Sunny Sawtell

I’ve never been much of a beach person (don’t ask me why we moved here), but something about this town, that beach, made me long for it when I wasn’t there.

Aug 2017

Travel Ramblings

Sawtell is a very small seaside town, 15 minutes south of Coffs Harbour on the Coffs Coast in Northern NSW.

I lived here in a tiny beach shack with my main squeeze, Simon for the majority of 2013. Our other “room-mates” and “neighbours” were some unwanted cockroaches that just wouldn't leave us alone (despite so many insect killers that I’m surprised we didn’t poison ourselves), a frog that lived in one of water pipes and croaked every time we showered or flushed the toilet, a group of mischievous bush turkeys that roamed freely in our yard and on our roof, and some very large bearded dragon lizards which often tried to come in for a visit.

Despite all of the creepy crawlies and sometimes intimidating wildlife, Sawtell is a beautiful town. If you're like me and don't enjoy waking up with a cockroach inside your mouth-guard case or opening the door only to have a giant lizard try to scurry into your living room, it's probably not the place for you. But I’ll let you draw your own conclusions on that.

The town centre of Sawtell is really just a single street. However small, it is really beautiful and unique. The street is divided in half by a large median strip which is pretty common here in the UK but not something I’d seen much of growing up in Australia. In the UK, many main streets in towns are split like this and the strips usually house restaurants, cafes or shops (think Windermere, England or Haddington, Scotland). However common it is in the UK, I’ve never seen a median strip like Sawtell’s. Here, the opposing lanes of traffic are separated by a strip filled with green space inhabited by giant, majestic fig trees. It adds a truly magical quality to this little place, not that it needed any more magic.

The main street has a few shops and even a small cinema, but is mostly made up of various eateries. I sampled the majority of them when I lived here and they were honestly all very good. Being right on the coast, the whole Coffs Coast has amazing quality seafood. It just doesn’t get any fresher. So if you’re in the area, get a sea-salty-snack, you won’t regret it.

During our time living here, Simon and I were lucky enough to live directly across the road from Sawtell beach. In between the sand and our little shack was only a small section of bushland and a wee road. We like to sleep with the windows open (please don’t rob us) so we’d fall asleep hearing the peaceful rhythm of the waves flowing in and out. Our street even had a personal beach entrance, which cut straight through the bushland and spat you out on the white sand.

I’ve never been much of a beach person (don’t ask me why we moved here), but something about this town, that beach, made me long for it when I wasn’t there. Every morning we always ended up on that sand. We’d walk hand-in-hand up to the headland, then gawk at the view for a while and then descend a staircase that led down to the beach.

This end of Sawtell beach is usually pretty quiet so the clear, refreshing water and clean, white sand are mostly yours during the early mornings. When I lived here, I was struggling a lot at work and had some serious issues with someone who I thought I was close to. I was feeling pretty aimless and depressed, but walking hand-in-hand with my love, just being near the clear water and the pure sand, and forcing myself to take step after step slowly brought me back to life. It prepared me for what was to come next, and allowed me to take the time I needed to recover from the depression I felt.

The local shops here sell, ‘I Heart Sawtell’ stickers. We bought one for our cheap-as-chips, bomb-y car, and I truly believe that sentiment. Sawtell is forever imprinted on my heart.

You should go there, it’s way cooler than Coffs Harbour proper. #sorrynotsorry