{"id":217993,"date":"2020-11-03T15:47:06","date_gmt":"2020-11-03T04:47:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.australiantraveller.com\/?p=217993"},"modified":"2023-02-17T11:38:01","modified_gmt":"2023-02-17T00:38:01","slug":"the-nsw-central-coasts-journey-to-sustainability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.australiantraveller.com\/nsw\/central-coast\/the-nsw-central-coasts-journey-to-sustainability\/","title":{"rendered":"The NSW Central Coast\u2019s journey to sustainability"},"content":{"rendered":"
The natural beauty of the Central Coast remains the destination\u2019s enduring attraction and protecting it has become the region\u2019s most important quest, writes Katie Carlin.<\/h5>\n

UPDATE: The Central Coast is now a certified Ecotourism Australia ECO Destination<\/a> as of 5 June 2022.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a place where you can find a beach to suit every mood, hiking trails that lead to hidden waterfalls, and a breadth of cultural experiences driven by the community of makers and creators that call the Central Coast<\/a> home. The bushfires of 2019\/20 put all this under threat, but it sparked a different kind of flame too \u2013 a passion to transform the region into a certified sustainable and conscious destination in the next two years.<\/p>\n

Find natural beauty around every bend on the Central Coast<\/h2>\n

Eighty-seven kilometres of unspoilt coastline meets an Eden-like haven of national parks, state forests and conservation reserves to deliver one of the most nature-rich regions in NSW. Protecting this pristine natural environment is the destination\u2019s top priority \u2013 and exploring it will leave you with the same goal.<\/p>\n

\"Bouddi

Protecting this natural environment is the destination\u2019s top priority.<\/p><\/div>\n

Hike the Central Coast\u2019s five national parks \u2013 Bouddi<\/a>, Brisbane Water<\/a>, Wyrrabalong<\/a>, Dharug and Popran<\/a> \u2013 to take in majestic clifftop vistas, spot whales off the coast, find Aboriginal rock engraving sites and take a dip in the swimmable pools of Somersby Falls<\/a>. We recommend the two-hour Patonga to Pearl Beach Hiking Trail<\/a> through Brisbane Water National Park to Warrah Lookout<\/a>. You\u2019ll be rewarded with panoramic views that reach out across the water to Palm Beach and Barrenjoey Lighthouse. Refuel at the Boathouse in Patonga<\/a> or Pearl Beach Caf\u00e9<\/a> when you\u2019re done.\u00a0 For a gentler option, opt to walk through one of the oldest Arboretum\u2019s in Australia in the Strickland State Forest<\/a> to discover its collection of native and exotic plant species that date back as far as the 1880s.<\/p>\n

\"Frazer

Frazer Beach, Munmorah State Conservation Area picnic spot.<\/p><\/div>\n

Soak up the sun on any of the 41 golden-sand beaches that line the coast from Patonga to the northern tip of the Coast at Lake Munmorah, where you\u2019ll also find stunning caves inside Munmorah State Conservation Area. There are 15 family-friendly patrolled beaches in the region including Avoca Beach, Soldiers Beach<\/a> and Shelly Beach<\/a> \u2013 which also provide surfers with a steady stream of waves to ride. Get among the beachside dining scene of the seaside villages<\/a>\u00a0and taste the fresh produce grown in the vast Central Coast hinterland that fuels their ‘paddock to plate’ philosophy.<\/p>\n

\"Surfer

Ace Buchan, Pro Surfer who calls the Central Coast home, walking to the beach through Bouddi National Park. Image courtesy Ian Tyley Photography<\/p><\/div>\n

Don\u2019t leave without booking an experience with one of the local tour operators. The knowledgeable guides reveal the rich tapestry of Indigenous heritage woven into the natural landscape of the region with over 100 Aboriginal rock carvings and artefacts to be found. It\u2019s an unforgettable journey.<\/p>\n

\"Bouddi

Soak up the sun on any of the 41 golden-sand beaches.<\/p><\/div>\n

The operators driving change<\/h2>\n

Many operators are in the process of transforming their offering of nature-based and cultural experiences into ones that embrace sustainable and responsible practices \u2013 which also happens to be the best way to explore the region.<\/p>\n\n

Gain an understanding of Australia\u2019s first people on a 3.5-hour tour with the Aboriginal-owned Girri Girra Aboriginal Experiences<\/a> through Bouddi National Park to view some of its many Aboriginal sites, hear ancient stories and take in the park\u2019s breathtaking vistas.<\/p>\n

\"Girri

Gain an understanding of Australia\u2019s first people on a tour with the Aboriginal-owned Girri Girra Aboriginal Experiences.<\/p><\/div>\n

Further immerse yourself in the culture of the Guringai and Darkinjung people with a visit to the Australia Walkabout Wildlife Park<\/a> in Calga. Find Aboriginal engravings and artworks throughout the working wildlife sanctuary\u2019s 80 acres of State Heritage-listed land, spot wild native animals and reptiles roaming freely, take in one of the live daily ranger talks, or opt to stay overnight and book a \u2018Wild Night Out\u2019 tour.<\/p>\n

\"Echidna

An echidna resting by a pond at the Australia Walkabout Wildlife Park.<\/p><\/div>\n

TreeTop Adventure Park<\/a> in Ourimbah State Forest provides plenty of adrenalin-pumping challenges. The outdoor adventure park boasts the world\u2019s longest rollercoaster zipline and its newest addition, Networld, allows you to play games as you bounce around on nets high up in the trees.<\/p>\n

\"Koala

Meet precious native animals on a visit to the Australian Reptile Park. (Image: ARP)<\/p><\/div>\n

Bed down for the night at the eco-certified four-star nature retreat, Noonaweena<\/a> (an Aboriginal word meaning resting place in the bush), in one of their luxury lodges set up high in the hinterland with picturesque views of Yengo National Park below. Expect it to be a restorative experience.<\/p>\n

\"Noonaweena

Stay the night at the eco-certified four-star nature retreat, Noonaweena.<\/p><\/div>\n

The journey to become an eco destination<\/h2>\n

This impressive portfolio of experiences is just a taste of what\u2019s to come. Supported by funding from WWF-Australia, the Central Coast aims to become a certified ECO Destination with Ecotourism Australia by 2022. They are one of eight bushfire-affected regions in Australia and one of four in NSW (including Blue Mountains, Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie-Hastings) to receive the funding to join the program. If successful, it will cement the region\u2019s strong commitment to sustainability and quality \u2013 and make it easier for visitors to find eco experiences in the future.<\/p>\n

\"Terrigal

The pristine Terrigal Beach from above.<\/p><\/div>\n

Central Coast Council\u2019s Green Grid plan is also underway, which aims to connect, rejuvenate and restore local green spaces across the community to improve liveability and visitor appeal \u2013 an indication that the region\u2019s pristine natural environment looks set to stay that way for generations to come.<\/p>\n\n\n

Learn more about sustainable adventures on the Central Coast at lovecentralcoast.com<\/a><\/strong><\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The natural beauty of the Central Coast remains the destination\u2019s enduring attraction and protecting it has become the region\u2019s most important quest, writes Katie Carlin. UPDATE: The Central Coast is now a certified Ecotourism Australia ECO Destination as of 5 June 2022. It\u2019s a place where you can find a beach to suit every mood, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":58,"featured_media":218028,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"advertorial.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_expiration-date-status":"","_expiration-date":0,"_expiration-date-type":"","_expiration-date-categories":[],"_expiration-date-options":[]},"categories":[1124],"tags":[6348,6296,5715,4394,1653,5473,5514,4628],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Central Coast\u2019s journey to sustainability<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The natural beauty of the Central Coast remains the destination\u2019s enduring attraction and protecting it has become the region\u2019s most important quest, writes Katie Carlin.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Central Coast\u2019s journey to sustainability\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The natural beauty of the Central Coast remains the destination\u2019s enduring attraction and protecting it has become the region\u2019s most important quest, writes Katie Carlin.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.australiantraveller.com\/nsw\/central-coast\/the-nsw-central-coasts-journey-to-sustainability\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Australian Traveller\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AustTraveller\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-11-03T04:47:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-02-17T00:38:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s1.at.atcdn.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Central-Coast-HERO.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"750\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Katie Carlin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@AustTraveller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@AustTraveller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Katie Carlin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Central Coast\u2019s journey to sustainability","description":"The natural beauty of the Central Coast remains the destination\u2019s enduring attraction and protecting it has become the region\u2019s most important quest, writes Katie Carlin.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Central Coast\u2019s journey to sustainability","og_description":"The natural beauty of the Central Coast remains the destination\u2019s enduring attraction and protecting it has become the region\u2019s most important quest, writes Katie Carlin.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.australiantraveller.com\/nsw\/central-coast\/the-nsw-central-coasts-journey-to-sustainability\/","og_site_name":"Australian Traveller","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AustTraveller","article_published_time":"2020-11-03T04:47:06+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-02-17T00:38:01+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":750,"url":"https:\/\/s1.at.atcdn.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Central-Coast-HERO.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Katie Carlin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@AustTraveller","twitter_site":"@AustTraveller","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Katie Carlin","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.australiantraveller.com\/nsw\/central-coast\/the-nsw-central-coasts-journey-to-sustainability\/","url":"https:\/\/www.australiantraveller.com\/nsw\/central-coast\/the-nsw-central-coasts-journey-to-sustainability\/","name":"The Central Coast\u2019s journey to sustainability","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.australiantraveller.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2020-11-03T04:47:06+00:00","dateModified":"2023-02-17T00:38:01+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.australiantraveller.com\/#\/schema\/person\/dbe7f623fe4b2fe539e805357779f08c"},"description":"The natural beauty of the Central Coast remains the destination\u2019s enduring attraction and protecting it has become the region\u2019s most important quest, writes Katie Carlin.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.australiantraveller.com\/nsw\/central-coast\/the-nsw-central-coasts-journey-to-sustainability\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.australiantraveller.com\/nsw\/central-coast\/the-nsw-central-coasts-journey-to-sustainability\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.australiantraveller.com\/nsw\/central-coast\/the-nsw-central-coasts-journey-to-sustainability\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.australiantraveller.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The NSW Central Coast\u2019s journey to sustainability"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.australiantraveller.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.australiantraveller.com\/","name":"Australian Traveller","description":"Honestly Australian","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.australiantraveller.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.australiantraveller.com\/#\/schema\/person\/dbe7f623fe4b2fe539e805357779f08c","name":"Katie Carlin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.australiantraveller.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/s1.at.atcdn.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Katie1_Aust_Traveller14240.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/s1.at.atcdn.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Katie1_Aust_Traveller14240.jpg","caption":"Katie Carlin"},"description":"Katie Carlin has over a decade's worth of experience as a journalist and editor. She joined Australian Traveller in 2019 and is passionate about discovering hidden-gem destinations, soul-satisfyingly-good food, and writing stories that get you excited to see more of Australia and beyond.","sameAs":["http:\/\/australiantraveller.com","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/ktmcarlin\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.australiantraveller.com\/author\/katie-carlin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.australiantraveller.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217993"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.australiantraveller.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.australiantraveller.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.australiantraveller.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/58"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.australiantraveller.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=217993"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.australiantraveller.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217993\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":240362,"href":"https:\/\/www.australiantraveller.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217993\/revisions\/240362"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.australiantraveller.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/218028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.australiantraveller.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=217993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.australiantraveller.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=217993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.australiantraveller.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=217993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}