Where to stay in Scotts Head

Scotts Head is a small surf village at the southern end of the Nambucca Valley, tucked between Nambucca Heads and the long beaches that run down toward South West Rocks. It has kept the feel of an old-fashioned beach holiday: a headland with a lookout, a calm beach that fills up with families and learner surfers, and a point break that draws surfers from up and down the coast.

Why stay in Scotts Head

This is a quiet, walkable village built around its beach. There is a holiday park on the sand, a handful of shops, a cafe and a bowling club, and not a lot else, which is the point. People come back year after year for the swimming, the fishing and the surf. It gets busy over summer, Easter and the school holidays, so book ahead, but the rest of the year it is calm and uncrowded.

Main Beach and learning to surf

Main Beach (also called Forster Beach) is the drawcard: a north-facing crescent of pale sand tucked in behind the headland, which keeps it calm and protected. It is the safe, family end of town, and the beach that people drive in from around the valley to use. The gentle, gradual sand makes it one of the better spots on the coast to learn to surf, and the local surf schools, including Scotts Head Surf School and the Trent Munro Surf Academy, run their lessons here. The beach is patrolled through the warmer months, roughly from October to Easter.

The point and the headland

Around the headland, the point is a different beast: a long right-hand point break that peels along the rocks, and one of the best-known waves in the region. It suits intermediate and experienced surfers rather than beginners, with rocks to watch and a local crew in the water, and it works best in winter on a south-east swell with an offshore wind. Little Beach and Wakki Beach, the smaller beaches near the headland, pick up more swell again and are not the place to learn.

Up on the headland, a short sealed path climbs to the lookout, which is one of the best things to do in town. From the platform the view opens right along the coast: back over the long sweep of Main Beach, down onto the surfers working the point, and out to the open sea. From late autumn into spring it is one of the better land-based spots around to watch humpback whales pass close to shore. On the foreshore near the surf club, look for the mosaic Whale Table picnic setting and the large tiled seabird mural, both made by local artists.

Gaagal Wanggaan and the south coast

Just south of the village, the long wild coast toward Grassy Head is Gaagal Wanggaan (South Beach) National Park, handed back to the Gumbaynggirr people and now jointly managed with National Parks. The name comes from the language for the sea and the south beach. There are no formed walking tracks to speak of, just beach and bush, but it is a beautiful empty stretch for a long walk, a fish or a look around. You reach the south beach from the boat ramp at Weir Reserve on Warrell Creek.

Yarriabini National Park

Behind the coast rises Mount Yarrahapinni, in Yarriabini National Park. You can drive most of the way up to Yarrahapinni Lookout, where the platforms open up a huge view south over the farms to Smoky Cape, Trial Bay and South West Rocks, and back over Scotts Head. On the way, The Pines picnic area has a short rainforest walk with Aboriginal Dreaming carvings. The roads in are partly unsealed but fine for a 2WD in dry weather.

Things to do

• Swim and learn to surf at calm, patrolled Main Beach
• Watch the surfers work the point from the headland
• Walk up to the lookout for the view and the whales in season
• Find the mosaic Whale Table and seabird mural on the foreshore
• Throw in a line off the beach, the rocks or Warrell Creek
• Drive up to Yarrahapinni Lookout for the big coastal view
• Walk the empty sand of Gaagal Wanggaan (South Beach) National Park
• Time a winter visit for the LoggerHeads Malibu Classic longboard contest

Food and coffee

Scotts Head is small, so the choice is simple but enough: a cafe for coffee and breakfast, a bakery, a general store and supermarket, and Club Scotts, the bowling club, for a casual meal. A farmers market runs on the village green a couple of Sundays a month. For more options, Macksville and Nambucca Heads are a short drive away.

Getting there

Scotts Head is about a five to five and a half hour drive north of Sydney (around 480 km). Leave the Pacific Highway just south of Macksville at the Scotts Head Road turnoff, then it is about 15 minutes east to the village. The nearest airport is Coffs Harbour, around an hour north, with Port Macquarie about 75 minutes south. The closest train station is Macksville, on the North Coast XPT line.

Good to know

The village has a supermarket, bakery, cafe and a bowling club, so you can pick up the basics, but it is small, so for a big shop or more choice you will head to Macksville or Nambucca Heads. Main Beach is the calm, patrolled beach and the one to learn on. The point and the smaller beaches near the headland are for confident surfers. There is no ocean pool here, so the sheltered swimming is at Main Beach.

Local tip: park up at the headland lookout late in the day. The light is good on the beach, the surfers are still working the point, and in winter you have a fair chance of a whale.