Coff's Harbour, NSW, AU

Coff's Harbour was not only the most beautiful place I visited in Australia but one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. The weather is quite unpredictable but if you catch it on a good hour it is absolutely gorgeous. It is sunny and perfect until about 1:00 or 2:00 in the afternoon and then the clouds descend from over the mountains and it rains for a couple of hours and then it dries up for the evening.

From where I stand in this picture you can see the main Harbour enclosed by high rock walls. The beach extends out to the left and right with a beautiful view of the ocean and the backdrop of lush green mountains. I'm standing on top of an island that is connected to the mainland by a long pier. Although it is hard to tell from this vantage point, the island is quite high but small. You could probably walk around the base of it in 20 minutes (if there was a path to walk on).

While one side of the island overlooks Coff's Harbour, the other side looks out into the ocean where, especially on windy, choppy days, you can see whales flopping around and blowing out their spouts.

 I was so excited about the whales that I decided I wanted to see them closer up and so on our second day in Coff's Harbour I took a whale watching cruise. Not only did I get to see whales but also saw schools of dolphins. I've seen dolphins in the aquarium and from the beach at home but I've never seen them jumping and swimming along the boat. They glide through the water with such ease and frolic through the boat wake like its the most fun they've had all day. Beautiful creatures.

The beach in Coff's Harbour is not one long stretch of beach. It is separated by grassy and rocky cliffs and river outlets. After laying out on the beach for an hour reading, I decided to go for a run down the beach. The run was cut in half by a river outlet. I had to swim across to continue on. This was a little scary knowing all of the dangerous creatures lurking in the Australian ocean. I made it through and continued on the run until I reached a cliff. I walked up onto the cliff, enjoyed a great view and then made my way back.