Central Coast’s Top Notch Hospitality!

Credit goes to the warm representatives and guides we’ve met at Central Coast. We had takeaway breakie (or ‘breakfast’ in Aussie slang) on board our coach as we made our hour-long drive out of Sydney. We managed to break free from the morning traffic city crawl and made up for the slight delay on the smoother Pacific Highway.

We whizzed past the sign that pointed to the turn off to the Australian Reptile Park, but we would back track to the attraction later this morning, after we’d visited the Yarramalong Macadamia Nut Farm. Rows of macadamia trees no higher than a storey and a half lined the path to the farmhouse. We were greeted by its director Phil Davis and told to have a seat in his cosy dining space while he prepared some morning tea for us. Soon we were lapping up hot tea (much appreciated for the slightly cool morning slightly inland) and Phil turned on the indoor heater after enquiring if we were feeling chilly. We nodded in harmony. While he prepared some bites for us, we loitered outside and were taken in by the litter of leaves by a tree preparing for winter. Once satisfied with the photos we’d taken, we scampered back in almost like kids who’d gone outside to play till they were called to come back in. There, Phil readily served us macadamia scones with cream and strawberry jam. He took pains to give us background to his farm and how the 900 trees in his farm are about 35 years old. We learnt there are 9 species of macadamia, and did you know the nut’s native to Australia? We hear the Americans have tried to pass it off as one of their own crops when the seed was brought into Hawaii. It was then aggressively propagated because the climate in Hawaii’s ideal for planting the nut. Coming back to our visit to the farm, we had a hands-on feel of the unprocessed seed and its leaves and even took nibbles of a moist, almost coconut-like texture of an unprocessed macadamia nut. One bite was all it took for us to leave with some shopping bags of macadamia nuts and products.

We overstayed and were hurried back onto our waiting bus so we could get to the Australian Reptile Park in good time for a tour and an Aussie barbecue lunch. We were warmly welcomed at the park by General Manager Mary Rayner and Jan Richens, who’s in charge of Marketing, Sales & Events. Mary had a baby possum in her arms, who kept trying to find cover underneath her coat only to be cradled out for us to pet and take some pictures with. Two grand tortoises of poise, Hugo and Dimmy crawled out to greet us. Their sure footedness wasn’t as deft and sprightly as Doomy the dingo whom Mary put on a leash to greet us. The animals were adorable and as we found out, the park doesn’t only just house reptiles but many of Australia’s native mammals too. My mum gathered enough courage to pet a 4-metre python. Lunch was a fantastic sun-baked affair in the open under the trees in the picnic area of the park where we saw down for some good ‘ol Aussie BBQ with steak, sausages, salad and fresh fruits.

We checked in at Oaks Waterfront Resort about 3pm and within ten minutes, we met in the lobby to head out to the shore of the Tuggerah Lake where the pelican feeding was to take place. Already a group of visitors had gathered and so had a flock of about 50 pelicans. The feeding hadn’t started, but already both parties were studying each other closely. We took our seats and at precisely 3.30pm on my watch, a volunteer from the community carrying a blue tray of fish walked up to the pelicans and started tossing fish into the waiting beaks and pouches. The feeding frenzy had begun and with the ruckus the birds were making, it was evident no one in watching the feeding was really paying attention to the commentator. A tin went around to garner support for the volunteer group’s efforts in giving attention to these friendly creatures who seem to have an internal clock built in to know when to swim up to the shore for their daily ‘supplements’. Tze Min and my mum were the privileged two to hand feed the pelicans before they dispersed about half an hour later. The crowd of visitors broke up too and we decided to stroll up the street to peer into the local shops. We found one that sold very cheap items, including sunglasses, and so we grabbed a few pairs for ourselves. As promised, I insert a photo of Gim Kuan wearing one of her latest pair of sunglasses added to her collection.

There was still time before dinner, and so I headed to the resort pool on the second floor for a few laps and a dip in the Jacuzzi. The heated saltwater pool was therapeutic and it was great to have some time to enjoy the resort facilities. The gym was on the same deck, but I resisted temptation for fear of being late for dinner.

All too soon, it was nightfall and we were driven to multi-award winning restaurant The Cowrie at Terrigal (about a 20-min drive away from Oaks Waterfront). We had the 5-course degustation menu and it was a winner! The salmon sashimi that folded over orange slices with orange soy glaze got our appetite up for seared white scallops with crispy Tullabung pork belly sitting atop a piece of fragrant Thai fish cake. What followed were the blue eye cod a la mariniere and Black Angus beef fillet; almost got us smacking our lips and giving the thumbs up. Our group could only sing praises for the quality food served up at this fine-dining restaurant that offers a spectacular view overlooking the bay. Each course was well paired with wine which hailed from South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales’ very own Hunter Valley. If you have deep pockets, you could even arrange a helicopter flight from Sydney to this restaurant’s helipad just two minutes away. We were also honoured to have the pleasure of the company of Central Coast Tourism’s CEO Horst Endrulat join us for drinks at The Cowrie. He told us that his office had received two phonecalls direct from Singapore after the promotion’s commercials on 938LIVE were broadcast. He had been assured by the two callers that they’d booked their passage over to the Central Coast next month in time for the whale watching season. Makes me think about coming back this way in June too!

What’s up tomorrow? Well, Tze Min and I plan to go parasailing while our mothers will hopefully be able to see some dolphins at Port Stephens when they go on their cruise. That’s only for the morning. Do listen out for the thrice-daily live reports around 7.10/40am, 12.10/40pm and 6.10/40pm for updates on our journey.