Winter is a wonderful time to visit the Central Coast and there's plenty to do. There are Pick Your Own fruit farms, staying at an adults only luxurious beachside accommodation and fantastic meals at restaurants and cafes. Better still, all of these activities are 100% dog friendly so bring your fur babies along!
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It has been a few months since our last road trip and Mr NQN and I are excited to head to the Central Coast for his birthday. On our drive we pass through Peats Ridge past large farms, stores selling locally grown fruit and honesty stands with a range of produce. Teddy and Milo sit up in their dog beds taking in the country air and views, their tiny noses sniffing excitedly.
Wyuna Farms
"There's a difference between coastal oranges and inland oranges," says Lorraine Wilson of Wyuna Farms. Lorraine and Rodger's oranges are legendary for their sweetness and customers travel here every year to pick their own oranges. Wyuna Farms lies in Kulnura on the Central Coast, just over 1 hour from Sydney and winter is the perfect time to visit to pick some of winter navel oranges.
The Wilsons have around 4,000-5,000 orange trees on their farm and most of them are sold for juicing to Eastcoast beverages just across the road from them (I look for their juice as it is consistently sweet). When they first opened for PYO (Pick Your Own) there were hundreds of customers lined up to pick oranges. One of the reasons for their popularity, apart from the sweetness of the oranges is that they also don't use insecticide on their oranges. They do use herbicide, mainly to keep snakes away from the ground under the trees for safety reasons for PYO customers. Rodger believes the other reason why the oranges are so sweet is because they use fowl manure to feed the soil.
The farm started as a rustic bark humpy as Lorraine's grandfather exchanged £25 for 20 acres of land during the depression and his son Ray (Lorraine's father) decided to work on the farm at the tender age of 15. He named it Wyuna meaning "My home" in local indigenous dialect. Ray lived in the bark humpy and was fed by a local family The Gibsons who nurtured the teen for decades to come. Eventually he and Joan Gibson, the red haired daughter from this family got married. They had two daughters Lorraine and Diane and expanded the farm adding more blocks of land. Lorraine married NZ born Rodger Wilson and the farm blossomed for 2 decades and evolved to becoming a poultry and citrus farm before hitting challenging times. It was in 2017 that they welcomed their first PYO customers.
In Summer and Autumn, customers can pick Valencia oranges and in July and August they can pick navel oranges. We follow them out to the farm with the dogs and get to picking. Lorraine advises that when buying oranges, look for green buttons at the base. If the buttons have turned brown, the oranges have started to go bad. To pick oranges is easy, you bend the orange back on itself where it will snap off the branch. Lorraine and Rodger cut open an orange for us to try and it's gorgeously candy sweet. Teddy and Milo sniff under the trees and investigate the new smells and the enormous and deep wombat holes. Thanks to Rodger's picking tips, before long we have two enormous bags of the sweetest oranges that weigh between 12-14 kilos each. Each bag is $20 and with our sweet bounty, we wave Lorraine and Rodger goodbye.
Flour & Co.
Having had oranges for breakfast we look for a spot for lunch when we reach the town of Toowoon Bay around 45 minutes later. Flour & Co. in Toowoon Bay serves up coffee and a range of baked goods as well as toasties and burritos. We order a couple of things to eat at the outdoor tables including a chia pudding topped with fresh berries and the best damn granola ever. The granola is so good that I go back in and order one of their gnarled, rocky and chunky granola cookies ($5.50) to enjoy with tea later.
The California burrito with steak, cheese, potato gems, pico de gallo, guacamole and chiopotle sauce is only available on weekends. It's the sort of burrito that you have post surf or after exercise. It's very tasty with all of the ingredients sort of melting into one tasty bite. You don't really get any texture from the potato gems but it's tasty so you don't mind. After this we head towards our accommodation nearby.
Kims Beachside Retreat
Kims Beachside Retreat has always held some mystique. Set on Toowoon Beach we've walked along it in the past and seen the cabins sit right on the beachfront and wondered what the rooms were like. Queen Viv once told me that it was a place for people who valued privacy and luxury. Kims former guests are from the A-List of the entertainment world from The Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson and Sir Robert Helpmann.
Kims Beachside Retreat is made up of a cluster of 34 individual timber bungalows and spa villas across 2.5 hectares. It is perfectly located so that the property is protected from the coastal winds. Kims is still family owned and the grounds are made up of lush sub tropical rainforest and this makes it feel like paradise. The call of the birds and the sound of the ocean pounding outside are the only noises that you'll hear.
Kims has had a fascinating history with four owners. The first was Captain Charlson who established "The Camp" a rustic accommodation in 1886. He was attracted to the natural mineral springs on the beach. He also planted the row of Norfolk Island pines that stands there today. The nearby suburb Tumbi Umbi provided the timber (the name is the Darkinjung word for "Tall trees") for the simple timber cabins. It was a gentleman's only retreat until the turn of the 20th century.
In the 1920's a couple of American brothers called the McKimmins bought the retreat and gave Kims its name, renaming it "Kims Camp". They started Sydney's first ice cream parlours and their recipes are still used today at Kim's (and are definitely worth trying). Then Colonel Clive Loc Hughes-Hallet purchased the retreat from the brothers needing a respite as he was suffering with PTSD at the end of World War II. He had a lifelong fascination with Japan and studied Japanese, winning a scholarship to Tokyo University. He also did spy work taking secret photographs for the British Secret Service in Vladivostok and Siberia. He joined the Australian Army to fight in World War II.
The Colonel left his stamp on the property, in particular the dining room where Kims is known for its curries. The Colonel's father was part of the British Raj and his father's Batman (officer's servant) brought recipes from India and these recipes are still used today here. Kims Beachside Retreat is also part of world history as the Petrov Affair was revealed in the mid 1950's. The Petrovs, two Russian spies, defected to Australia and were hidden from the KGB at Kims Camp presumably facilitated by The Colonel's work in Vladivostok and Siberia. Mrs Petrov worked as a scullery maid while Mr Petrov worked here as a gardener. Even today the 6 cabins on the South side are known as "Siberia". And that includes our cabin, South Beach.
In 1957 Scottish born Haldane and Marie Strachan and their son Andrew purchased the property from The Colonel and changed the name to Kims Beach Hideaway. Marie's jam making recipes are still used in the kitchen today with a dizzying spread of jams at breakfast that would make any sweet tooth swoon. Their yachtsman son Andrew Strachan continued The Captain's seafaring connection and left his mark in both the decor of the rooms and the mast that sits in the garden outside the dining room.
Andrew captained the yacht Ninety-Seven to victory taking line honours in the tough 1993 Sydney To Hobart race. The tiny 47 foot yacht was the smallest boat to win the prize since 1947. The mast from another of his yachts called Satin Sheets sits in the garden outside the restaurant. Andrew and his wife Maryjane took over Kims in 1972 and like The Colonel, he was fascinated by Japan and this is shown in the the shoji screens and yukata robes in each room. He passed away in 2022 and his niece Diana Kershaw and her husband Peter operate Kims as general managers and directors carrying on the hospitality the family was known for.
Many visit Kims during summer, but during winter and the quieter time means that we have been upgraded to the South Beach villa. As they show us the room they tell us that they love seeing people's reactions to this room and my jaw drops when I see how large it is. With an enormous 366 square metres or almost 4,000 square feet of living area there is a private sauna, pool and expansive deck area. With warm wooden timber and a blue and white soft furnishings, it's contemporary beachside luxury.
The Bungalow opens out into a lounge/entertaining area and a kitchenette area with fridge and supplies for drinking champagne. The bedroom has high attic ceilings and is designed to make the most of the view of the beach outside. There's a TV, coffee machine as well as Kim's own plunger coffee blend and teas. A call to room service brings us a delicious fruit platter laden with fresh berries and sparkling wine.
There is an enormous marble and granite bathroom with a large spa bath and dual shower heads. There is a separate WC and bidet and a large walk-in closet. Heated towel rails keep towels toasty warm. The room is equipped with a Bose stereo system and internet is fast and free.
The king bed has a pillow top mattress and feather and down pillows. To keep warm there is reverse cycle air conditioning as well as a gas fireplace and fans also keep things cool. Teddy and Milo go exploring jumping on the bed, running out in the garden and exploring the large patio area taking in the sights and smells of the ocean. Both dogs love the beach and enthusiastically bound towards the sandy beach. After a hot water shower to rinse off the sand Teddy sits in the sun drying off and snoozing contentedly while Milo looks at me expectantly as if to ask, "What's next mummy?".
Cecilia's
A short walk away is dinner at Cecilia's. While there is an outdoor section that is dog friendly we decide to leave the dogs at Kims so we can stay warm inside. Cecilia's is named after Cecilia from married team Cecilia and Sean Grobbelaar who own this restaurant. Chef Adam Viner's menu is full of Asian inspired dishes from Korean, Japanese and Chinese elements. Cecilia's Vietnamese background shows up in the menu and with daily pho lunch specials.
We start dinner off with oysters, 3 enormous specimens from Coffin Bay. The first is a natural oyster, the second a wonderful ginger, sesame and lime oyster and the third a grilled miso and black pepper oyster. While the ginger and sesame lime oyster was always going to be my favourite, the grilled oyster is a close second (and I don't often enjoy cooked oysters).
Next we try the seared tuna skewers that are seared on the outside but nice and pink on the inside. It is served with a miso dressing and pickles, kohlrabi and a dab of makrut kosho, a clever riff on yuzu kosho that gives the tuna a salty punch of flavour.
We also try a vegetarian starter of a mushroom pate made with pickled mushrooms, thyme, garlic, ginger and whisky with soybean pate on slices of Turkish bread. The pearl onions, dehydrated olive crumb and a herb oil finish it off. This is also tasty and satisfying.
If I'm going to insist you order something, it's this koji buttermilk pork chop. They marinate the pork in koji (from the sake making process) to tenderise it and then grill it. The pork is incredibly juicy and tender and well seasoned all the way through thanks to this marinade. It is paired with burnt apple cubes, sage dressing and a soy butter jus, green apple matchsticks and thin slices of kohlrabi and pickles.
The pork pairs well with the kimchi risotto which is subtly sour and balanced with a creamy, oozy burrata cheese, kimchi puree and nori on top.
It's time for Cecilia's desserts and the first is the hibiscus verbena panna cotta with frozen raspberries and rose petals on top. The panna cotta is jiggly and creamy and delicious with hibiscus rose syrup poured over it.
We also enjoy the Asian inspired Eton Mess with layers of pandan sponge, coconut cream foam, lychees and hibiscus and a round meringue on top. Mr NQN loves this dessert while I love the creamy panna cotta.
Cecilia matches this with a Vietnamese coffee espresso martini which is a divine riff on an espresso martini. We return to our villa where Mr NQN enjoys the private sauna and the outdoor jacuzzi after dinner.
The next morning after a great night's sleep Mr NQN takes the dogs for a walk and then we follow the railway tracks (that previously used to transport coal to the kitchen) and head to the main restaurant for breakfast. We pass the gallery with Max Dupain's photographs. Diana tells us that the Australian photographer visited Kims over a 40 year period preferring to stay in spring and autumn. As a result they have a large collection of his black and white photographs.
Breakfast at Kims has a buffet as well as a hot breakfast selection. Mr NQN has the avocado toast while I have the salmon and potato patty and we both share some fresh fruit, chia pudding and stewed fruit. I also grab a house baked croissant and a selection of all of those jams made with Marie's recipes. The breakfasts are sizeable and tasty and we both enjoy our breakfasts and the jams.
We return to our room to relax with the boys until the leisurely check out time of noon. The beach is so close that you can walk down the path straight into the beach for a surf and there is a hot and cold outdoor shower to rinse off any sand before heading back into the villa. The pool proves tempting too especially in the middle of the day when the winter's sun is so warm that the temperature hits 15C/59F.
Mrs May Bistro and Bar
It's time to say goodbye to Kims so we pack up and head towards Crackneck Point Lookout before stopping by Mrs May for lunch. Located at The Entrance Social Club on the main esplanade we take a seat at one of the outdoor tables while I go inside to order. You have to order, pay and collect your food and drink inside yourself.
We order two mocktails and I love the Pretty In Pink with strawberry pulp, cucumber syrup, fresh lime & mint while Mr NQN likes his Rhubarb Paloma with Lyres agave blanco, grapefruit juice, rhurbarb syrup and lime juice that is slightly more sour than my cocktail.
We share a poke bowl with sashimi salmon bowl sushi rice, smashed avocado, cucumber, edamame beans, cabbage, pickled ginger & sesame mayo. It's arranged more like a buddha bowl than a poke bowl where everything is mixed up together but nevertheless it is fresh and tasty.
There are three types of tacos available to order I like the sound of the fish taco with crispy battered flathead fillets topped with red cabbage slaw, corn salsa, coriander and chipotle. There's a good amount of salad and the filling is balanced and tasty and a good size to share.
After lunch we go for a walk along the promenade and the boys meet pelicans for the first time-at a distance before heading home. Teddy and Milo fall asleep for the entire car ride, only waking up when we get home.
So tell me Dear Reader, do you enjoy PYO fruit? Is there a hotel you've always wanted to stay at?
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