Port Macquarie to Canberra road trip: Distance, drive time & stops

Port Macquarie to Canberra: The Central Coast

The quickest route out of Newcastle heads west along the Newcastle Link Road then joins the Pacific Motorway. The Mount Sugarloaf Lookout is a little further west if you want a detour really early in the trip, but in practice most will keep going south.

The motorway passes the Lake Macquarie Memorial Park and, more of interest, Watagans National Park. However, the nearby southern section is more of interest to mountain bikers than walkers and drivers.

Going west of Lake Macquarie, the Port Macquarie to Canberra drive then goes past Cooranbong, Morriset and Wyee before entering the Central Coast region.

Now, there are lots of interesting spots on the Central Coast. But the likes of Toukley, Terrigal and Forresters Beach require a significant diversion east of the motorway. If you want to explore the actual coast, Australia Travel Questions has a Central Coast guide.

The Motorway, however, runs west of Wyong and Tuggerah. Stops worth considering include the Amazement Farm and Fun Park plus Treetops Adventure Central Coast near Alison and the Ourimbah Creek Weir and Fish Ladder.

Gosford and the Hawkesbury

Further south Strickland Falls in the Strickland State Forest is handily near the motorway, while Somersby Falls isn’t too much of a diversion west.

Just west of Gosford, you’ll find the Australian Reptile Park and the Girrakool Loop Track in Brisbane Water National Park.

You then cross into Sydney over the Hawkesbury River Bridge. Nearby, a visit to the Broken Bay Pearl Farm in Mooney Mooney, the Riverboat Postman Cruise and the Dangar Island Ferry are all worth considering.

The Pacific Motorway heads south into Sydney between the Berowra Valley National Park to the west and Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park to the east. The delightful Bobbin Head section of the latter, plus the Kalkari Discovery Centre, don’t take much of a diversion.

Architecture enthusiasts will want to include the striking Rose Siedler House in the itinerary before joining the North Connex and heading west.

Click through for the next section: Western Sydney.