Brooke Hanson's Crescent Head Family Escape

Achieving Olympic success was memorable, but now as a mum with an active family, my goal is to share golden moments with them. Disconnecting to reconnect is so important to us and we look forward to sharing our travels with you.

Apollo RV Sales Ambassadors -The Hanson Clarke Family's second trip away in the Coromal Adventure Seeker was another memorable one. We decided to head straight back down from the Gold Coast to two of our favourite northern NSW destinations Coffs Harbour and Crescent Head.

After a quick day trip during our first trip south in the Coromal Adventure Seeker, we decided to spend most of our adventure at Crescent Head. We absolutely love this quaint coastal town just outside of Kempsey on the NSW North Coast.

Crescent Head ticks all the boxes for everything our family wants on a holiday; the ocean, a creek, sand, fishing, golf, surfing, snorkelling, walks to the lookouts and the headland.

We set up the Coromal Adventure Seeker on a surfside site with a view of the ocean, in less than 20minutes we were good to go so we all headed straight into the water for a surf. Crescent Head has one of the best long board waves on the east coast and the point break is famous worldwide. We packed 2 longboards on the roof of our car as well as a nipper board.

The Coromal Adventure Seeker tunnel boot storage came in handy so we could also pack 2 short boards, snorkelling and fishing gear as well as 2 big recliner chairs and our outdoor dining setting. 

Crescent Head has a fun and safe path for bike riding, skateboarding and scootering up to the local shops or to check out the waves rolling off the point. Everything you need is within walking distance, meaning no car rides. This meant once we unhooked the Coromal from the car we didn’t move it for the week!

What I most loved about this trip was the Coromal really felt like it was our tiny home. We used everything in the van and the highlight for the kids was when I surprised them making Dutch Poffertjes (mini pancakes) inside the Coromal using the gas stove option. It’s a family weekend tradition and we loved making it part of our family memory making adventure.

We used the outdoor shower after every surf to wash the salt and sand off, the inside shower for washing hair and the toilet and bathroom sink was so handy.

With Matilda (age 6) still awake for a few toilet breaks in the night a 2 second trip from her bunk bed in the caravan rather than a midnight walk to the toilet block felt like a luxury. Our third born Billy needs the toilet for medical reasons, as I administer daily cleanouts for his condition. The toilet in the Coromal was perfect for Billy’s needs so he could feel comfortable and maintain his privacy.

We enjoyed walking out to Little Nobby headland to get photos of the south and the north coast. The drone got a workout too! From the headland you can catch the sunrise over the sea and the sun setting over the hinterland in the evening.

Our Adventure List

• Fishing in Killick Creek, off the beach or off the rocks if you’re game.
• Surfing the point break (a lot! - Longboards waves almost all day for the adults and the kids got plenty of waves on their short boards)
• The Big Hill Rainforest Walking Track
• Floating down Killick creek (goggles and snorkel are a must pack essential as you can find both tropical and cold-water species in the one place)
• A round of Golf by the Seaside at the local golf course
• Sunrise and Sunset walks up to Little Nobby Headland
• Day Trips to Point Plumer Beach, only 14km down the road
• The Crescent Head lookout walk
• Cold beer on tap at the Crescent Head Tavern – also definitely try the local craft beer; Crescent Head Brewing Co – we couldn’t help but purchase some from the bottle shop downstairs
• Building a fort from rocks at Pebbly Beach
• Grabbing Bistro meal at the Country Club – hot tip the Chinese here is also amazing
• Barnett’s Bakery – one of our all-time favourite bakeries – great coffee and an incredible selection of bakery treats - our Top 5 - Pumpkin Bread, Pies and sausage rolls, vanilla slice, chocolate brownie and the kids love the donuts (plan, jam or Nutella)

They say you spend the back end of your holiday planning your next adventure, well for us we’re heading to the Sunshine Coast next but our trip to Crescent Head made us realise we are going to make it an annual destination.

About Us

Meet our family - I’m Brooke Hanson Olympic Gold and Silver medallist in swimming, motivational speaker and mentor. My husband, and fellow swimmer, is Jared Clarke -he’s a firefighter and the captain of our adventures. Joining us for our fun filled ride are our very active children; Cooper 12, Billy 8 and Matilda 6. We go away for short trips and longer journeys and are always inspired to live our lives to the fullest, with more happiness and purpose in memory of our late son and brother Jack Hanson Clarke. He is our brightest star in the sky. Our family loves caravanning and camping, and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to be ambassadors for Apollo RV Sales, taking different caravans on adventures around Australia.