national park would become a "breeding ground for pest animals". "We'd like to hope that the National Parks and Wildlife Service can look after it as well as the previous owners," Mr Beven said. Mr Beven said pastoralists would lobby to improve the roads around Thurloo Downs and other national parks. "We will definitely be using these national parks as a drawcard to try to convince the government to seal the road," he said. "Because it's hard to market tourism when it's a 4WD access only kind of road."
News.com.au
6 hours ago
- News.com.au
Qantas points: Worth less or worthless?
COMMENT As an avid Qantas frequent flyer and points hacker, I've upped my game of late. I've maximised my tactics, managing to fly my family to Japan and back in business class for just $800 this year. I even scored business class upgrades to and from London. However, recent changes to the Qantas Frequent Flyer program have left me feeling less optimistic about the future. On the bright side, Qantas increased the number of points and status credits earned on some paid flights earlier this year. And they released 20 million domestic reward seats for members in late 2024. Today's news is not as positive. From 5 August 2025, Qantas Points will be worth less, particularly for redeeming Classic Reward flights, traditionally the best way to get value from your points. The upcoming changes mean Classic Reward Economy flights will need 5-20 per cent more points across most routes. For instance, the popular Sydney to Melbourne Economy reward flight is rising from 8,000 points to 9,200 points. International routes see similar hikes; Sydney to London in Economy jumps from 55,200 points to 63,500 points. For Business class, short domestic flights like Sydney-Melbourne will only see a modest 5 per cent increase, but the more desirable long-haul international business flights to destinations such as Singapore, Seoul, or Los Angeles will require 20 per cent more points than previously. The ever-popular Sydney-London Business route rises from 144,600 points to 166,300. These updates mark the first major adjustment to Qantas' Frequent Flyer loyalty program in six years, and represents an overall devaluation of Qantas points. Currently, 1 Qantas Point used for Classic Rewards typically translates to around 2 cents for Economy flights and 8 cents for Business flights. This value is set to decline, with domestic routes seeing value drops of around 10-20 per cent and international flights, particularly premium seats, facing even steeper declines. The situation could worsen if the RBA moves ahead with its plan to ban credit card surcharges – as that change will likely increase their costs – though a surcharge ban would potentially be fairer for Australian consumers overall. These developments pose a significant challenge for frequent flyers who rely heavily on accumulating credit card points. However, frequent flyers still have time to mitigate some of these impacts by focusing on maximising their points earning potential. My strategy involves continuing to maximise my Qantas points through purchasing wine (win-win), strategic credit card use (look for an earn rate of at least 1 point per dollar), and taking advantage of the Woolworths points exchange program with Qantas. These methods remain effective ways to counterbalance the declining points value and ensure my points still stretch far. Additionally, those looking to further boost their points balances should explore current credit card bonus point promotions, where Australia still offers some of the best value in the world. Whether you prefer Qantas or Virgin points, or the benefits of Amex, Mastercard or Visa, there are many options to earn more than 100,000 Points once you sign up and meet the minimum spending criteria. Just remember that point-earning cards typically have very high interest rates, so best not to get involved unless you are sure you can pay off your balance in full each month. While these changes represent a clear setback for dedicated frequent flyers, strategic planning can still deliver valuable travel opportunities. Be flexible with travel plans where possible, be opportunistic with credit cards (and bonus points), and consider regional destinations or Jetstar flights where available. Most importantly, avoid common pitfalls like redeeming points for retail items. This can cost you as much as 75 per cent of their flight-purchasing value. By maximising points earnings and redeeming them strategically, Qantas frequent flyers can still extract considerable value from the program despite recent adjustments. Maybe I'll see you near the front.
