The hustle of the Pacific Highway fades into a dim memory as visitors wander up the main street of Nambucca Heads – the town has become even more popular since the highway bypassed it.  So take a stroll, bag a bargain, update your beachwear … just relax and enjoy this historic friendly town.

Nambucca Heads was an important coastal port with ship building and timber mills as the main industries in the 1800s and early 1900s. The Shire Council’s investment in a system of boardwalks and storyboards along the waterfront will guide the discerning visitor through the town’s change of fortunes.

Beaches in the Nambucca Valley– Clean, uncrowded and inviting, surf and river beaches such as Shelly, Beilby and Main Beach are popular all year round. Main Beach in patrolled throughout the summer school holidays and at weekends between October and Easter. Nearby Swimming Creek Beach is dog friendly – providing your dog is!

Ocean lookouts – Many lookouts offering spectacular views are dotted along the headlands – views to South West Rocks in the south; almost to Coffs Harbour in the north and west along the river to the mountains.

Foreshores boardwalks – From the RSL Club car park a series of boardwalks wind a path along and over the water to the river entrance. Storyboards highlight historical sites.

Gordon Park rainforest and nature walks – Gordon Park is a pristine piece of original rainforest preserved amid commercial and residential development. A unique network of trails throughout the park highlights its botanical treasures.

Headland Historical Museum– Situated on Main Beach Headland, the museum showcases the region’s colourful history (ph 6568 6380).The headland also gives visitors the chance to enjoy a cappuccino and admire yet another breathtaking ocean panorama.

Nambucca Heads Island Golf Club–Possibly the only golf club in the world totally surrounded by water, this challenging 18-hole golf course is set on Stuart Island in the Nambucca River. With its views to the ocean, abundant birdlife and exceptional cuisine, it  is popular even with non-golfers!

Mosaic sculpture– Outside the police station on Bowra Street, dolphins, fish and an octopus emerge from concrete waves in what may be Australia’s longest sculpture – ‘The River’. No-one will be left untouched (or without a memory of their nanna’s favourite teacups) after gazing into the sculpture’s swirling tale of how the river winds from  the mountains of the Great Dividing Range, through towns and farmland until it  meets the sea.

Painted poles– Local artists have painted electricity power poles along Bowra Street also borrowing on the theme ‘Where the River Meets the Sea’.

Stringer Gallery– Explore the Nambucca Heads Entertainment Centre on Ridge Street for quality local works of art

V-Wall–Winding off Bowra Street onto river-hugging Wellington Drive, visitors will be treated to an outdoor art gallery stretching from the car park to the river entrance. And it’s not a closed shop – visitors are encouraged to paint their own postcard message on the enormous rock boulders. Less artistic ones are sure to enjoy the walk and reading messages from around the world.

Fishing– It’s your choice – offshore, beach or estuary! The breakwall at the river entrance is probably the most popular spot to fish off the rocks or simply hire a boat for a day on the river – Warrell Creek can be a fishing bonanza!

Show and Shine – Motor enthusiasts of all ages flock to Nambucca Heads each October Long Weekend to feast their eyes on an amazing array of hot rods parked along the full length of Bowra Street. For an entire week, hundreds of gleaming machines liven the streets and roads of Nambucca culminating in the ‘show and shine’.