Tucked away on the Northern NSW coastline, about 30 minutes north of Coffs Harbour, lies the humble little town of Arrawarra.

It’s understated in all the best ways. Long, peeling waves roll into Arrawarra Beach, while neighbouring headlands carve out the perfect waves for shortboards as well. Behind it all are rolling green hills, quiet campgrounds and that seemingly endless stretch of Australian coastline.

Our first trip down in 2025 started as a birthday weekend for our mate Matt. Matt, myself (Lucy), Harry and Kara packed up the Troopies, threw in the swags and surfboards, and headed south to a little campground run by an army of young backpackers.

The days quickly found their rhythm.

Mornings started with coffee from the general store and a day’s supply of sherbet lollipops — still somehow selling for the cheap prices you remember from back in the day. How good. From there, we’d pile into the cars and set off in search of whichever beach had the best surf that morning.

By sunset, we’d find ourselves perched on a headland somewhere, surrounded by rolling grass hills (and a gazillion kangaroos) that seemed to drop straight into the vast blue of the East Coast.

I bloody love those headlands.

There’s something about that stretch of coastline that makes you realise just how good we have it here in Australia. It still feels wild and uninterrupted. In July, you can sit on the grass and watch whales breaching offshore, pods of dolphins cruising past, and rays and turtles moving through the water below.

The 2025 trip became even more special when Harry and Kara surprised us with their engagement. We celebrated together on the final day — the perfect ending to a weekend that was already pretty hard to beat.

And then came 2026...

Of course, we had to back it up.

This time we combined Matt’s birthday with mine, except now there was a proper crew. More LandCruisers. More surfboards. More people around the campfire. More fun.

And this time, a pregnant Kara.

I think that’s what I’ve come to love most about this trip. Without really planning it, Arrawarra has started marking the little milestones in our lives. One year we were celebrating an engagement. The next, there was a baby on the way. And when we come back next year, there’ll be one more little six-month-old boy joining the crew.

Apart from that, not much changed — and that’s exactly the point.

Coffee. Surf. Slow mornings. Sunsets on the headland. Campfire dinners. And the infamous “fire fairies” exploding out of Harry’s grandad’s handmade campfire.

Nothing particularly extravagant. Nothing really planned.

Just a bunch of mates coming from all over to spend a few days living simply together.

Maybe that’s why Arrawarra keeps pulling us back.

An understated little town on the NSW coast that, somewhere along the way, became our place. A yearly excuse to pack the cars, chase some waves, sit around a fire and watch life change a little bit each time we return.

See you next year, Arrawarra.