STAY & PLAY
Port Macquarie
STAY & PLAY
Port Macquarie
Ditch the screens and get back to nature with a fun-filled holiday in Port Macquarie. Around four hours’ drive north of Sydney, the popular holiday destination boasts beautiful beaches, animal experiences and adventure activities galore. Here’s where to stay and play.
Opening images: Children running through Bago Maze © Destination NSW, Club Wyndham Flynns Beach pool
Explore Port Macquarie
Begin your holiday with a walk or scooter ride along the Port Macquarie Breakwall, which runs along the Hastings River to Town Beach, admiring the colourfully painted rocks that line the walkway. In winter, Port Macquarie is a great place to spot humpback whales as they make their way along the coast during their annual migration. PortJet's whale-watching Ocean Blast cruise offers some of the best up-close sightings in NSW.
Little animal lovers will enjoy visiting The Koala Hospital, the world’s first hospital dedicated solely to koalas. Join the Feed, Walk and Talk tour, and learn about the adopt-a-koala scheme that saves around 300 koalas annually. The renovated Billabong Zoo Koala & Wildlife Park is another great spot to see rare animals like snow leopards, red pandas, and Shrek the 5-metre crocodile.
Images: Meeting the wildlife at Billabong Zoo, Hastings River, A koala at Port Macquarie Koala Hospital, An aerial view of Bago Maze © Destination NSW
Learn about bush tucker, flora, and fauna
At heritage theme park Timbertown in Wauchope, just a 20-minute drive from Port Macquarie, you can see farmyard animals, Clydesdale horses, and bullock demonstrations. Nearby, the Burrawan State Forest picnic area is home to Old Bottlebutt, the largest Red Bloodwood tree in the southern hemisphere, which stands 54 metres high. You can also meander along the boardwalk at Sea Acres Rainforest Centre and join Discovery Tours to learn about bush-tucker, flora, and fauna. The centre also offers monthly meditation walks and has a Rainforest Café and interactive exhibits. Kids can play in ball pits at WildNets Adventure Park and pick fresh fruit at Ricardoes Tomatoes and Strawberries.
Get lost in the largest hedge maze in NSW at Bago Maze, which features 2,000 metres of pathways, lookout towers, and musical instruments. A mountain bike park loops around the vineyard and maze, with trails for all skill levels. For experienced riders, Jolly Nose Mountain Bike Park in the state forest offers 50 kilometres of tracks and four enduro hills.
Image: Strawberry picking at Ricardoes © Lindsay Moller
“The ideal place for a family holiday, with a large pool and dedicated kids’ pool, a games area, barbecue facilities, a gym and an on-site cafe”
Where to stay
Club Wyndham Flynns Beach is the ideal place for a family holiday, with a large pool and dedicated kids’ pool, a games area, barbecue facilities, a gym and an on-site café, Henry’s Restaurant and Bar, which also offers a click-and-collect service.
This resort provides a variety of accommodation options suitable for families and groups of all sizes, from studio rooms to spacious two, three, and four-bedroom self-contained apartments. Each unit features a fully equipped kitchen and laundry facilities, allowing families to save on dining out and enjoy the convenience of home-like amenities.
Stay as a guest or join the club!
Image: Club Wyndham Flynns Beach Presidential Main Bedroom
How does it work?
Apartments are booked with credits, which Club Wyndham members receive year after year as part of their membership. A significant advantage of holiday ownership, compared to paying for a hotel, is that while hotel rates increase annually due to inflation, credit exchange values remain unchanged. This means members can book the same apartment at the same time each year for the same number of credits, whether they book now or in 2080, when the club's term ends.
It's a different way to holiday that is gaining popularity with families seeking some relief from the rising cost of holidays. A globally recognised name like Club Wyndham also offers a consistently high standard of service and accommodation across the club collection.
Images: Club Wyndham Flynns Beach cocktails, pool, 2-bedroom Grand Garden twin bedroom
Packages and memberships
The only ongoing fee is an annual levy – for club members with the most common level of ownership, that works out to about $800 a year in 2024 – like a body corporate fee, it covers housekeeping, property maintenance, resort staff and the club’s cycle of refurbishments across the 50 plus properties.
Packages and memberships which open up thousands of locations across the world in places like the USA, Canada and Hawaii, are also available.
Image: Presidential Suite upstairs balcony
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