About Lake Macquarie
Lake Macquarie is the largest coastal saltwater lake in the Southern Hemisphere. It covers approximately 120 square kilometres (four times the size of Sydney Harbour), is 24 km long, 3.2 km at its widest point and 9.7 m at its deepest. The lake’s foreshore consists of 174 km of bays, beaches and headlands. There are 92 towns and villages, 29 public boat ramps, 28 public jetties and wharves and 7 marinas around the lake.
Lake Macquarie is the largest coastal saltwater lake in the Southern Hemisphere. It covers approximately 120 square kilometres (four times the size of Sydney Harbour), is 24 km long, 3.2 km at its widest point and 9.7 m at its deepest. The lake’s foreshore consists of 174 km of bays, beaches and headlands. There are 92 towns and villages, 29 public boat ramps, 28 public jetties and wharves and 7 marinas around the lake.
Lake Macquarie reaches the ocean by a narrow channel at Swansea Heads. It has never really developed as a port or harbour because the entrance is narrow and it has been almost enclosed by dangerous, shifting sandbars. Also the proximity of Newcastle Harbour to the north ensured that there was a good local alternative.
The eastern shore, which stands on a relatively narrow strip of land between the lake and the ocean, is well-developed and popular as a holiday destination. The western side is quieter and more rural with bushland along the shores and the Watagan Mountains rising to the west. The southern shore is characterised by bushland and wetlands while the northern shore dissolves into the Newcastle suburban sprawl. At the northern end there are flotillas of bobbing boats and white, flapping sails which crowd the lake and fishing and swimming are popular. At the southern end small towns nestle into the wilderness. Most of the destinations are designed to take full advantage of the views across the lake. It remains a largely unspoilt holiday destination with few overseas visitors and locals tending to prefer the warmer resorts in Queensland, Thailand or the South Pacific (sourced from the Aussie Towns website – click for more).
Getting there
It was a very wet 454 km drive from Woolgoolga to Mannering Park in Lake Macquarie (route map). The rain was torrential in parts and when we arrived it was the 1st time in the entire trip that we had to “set-up” in the rain.
Accommodation
The caravan site we were provided in the BIG4 Ingenia Holidays Lake Macquarie was basically a mud pile pool of rainwater which would more than likely get us bogged so a phone call was made to the office to say how impossible the site was. The person in the office then gave us an “upgrade” to a concrete slab side on the lake.
Even though we got drenched setting up we were at least on solid ground with an excellent double-slab site with views of Lake Macquarie – what a wonderful outcome!
What did we do here?
The weather just did not let-up on us for the 3 days we were here, so it was a matter of “bunkering down”, playing cards and watching movies.
We did manage to get out for lunch with some friends met on our 2018 Half Lap, Gary & Janis, at the Valentine Bowling Club in Croudace Bay.
Getting up early for the sunrise
Due to daylight savings I managed to wake up early enough to catch the sunrise and was definitely not disappointed…
We must return to this location as it looks like it has so much to offer (when it’s not raining!)
Summing up…
- Accommodation – Ingenia Holidays Lake Macquarie (02) 4359 1033
- Cost per night – $77.00 (@ 30-Sep-2022 – school holidays)
- Stayed for – 3 nights
- Facilities – Excellent, but a bit far away from our site
- CP Location – 28 Monterey Ave Mannering Park
- Our rating/score – 8/10
- Was it a nice town to visit? – Yes
- Activities & places of interest – Rain affected us checking out this location but we would love to return to go exploring at a later date.
- Tourist info centre? – 228-234 Pacific Hwy Swansea 1800 802 044
- Would we return? – Definitely
- We rate the town – 8/10
- Overall thoughts – It as such a shame to get ‘rained in’ so want to make a return to really check out the possibility Lake Macquarie have to offer.