Come along on our long weekend on the Central Coast of NSW where we find ourselves staying in a gorgeous dog friendly coastal haven away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Find out where you can get breakfast, brunch or dinner that you can also bring your pooch along to!
A holiday never quite feels complete without the whole family coming along and whenever I tell Mr NQN that we are going away his first question is, "What about the boys?". But today I answer, "They're coming with us!". I first came across our accommodation Malolo at Macs through a writer friend Annie who owns it. She has two small dogs and Malolo at Macs is her holiday house. She actually lives in Sydney but on many weekends she will be staying here unless it is booked. This stylish abode sleeps 11 people with 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms and is also dog friendly. As a result Malolo at Macs is booked up ahead of time, some people staying for months at a time.
Malolo means "To rest, pause, adjourn; adjournment, pause," in the Hawaiian language and that's the sense of relaxation when we get here. After bringing the bags in, Mr NQN heads straight to the enormous covered verandah for a post drive nap. The boys follow him and are busy exploring the fully enclosed garden. Near the large modular lounge here's a bbq and outdoor deck area. There is also a pergola area for outdoor entertaining.
I explore the rest of the house. Set on a 650sqm/7000 square foot block Malolo is located 500 metres/0.3miles from Macmasters Beach in a tranquil bush setting. Macmaster's Beach is dog friendly and patrolled and has a well-known surf break. There is also a rock pool for kids and a lagoon that connects to Copacabana. Bouddi National Park is also nearby with walking tracks to explore.
The main house is split level: there's the upper entry level with lounge room, queen bedroom and bathroom. The lower level has another queen bedroom with a full kitchen and dining room as well as a bathroom and laundry. And if you have kids or teenagers there is a separate building right next to the main house called the "Bunk house" with custom designed bunk beds and a tv, dvd, aircon and bathroom.
There's air-conditioning in the main areas of the house with fans in the bedrooms. It's decked out with stylish coastal interiors and travertine floors. For colder nights there is a wood-fired combustion heater and an outdoor fire pit, with plenty of firewood available. And because it is also a home it has almost everything you can think of including lots of glasswares and plates and lots of space to relax or be by yourself or in a group.
The next morning Mr NQN sets the alarm for an early morning Parkrun in Woy Woy where he joins around 200 others while I sleep in. I am woken up by the excited bark of Milo when he realises that his daddy is home.
After doing some work and having a cup of tea, we head out to Macmasters Beach, a short drive away. Both Teddy and Milo come from the Central Coast and were adopted through a local rescue organisation and always love coming back to Macmasters Beach. Here dogs are allowed off leash and Milo disappears into the horizon chasing after a ball only to reappear bounding towards us, ball in his mouth. Teddy earns his name the “sand monster” by wading in the shallow lagoon and then rolling around in the sand repeatedly. We dodge tiny blue bottles with long trailing whip tails washed up on shore.
We walk up to Burnt Honey Bakery at Copacabana. The popular bakery is known for Kouign Amann (which we’ve had before) along with numerous other treats. Unfortunately they’ve sold out of kouign amann's but I spy a croissant loaf in the display which as the name suggests in a croissant in a loaf form. I have plans to make this into brunch with some sweet tomatoes and pesto I’ve brought from home.
Getting hungry, we head back to the house entering through the side gate so we can use the outdoor shower to wash the sand off. I make coffees and add some cheese to thick slices of the buttery scented croissant loaf. I slice up tomatoes, dress them in olive oil, salt, pepper and red wine vinegar and then dollop pesto on top. It’s a delicious brunch where the taste belies its simplicity.
The rest of the afternoon is spent relaxing in the house, Mr NQN sprawled on the verandah outside and me inside sipping drinks. Then he meanders off for some wing foiling at Saratoga before returning before dinner. We head back to Copacabana to Lady Copa, one of Annie’s recommendations. It’s a big restaurant that is also busy. I recommend booking just to be safe during peak times.
We take a seat outside with Teddy and Milo and order a pizza and an eggplant parmigiana to share. The Italian pizza has hot salami and cheese with the option to add chilli which we do. It’s a good pizza with a surprising amount of brown anchovies for a salty kick.
The parmigiana comes as a luscious stack of Sicilian style parmigiana with breaded slices of eggplant layered with tomato sauce and finished with cheese. On the side is a freshly baked wood fired bread piping hot to the touch. We open it up and stuff some of the parmigiana inside for a delicious sandwich.
And to finish, a cannoli, dipped in dark chocolate and then filled with vanilla gelato!
After a late sleep in til 10am we sip on our coffees on the sun dappled verandah while the dogs snooze peacefully on the warm terrazzo tiles. We pack up and on our way home, we drop by the keys to the estate agent and stop back at Copacabana to try out the Bees Knees for a quick toastie and bacon and egg roll. Prices are really good here with most items coming in around $15.
Mr NQN wolfs down his Reuben sandwich. It is a good Reuben although it is on white toast rather than rye but we're not quibbling considering how much he enjoyed it.
There are two types of bacon and egg rolls, a regular one and a dirty dirty bae with a crunchy hash brown and slices of avocado added to it. There's a generous amount of bacon and a runny centered egg yolk that punctures when you bite into it. I would have loved the bacon a bit crispier but the tomato relish brings it all together perfectly.
So tell me Dear Reader, what is important to you when looking for accommodation? Do you bring food with you to cook or do you mostly eat out?
NQN and Mr NQN stayed at Malolo as a guest of Annie's but all food was independently paid for.
Malolo At Macs
https://accomholidays.com/property/?property_id=30566863022501551600075
Malolo at Macs is offering a discount code for NQN readers: NQN15
Entitles guests to 15% off accommodation rates for all stays until 19/12/25
NB Not valid with any other discount offer or promotion
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