Coffs Harbour Jetty
We stayed in Coffs Harbour for a week. Coffs is about halfway between Byron Bay and Sydney and so is a popular spot and known for its banana industry. We were hoping that we would be able to get work in Coffs as it is a popular holiday destination with Aussies. Coffs was the largest place that we had been to since we landed and so was a bit of a shock to the system.
The town is split into three areas, the CBD (central business district), the Palm Centre and the jetty/ marina. We were staying in a hostel near the jetty ,which was about a 30 min walk from the CBD. We didn’t really like Coffs and so decided not to look for work there as we didn’t want to stay for more than a week! The town was too spread out and seemed as though it wasn’t sure if it was a small village or a big city and so had a strange mix of the worst bits of both. The beaches were nice but just the same as other Aussie beaches. The jetty/ harbour area was our favourite area as there was a creek leading to the sea, the jetty, an island and a breakwater so there was lots to sea and varied sea conditions and wildlife.
While we were there we had a nice English couple staying in our room which made the hostel fun. We spent a few nights playing poker, having BBQ’s etc. One day we all went snorkeling off the small island “Mutton Bird Island”. Our room mates had never snorkeled before so we took them to this recommended spot and gave them a few pointers. The snorkeling was good. We saw lots of fish and a small stingray. The fish were still a mixture of warm water and cold water fish as we were near the East Australian Current bringing in warmer water. Our room mates were so chuffed that they had seen a stingray on their first snorkeling trip and were hooked.
The next day we were sitting watching the locals jump off the jetty and decided to give it a go as it looked like fun. It took a while for us to pluck up the courage but eventually we jumped. It was good fun and not as scary as the pool jump we did in Yamba. The climb back up was a bit painful as you had to push up on the barnacles.
We took a stroll around Mutton Bird Island, so named because a colony of Mutton Birds which are a rare bird nest there. We did not see any Mutton Birds as they were all incubating their eggs. The island was nice to walk around though and had lovely views.
Overall we enjoyed our week in Coffs Harbour but a week was all it needed and we were happy with our decision not to work there.
