Port Macquarie, NSW Australia

Beautifully located on Hastings River’s south side, Port Macquarie, a once sleepy haven, is now a popular holiday getaway. I can’t blame it given its extensive beaches, each connecting to the next. I figured the best way to experience it was by taking a leisurely stroll along the entire length of the city’s coastline. 

But before I could set foot on the sandy shores, my attention was caught by a group of camels led by their handlers. Approaching them for a closer look, I couldn’t help but notice the nonchalant air about them. One of them, a towering creature with a sandy-coloured coat, crouched on all fours carrying a somewhat bored expression, its lips moving rhythmically, chewing on a mouthful of dry grass before spitting out a wad of cud with remarkable accuracy, all the while batting those long eyelashes. As I passed the caravan of camels, their presence seemed almost at odds against the backdrop of the Australian landscape. Yet, I recalled they were introduced to Australia in the 1840s and played an important role in exploring the continent's vast interior. When they were no longer needed for transportation, the camels were released into the wild, and more than a million feral camels occupied the Northern Territory, wreaking havoc on native vegetation. 

As I contemplated the conflict presented by the camels with the Aussie landscape, I continued my journey following the sandy expanse of Lighthouse Beach until I reached the historic Tacking Point Lighthouse. Before its construction in 1879, the area had very few lighthouses, and shipwrecks were a common sight. One of the earliest was the 1823 wreck of the schooner Black Jack, privately owned but used by the colonial government

when it ran aground due to pilot error. The owner petitioned for compensation and received the schooner Isabella, which unfortunately was seized by convicts in Port Macquarie, who promptly escaped. 

I wound around the lighthouse trail through dense coastal scrub and fragrant eucalyptus forests. Along the way, I encountered a wooden boardwalk in the Sea Acres Rainforest, where the path was elevated 23ft (7m) above the forest floor, and enjoyed the bird’s eye view of the canopy. The rainforest was an important resource for the Birpai people, who used the python tree, the second hardest wood in the world, to make weapons and forage for bush food. With each step, I watched for signs of wildlife, hoping to glimpse the elusive goannas that prowled among the underbrush. But the promise of encountering the scarlet robin, with its vibrant red breast and striking black and white plumage, truly piqued my interest.

Pressing onward, I passed Nobby's Beach and Flynns Beach, where novice surfers braved the waves. Then, I took the steep path down to the isolated and pebbly Rocky Beach before finishing at Town Beach, located next to the city centre.

As dusk descended on the town, I grabbed a bag of piping hot fish and chips, with their favourite accompaniments: potato cake and dim sim. I savoured these simple pleasures as I watched the last vestiges of daylight fade into the night.