Sea Acres

One of the special aspects of Port Macquarie is that you can go from the beach to a forest in less than 5 minutes. It really is such an amazing contrast. The rainforest in question is categorised as a “sub-tropical coastal rainforest”.

 

If you’re keen on walking through the forest and being left to your own thoughts you have go to go visit Sea Acres Rainforest Centre. On the day we visited, granted it was the middle of the week, there was no one else in the forest except the 4 of us. All you could hear were the birds chirping and the waves breaking on the shore in the distance.

 

Where is Sea Acres 

Sea Acres Rainforest is a National Park in the South of Port Macquarie – between Shelly Beach and Miner’s Beach. 100m after you see the sign for the turn off to Shelly Beach you will find the entrance to Sea Acres Rainforest Centre.

 

 

Sea Acres Features

The highlight of the Centre is the 1.3 km loop walk through the forest which sits above the rainforest’s floor. You can take a tour of the walk of you can do it yourself with the assistance of the guide map and the signs along the walk.

While for some little kids or bored teenagers this may just be a walk through some trees it really is beautiful, especially in the late afternoon with the sun filtering in through the trees.

When we arrived the kids were asked if they would like to play a game on their walk. Of course they wanted to. The kids were then handed a placard to hand around their neck a with pictures of animals / birds and reptiles. These pictures would match the pictures on round plaques along the walk. The kids loved the game and became quite competitive about who would find all their animals first.

For those that find the idea of a 1.3 km walk a bit daunting – there are benches along the walk. A few wooden carvings to sit down and look at along the walk.

 

Sea Acres Facilities 

Once you’ve done the walk you can visit the Spirit of the Land multi-media art exhibition or have lunch (or tea) at the Rainforest Cafe, I’ve seen it referred to on a number of websites as a great place to eat at but we didn’t get a chance as we were there late in the afternoon. The Rainforest Cafe has its own website which has details all their menus, you can check out the Rainforest Cafe website for yourself here.

 

Tickets and Admissions

The Centre is open from 9am to 4:30pm most days of the year except for Christmas Day and during Ironman events. The gift shop happens to carry a wide range of stunning Aussie souvenirs so be careful.

Entry fees, as of October 2016, are

• Adults $9
• Children $4 (only school going age children are charged for)
• Family of 4 is $16

 

You can check out more information about Sea Acres Rainforest on the National Parks website.

 

When you arrive at the Centre make sure to keep your eyes peeled for 2 of the 50 sculptures koalas which are on display throughout the Coffs Coast region. 

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For more information on Port Macquarie itself check out the Port Macquarie post.