Road trip to the city of Lake Macquarie
I was craving for a road trip. After talking to my friends on a Friday night, I booked a car from one of the Australian car rentals company Hertz. We had decided to go for a one-day road trip, nothing too far, about 2 to 3 hours of drive each way. On Sunday morning at around 9:30 AM, we picked up the car.
For fun big things to see on the way, read 11 big things to see in NSW.
We started debating on the places to visit as we had picked up the car without any destination in mind. We discussed different places, from Palm Beach to Hunter Valley to The Entrance. But finally, we decided to go to the city of Lake Macquarie. The road trip eventually started at around 12 PM.
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Where is The city of Lake Macquarie?
The city of Lake Macquarie is in the Hunter region in the New South Wales (NSW) state of Australia. Named after the former governor Lachlan Macquarie, the city is home to many coastal towns and villages.
The city of Lake Macquarie was proclaimed as a city in the year 1984. According to 2018 census, around 205,000 people live in the city of Lake Macquarie.
The city of Lake Macquarie can be visited anytime of the year, but months of February to April are ideal as they are not too hot for a visit to the lake or a beach.
How to reach?
- Driving – The city of Lake Macquarie is about 130 kilometres from Sydney Central Business District (CBD). The drive takes around 1.5 hours and is the easiest and quickest way to get to the city of Lake Macquarie.
- The drive is pretty relaxed and there are plenty of parking spaces available at each of the spots mentioned in the ‘Things to do’ section.
- Public transportation – The public transportation to the city of Lake Macquarie is a bit complicated and long as one needs to take a train and then a bus. The total journey takes around 4 hours.
- There are frequent trains between the Central train station in Sydney to the Morisset train station in the city of Lake Macquarie.
- And then there are buses between the Morisset train station and Toronto bus stop.
- The Toronoto bus stop is 1 kilometre from the city of Lake Macquarie CBD.
- For up-to-date information on the public transportation, visit Transport for NSW website.
Things to do in the city of Lake Macquarie
There are plenty of things to do in the city of Lake Macquarie. My friends and I were there just for half a day and we explored only a few places.
For latest maps and guides, visit Lake Macquarie’s official website.
Beware of swimming at the beaches as there are sharks. Ensure to be within the swimming safe areas that are patrolled and ask the locals for the safe beaches before venturing out alone in the ocean.
Lake Macquarie
Lake Macquarie is a lake in the city of Lake Macquarie and is the largest salt water lake in Australia that covers an area of 110 square kilometres. The lake is connected to the Tasman sea by Swansea channel.
Keep an eye out for dolphins. And I believe there have been sightings of sharks in the Lake Macquarie.
Caves beach
This amazing beach was told to us by one of the attendees at the city of Lake Macquarie visitor centre. Caves beach is famous for its sea caves and can be explored during the low tides. The shades of blue and the colours of the sea caves were spectacular and very pretty.
Dogs are not allowed at the Caves beach.
Ensure to check for low tides and explore the caves. This was my second visit to the Caves beach and I have explored the caves during the low tides. It is definitely worth it as it is lovely.
Swansea Gardens Holiday Park
We spent an hour at the Caves Beach and we started for Swansea Gardens holiday park. This was my favourite part of the day. The holiday park is just next to the Swansea channel and the water is so clear and beautiful. It has different shades of blue and looks stunning.
Rough itinerary of our day
Below is a very rough timing and itinerary of our road trip to the city of Lake Macquarie. I did not feel rushed as we did have ample time to spend time at each of the locations listed in things to do section. But I would have definitely liked to have seen more places especially Pulbah Island.
- 12 PM: Started from Sydney.
- 1:30 PM: Reached the city of Lake Macquarie. The drive is around 1.5 hours.
- 1:30 PM till 5:00 PM: Had our lunch at a local restaurant and visited the three places.
- 5:00 PM: Started from the city of Lake Macquarie.
- 6:30 PM: Reached Sydney.
Safety for solo female travelers
The city of Lake Macquarie is absolutely safe for solo female travelers. Even though I visited the city with my friends, but traveling within NSW and the coastal towns are very safe. I have traveled quite a bit solo in this amazing NSW state and have never had any issues whatsoever. However, like any other city, be cautious and know your surroundings especially at nights.
Closing Notes
We started for Sydney from the Swansea Gardens Holiday Park at around 5 PM and were back home by 6:30 PM. In a nutshell, it was a very well spent day and even the weather decided to cooperate with us with warm perfect weather for the beach. I recommend visiting the city of Lake Macquarie for a day trip from Sydney. However, one can stay at beautiful locations by the lake or the beach when visiting the city.
I will definitely visit the city again as I want to visit the Pulbah Island and also dive in the Newcastle.
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