Midway Motor Inn

WHAT TO DO AND SEE IN AND AROUND COFFS HARBOUR
- Whale watching - June to November
- Sports, reef, beach and estuary fishing
- Big Banana tourist attraction
- Pet porpoise pool - touch and play with dolphins, be kissed by a sea lion, feed fairy penguins, sharks, turtles and fish.
Don’t forget to book a swim with the dolphins and seals.
- Sky diving, white water rafting, horse riding, go-karting(formula 1), Dorrigo and Bellinger rain forest walks.
- Wine tours
- Chocolate factory tours

THE MUST SEE AND DO
- Visit - Snorkel or Dive
- The Solitary Islands Marine Park with 550 species of reef fish, 90 species of hard coral, 600 species of molluscs, harmless and endangered grey nurse sharks, Black cod, giant groper, giant cuttlefish, 4 types of turtles, Manta Rays and rare marine algae
- Visit the nesting burrows among the tussocks on Muttonbird Island

The Solitary Islands Marine Park spans roughly 70km of coastline beginning slightly south of Coffs harbour and working northwards to Plover Island. Located on the northern NSW coastline, this is the area where temperate and tropical waters meet, with the result being an amazing diversity of marine life for divers to enjoy.

The Solitary Islands can be divided roughly into two areas, North and South. The South Solitaries are made up of five islands/shoals, three valleys, gutters, caves, tumbling boulders and even small kelp forests. The marine life can best be described as temperate-tropical, with the emphasis on temperate.

The North Solitary Islands consist of one small island, two larger ones and a number of reefs and pinnacles. Located further north, the North Solitaries are totally different to the South Solitaries. They are surrounded by deeper waters, and being further offshore, they are regularly bathed in cleaner, bluer currents. The marine life can best be described as tropical temperate, with the emphasis on tropical.

North Solitary Island is home to one of the largest aggregates of anemones and anemone fish found anywhere in the world, and the east side of N.W. Rock is home to “Fish Soup”, an area teaming with schools of pelagic fish such as snapper, jewfish, morwongs and bream.

Coffs Harbour can be dived year around, December through March is popular offering warm weather and often times exceptionally clear, calm water, but conditions are unstable. Winter (June through August) offers more stable calm conditions and regular good visibility.

Climate: 19-27C in Spring and Summer (November - March), 10-20c Autumn and Winter (April - September). It will always be cooler in the surrounding mountains.

Water Temperatures: 20 - 25c in the Summer, 18 - 21c in Winter.

North Solitary Island is the largest of the Solitary Islands group and strongly influenced by the warm waters of the East Australian Current. The island has dives around its circumference and offers a large variety of different conditions and preferences.

Approximately 2km north of North Solitary Island, this rock is exposed and is in a current line. It offers superb fish life and spectacular swim throughs. Divers swim through a split in the outcrop to enter one of the most densely populated and diverse range of fish likely to be seen anywhere. Depth 5 - 24 metres.

North West Solitary Island is a short distance offshore and offers relaxing diving and snorkelling. The dives offered here consist of rocky fingers and sandy gutters, an excellent location for hard and soft corals, Humpback whales are regulars during the winter migration.

Wrights Reef
A pinnacle beginning in 33 metres and rising to 15 metres from the surface. A cave runs through the bommie at 27 metres.

South West Solitary (groper) Island
The western side of the island has a high cover of various types of plate corals, some quite large. As name suggests, a growing population of blue groper exists which regularly accompany divers. The depth varies between 5 - 25 metres.

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