Located on the mid north of NSW Australia, Forster is a great place to stop if you want to get out of Sydney and see some of the other things Australia has to offer. Forster is about 200 miles north of Sydney and is a popular holiday spot for Australians but it is often missed by international tourists.

Being originally from Sydney I have often been in the centre of Sydney and noticed that as soon as many tourists arrive in Sydney they leave. They go on tours to the Blue Mountains or the Hunter Valley and many get a car and drive. When you look at a map it’s difficult to decide where to stop and what places are worth the turn off from the highway. My husband and I owned the ice cream parlor in the main street of Forster for many years and, while we got some overseas tourists, it is apparent that just go to the places promoted in the brochures, and who can blame them as they have limited information about the places in between.

The Forster Tuncurry area, which is two towns separated by a bridge which covers one of the most beautiful clear blue waterways you’ve ever seen, has a population of about 20,000 people. It has everything you could possibly want in a coastal holiday destination. Beautiful beaches, accommodation ranging from camping to five star apartments – something to suit everyone. There are food choices ranging from do it yourself BBQ facilities to top class restaurants. It’s not quite as full on as other more touristy spots but it’s more of a real Australian experience than many of the places in the tourist guides.

As well as being situated on the coast Forster is also on Wallis Lake which opens up a whole range of wonderful activities like kayaking and lake fishing, not to mention safe accessible swimming and water skiing. There are loads of walks ranging from long bush walks to pleasant coastal strolls. Anyone who’s into fishing, diving or surfing won’t be disappointed. There are a couple of great golf courses also. You can usually see dolphins off the break wall and when the season is right whale watching tours are popular.

In the Australian summer vacation period from late December to late January the place is packed with families having their ritualistic holiday that they wait for all year and at other times it’s a pretty calm place that just goes about its business. The easiest way to get there is by car but you can also get a Greyhound bus from Sydney or a train to Newcastle then a bus which is a good way to see a bit of the country on the way.

The accommodation and eateries are situated pretty centrally so if you don’t have a car most things are accessible on foot. There is a pretty good local bus service if you need to go anywhere else. The centralized nature of it is one of the things that many people say is it’s best asset as you can drive there then leave the car parked for most of your stay which is really a contrast to the way most live their lives in the city these days and really gives people a chance to turn off.