Central Coast

10 FREE fun things to do on the Central Coast

WORDS KATIE STOKES

THE CENTRAL COAST IS BLESSED WITH AN 87 KM COASTLINE, NUMEROUS NATIONAL PARKS AND STATE FORESTS, INSPIRING FOODIES AND CREATIVE ARTISTS, AND EACH OF THESE BRINGS A WEALTH OF EXPERIENCES TO ENJOY, MANY OF WHICH ARE FREE. WE’VE TRAVERSED THE REGION TO BRING YOU WHAT WE BELIEVE ARE THE 10 BEST FREE EXPERIENCES ON THE CENTRAL COAST.

FIRESCREEK FRUIT WINES Nadia and Francis O’Connell own Firescreek, a boutique cellar door and 1-hectare property in Holgate where they grow and tend to fig trees, rose bushes and myriad other botanicals that go into their wines. From the beekeeping to the mulberry picking, everything here is done by hand, and their limited-edition bottlings change with the season. They may have coffee and blackcurrant for you to taste one visit, and fig, date and raisin the next.

Firescreek Fruit Wines 192 Wattle Tree Road, Holgate. www.firescreek.com.au

© JULIA CALVER © KAREN RODER

© JOHN YURASEK

BULGANDRY ART SITE ABORIGINAL PLACE In Brisbane Water National Park you’ll find the Bulgandry Art Site Aboriginal Place, a special landscape of well-preserved Aboriginal engravings. A raised boardwalk surrounds the site and offers walkers a good vantage from which to view the centuries-old rock art. The engravings are of fish, wallabies, a dolphin and a man said by the local Darkinjung people to represent Baiyami, the creator.

Brisbane Water National Park, Woy Woy Road, near Kariong nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/things-to-do/aboriginal-sites/ bulgandry-art-site-aboriginal-place youtube.com/watch?v=l6X6oxKUiXA