A sleepy coastal town and delightful holiday retreat, which is one of the Mid North Coast's most well kept secrets.

Where is it?: South West Rocks is near the mouth of the Macleay River 40 km from Kempsey; 463 km north of Sydney.

South West Rocks is one of those coastal towns which is often by-passed by holidaymakers. In fact it is one of the quietest and most attractive towns on the Mid North Coast. It is a true hideaway with some notable television personalities using it as their getaway because no one pays much attention to them and they can relax without being 'noticed' by holidaymakers.

Though the town maintains a steady growth rate (its present population is around 5,000), the tourist population of South West Rocks increases markedly during the holiday season. Beautiful scenery, numerous beaches, and man-made attractions such as Trial Bay Gaol and Smoky Cape Lighthouse are published as local tourist attractions.

Trial Bay is one of only a few north facing bays on the Australian East Coast. Beautiful scenery, numerous beaches, and man-made attractions such as Trial Bay Gaol and Smoky Cape Lighthouse are published as local tourist attractions.

Smoky Cape

Smoky Cape, contained within Hat Head National Park, was named by Lieut. James Cook when HMS Endeavour passed it on 13 May 1770, writing of "a point or headland, on which were fires that Caused a great Quantity of smook, which occasioned my giving it the name of Smooky Cape". Smook was his usual spelling of smoke, the spelling for the cape now follows the modern spelling. The hills there were an important meeting place for aboriginal people from various surrounding areas, it is possible Cook saw fires from such a gathering. Smoky Cape lighthouse was first proposed for the cape in 1886 and completed in 1891. It was built from concrete and local granite aggregate in an octagonal shape at the highest point on the cape.

Fish Rock is a small bare rock which juts out of the sea just south-east of the Smoky Cape. It's a noted scuba diving location and home to various fish species. A 120-metre cave runs right under the rock and there are various gutters nearby where Grey Nurse Sharks live. The area is one of about a dozen in New South Wales recognised as critical for the shark, and for that reason fishing is restricted, but the grey nurse is still affected by fishing. The only restrictions are anchoring within 100m and bottom fishing, however boats are still allowed to drift up as close as they want and drop their lines.