Australia: Woolgoolga NSW

Once in 50 years/once in a generation is how the Australian media referred to the floods that recently wreaked damage and death in NSW and QLD. Despite clear skies today, rivers are still swollen, homes uninhabitable and businesses closed. Sadly, some people scored the trifecta – bushfires a year ago, covid’s restrictions and floods today.

It sits well with us then to travel to small towns like Woolgoolga; towns that saw travellers evacuate in their droves a couple of weeks ago. It certainly sits well to support their energy in making a comeback.

Named after the indigenous apple pear tree and renowned for its hillside banana plots that over the years have morphed into blueberry farms, Woolgoolga on the north coast of New South Wales had everything we needed for a 6 night stay.

We parked our camper trailer at Woolgoolga Holiday Park which is in town and smack bang on the stunning beach in the feature photo.

The town fairly hums with a good vibe as well as good coffee. Foodies are looked after too – Mediterranean, Indian, seafood, Italian are popular choices.

A walk along Woolgoolga beach brought us to this now petrified wood 1800’s shipwreck and to the tidal lake. A very pleasant caravan site lies alongside the lake.

A walk around Woolgoogla headland gives incredible views to Back Beach.

Sikhs make up 25% of Woolgoolga’s population. Indeed, it is Australia’s largest concentration of Sikhs. They arrived here from the cane fields in North Queensland in the late 1800s, worked on and then purchased banana farms. Three Sikh temples and an excellent Sikh Museum in town are open to visitors. The well known CurryFest will be held on 25 September this year. If you’re in Sydney, catch the Bollywood Express to the fest. Sounds like a lot of fun!

Woolgoolga is in close proximity to good beaches like Red Rock and Moonee Beach. Both have decent caravan parks.

For now, Woolgoolga manages to fly under the tourist radar and that’s exactly how locals like it.

Woolgoolga… like it…so much.