Our Own Piece of Paradise...

Looking down on North Smoky Beach from Captain Cook Lookout

For the day at least. About 25 minutes away from the Pacific Highway near Kempsey lies the Smoky Cape Lighthouse and surrounding beaches. Perched high atop the headland in the Hat Head National Park is this beautiful lighthouse which seems to burst from the seams of a desolate wilderness. Constructed in 1891, this working lighthouse is now managed by the National Park service and is home to one of the best located Bed and Breakfasts I’ve ever seen.  For a fee you can hire out one of the larger rooms on a weekly basis or stay in the B&B for the night. We didn’t stay here but would have loved to if our budget permitted.

From the parking lot of the lighthouse you are at Captain Cook Lookout with easy access to a picnic and BBQ area but more importantly you have access to the Jack Perkins Trail. This trail leads you eight-tenths of a kilometer down to our version of paradise, the North Smoky Beach.  Walking down the trail you’ll be treated to magnificent views of this unspoiled beach, the nearby Green Island, beautiful forest and some great looking spiders. For those arachnophobes, the spiders are off or above the track so you’ll be all good.

Down at the beach you’ll be treated to white sand, turquoise water and spectacular views of the lighthouse above. The sand is so clean that you won’t be able to stop your feet from squeaking as you walk along. Setup your towels, take a dip and soak up paradise. If you’re lucky, we were, you won’t see a single other person all day. We had this beautiful beach all to ourselves for the entire day and enjoyed every second of it. Your only company might be the kangaroos which may come down later in the afternoon to graze on the grass near the beach. We spent all day lounging on the beach, looking for shells and having a fish. One warning, we did notice some pretty strong rips in the water so it’s probably not a great place to bring small children who want to swim. We headed back to the car at the end of the day and were off, definitely missing our own little piece of paradise.

Here's a few of our pics from our little paradise:

Looking down on a long beach in Hat Head National Park

Pamela checking out the lighthouse

Looking towards Green Island from the beach

One of the few spiders on the way down.

Truckin it down the trail

Looking back up on the lighthouse from North Smoky Beach

Our lunch spot

Cheers for Now –

Pamela and Dave