A lighthouse, indoor plants & coffee - Norah Head
The northern end of the Central Coast is often overlooked, but for us Novocastrians, it’s the closest spot for us to enjoy the beauty of the Central Coast.
Do a tour of the lighthouse and step back in time to feel what it was like to be a Lighthouse Keeper in the early 1900s. You can get your heart racing with the 96-stair climb to the top and enjoy the 360 degree views. The tour is 30 minutes long and the cost is $6 for adults and $5 for children under 15 (free under 5 years). Tours run from 10am to 1:30pm.
Afterwards hit the nearby rock pool for a dip.
This is THE place to go for plant lovers! It’s a boutique plant nursery, stocking mostly indoor and tropical plants, with some larger landscaping varieties also available.
We discovered these guys on Insta after stumbling upon their enviable plant posts.
Owner Tanya is around most days, but asks visitors to phone ahead to organise a visit, just to make sure she’s there.
They have recently added a trade service to their repertoire, sourcing beautiful plants for florists, small plant retailers and plant stylists at wholesale prices. They source their stock from numerous nurseries from Sydney to the Mid North Coast.
Noraville Green has a bit of everything in stock, like monsterias, fiddle leaf figs, bamboo, tiger grass, ferns, philodendrons and loads more.
This beachside café is the perfect pitstop before (or after) visiting the Norah Head Lighthouse. It’s literally just a few hundred metres down the road.
Known for their chilled out beachside vibes, they pour a great coffee and serve up delicious breakfasts and lunches. The breakfast menu includes all the classics, plus a Vegan Big Brekkie with pan fried kale with tamari and sesame seeds, mushrooms, roasted tomatoes, grilled asparagus, fried polenta and toasted almonds. Yum!
For lunch we recommend the Warm Ark Bowl with roasted vegetables, chickpeas tossed in coriander oil with pearl barley, asparagus, salsa, avo smash, beetroot relish, hummus and spiced dhukka. Or one of their super fresh salads.
Best yet, The Ark is a social enterprise with a percentage of profits going to charities locally and abroad (Madagascar, Nepal, and South Sudan). As owner Adelle explained, “We just wanted to do something to give back”.
This furniture store is totally worth a visit. They make unique furniture with an industrial yet beachy style to it, think reclaimed timbers, concrete and aluminium. Raw Collections also stock a great range of homewares too.