Where to Eat, Stay, and Surf in Crescent Head, New South Wales

10.01.2025 - 21:27 / cntraveler.com

Crescent Head, or Creso as it’s affectionately known by salt-crusted locals and generational holiday-makers, is a surf lovers’ gem on the mid-north coast of New South Wales, the lands of the Dunghutti people. It’s the kind of place travelers discover and then return to, season after season, because the town’s coastal spirit reverberates from the shore to its lush mountain hills. Farmers from Kempsey and Glenmore drive LandCruisers through the bush and van-bound surfers stack longboards three-high on trusty roof racks in pursuit of this patch of paradise. It’s all about the swell, the tides, and the consistently rhythmic long waves at Killick Beach, which was declared a National Surfing Reserve in 2008 and welcomes an annual pilgrimage of surfers for the Malibu Classic surf competition.

There are really only two roads into Creso, which makes the seaside village feel like a well-earned destination once you get there. The beach town itself is a four-and-a-half-hour drive from Sydney. If you prefer public transport, the nearest major town is Kempsey—which is serviced by train and bus options—from where you detour towards the coast. There’s also direct one-hour flights from Sydney to Port Macquarie; from there, it’s a 45-minute drive into town.

The world-famous Crescent Head surf beach, Killick Beach

Rent boards from Crescent Head Surf Co. to enjoy the world-famous Crescent Head surf beach, or jump in the mouth of Killick Creek and let the warm, melaleuca-stained current float you down the bay. The now-tarred Point Plummer Road will take you to the mouth of Limeburners National Park, but there are standout surf beaches along the way, including Racecourse Headland and Back Beach. On the way, you’ll find Waves Campground, which does a great post-surf flat white from the on-site coffee shop.

Groms and wave-chasers can get their retail kicks at Cheetah Five, which sells locally made swimsuits and quirky homewares. Crescent Head is also home for Dunghutti man Robbie Page, a renowned surfer, and his cult-status bubblegum-scented surf wax, Cream, is sold at the gas station, post office and surf shop.

Whipbirds and kookaburras call Creso home, too, singing and flitting between towering gums and palms. You can seek out more of them on the one-mile Big Hills Rainforest Track loop (park fees apply), as well as the 51-mile Five Heads coastal path that’s under development and set to run from Matty’s Flat in South West Rocks and Point Plomer, past Crescent Head, in Limeburner’s Creek National Park.

Crescent Head Country Club (upon entry, as is commonplace at such venues in Australia, you’ll need to sign in at the front desk as a guest or purchase a membership) is possibly the best ocean view for the price of a schooner