Minnie Waters has unique characteristics. It has a place of commerce and a gas station. There is a camping ground with cabins to rent and some 50 houses that during the off season have normal residents living in them and during the holiday season the owners move to Grafton and rent out their houses to families. Minnie Waters has wonderful beaches inside the splendid forest reserves. The beaches are great for surfing, fishing and snorkeling or simply swimming under the sun. 

To the left of the main beach, there is a string of beaches absolutely deserted and they are paradise. All of this area doesn’t have a single house because it is all part of the Yurayair National Park and it extends for more than 10 kilometres, until the village of Sandon. There is a lot of wildlife in the area including many parakeets, miner birds and even kangaroos on the beach. The beach has many great isolated areas to surf which there are always a handful of local surfers there. This area is not permitted to fish or capture or retain any type of thing, whether it is animal, vegetable or mineral. The feeling of walking around and watching the sun rise or set is indescribable and brings the feeling of peace. Makes the world seem perfect. 

The main beach (photo) is very frequented during the summer holidays mostly on camping holidays. Many Australians are starting to discover good places to take holidays to relax with family and friends. When camping, it is the best way to holiday, the best places to camp have electricity and often two bedroom cabins to rent if desired, most, though, are reserved months before holiday season. There are families that have gone to this place for more that 5 years in a row and reserve the same spot one year to the next which becomes their traditional spot. Sometimes families who rent their houses out for the holiday season pack up the entire house including the fridge. Others leave tables, chairs, boats, fishing accessories, the entire kitchen, bbq area, t.v., stereo systems, bicycles and skateboards. Normally the entire holiday population travels around the city by bicycle. When Australians camp, they don’t leave comfort behind, they literally take everything they think they will need. We saw a family who traveled with 5 tents which all connected to form a real house. 

But the truth is, for an Australian, there is no complete holiday without fishing. This area is popular because the cold water of the south meets with the warm of the north which produces a large quantity of fishes of various sizes and types. The true playground for a true fisherman is with their 4WD and launching their boat right into the beach and park their car there until they come back. There is a boat ramp to launch boats, available to the city. Because there are areas which fall into the fish sanctuary, some areas are prohibited to fish. But with these rules its fine to go and catch your dinner. (In NSW a license to fish is required)

In the 3 days we were in the area, we didn’t find it to be a very touristy place. It was better than expected, so beautiful. We only hope it stays the same. For people who like lots of things going on, a night life, bars, restaurants, night clubs, this probably isn’t the place for you, because there is none of this there. There are no hotels or big structures in this city, the place should always be like this. Another 12 kilometres to the south there is another city Wooli, a city much bigger with many hotels, restaurants and better infrastructure.

TIP: The rock reef that is along the beach (photo at the top of the page) has a large quantity of colourful fishes between Corals. It is rather easy to see them in the calm waters, but with a rough sea it is more dangerous because the waves push swimmers onto the reef or rocks. 

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