Next day,burying the phone in the glove box,we made a discovery of our own:a coastal village - Smiths Lake,25 kilometres south of Forster - with a cafe,the Rolling Bean,that does authentic tapas,on weekend nights.
Now,after lunch in Wingham,we are bound for Port Macquarie for what I hope will be an interlude in the endless eating. But even before we get there,Sarah's attention is drawn to my phone again."The app says there's two wineries nearby,"she says."Oh it does,does it?"I feel like responding. Instead,we visit both,starting at the Bago Vineyards. With its new maze in which to (temporarily) lose the children,vines dipping and rising along gentle contours and tables on lawns framed by jacaranda trees,it is an inviting spot.
The Cassegrain winery,20 kilometres further north,was planted by a French family that immigrated to the Hasting River area in the 1950s,and melds traditional European wine-making know-how with premium Australian grapes.
Arriving at the Macquarie Waters boutique hotel,I marshal the family for a swim in the pool before dinner at one of our favourite coastal restaurants,The Stunned Mullet,tucked away behind Town Beach. I manage to restrain myself to a main course of confit duck leg with truffled mash and sour cherry,rocket,pear and hazelnut salad. Only to fall at the final hurdle to a bread and butter pudding with five spice and ginger dust,and vanilla mascarpone.
The following day a camel ride along Lighthouse Beach provides some welcome distraction before the discovery of a French chef at Sea Acres Rainforest Centre's cafe strains both my credulity and my waistline. I fare no better at the Ricardoes Tomatoes farm gate,north of Port,the kids plucking buckets full of strawberries before we sit down to a scrumptious"tea"at the in-house Cafe Red.
At dinner,at The Corner restaurant,downstairs at Macquarie Waters hotel,I succumb to a tasty blue swimmer crab panang curry,followed by a lavender creme brulee. On our last day,heading to Dorrigo National Park in the Coffs Harbour hinterland,I foolishly assume I am in the clear. After all,who ever heard of a gourmet eatery in a national park?
Evidently German chef Wolfgang Zichy,who runs the Canopy cafe at the park entrance and dangles locally sourced ingredients such as Dorrigo potatoes (made into hand-cut chips) and seafood"fresh from the trawler"in front of visitors to the World Heritage-listed rainforest.
As I put away a final mouthful of prawn laksa,I really can't blame the purveyors of fine food along the Legendary food and wine trail for leading me astray. But on the journey back I'm putting my phone in airplane mode,silencing that ruinous app until we are well and truly home.
The writer was a guest of the Legendary Pacific Coast.
TRIP NOTES
GETTING THERE
Most locations on the Legendary Food and Wine Trail are reached via the Pacific Highway.
Driving times from Sydney range from 2½ hours to Port Stephens to seven hours to Dorrigo National Park.
EATING THERE
Rock Lobster restaurant,upstairs at d'Albora Marina,Nelson Bay. Seewww.rocklobsterrestaurant.com.au.
Fingal Bay Holiday Park,Port Stephens. Beach houses from $135 a night,three-night minimum stay. See beachsideholidays.com.au/fingalbay. Macquarie Waters Boutique Hotel,Port Macquarie. Plush apartments from $180 a night. Seewww.mwaters.com.au.
MORE INFORMATION
www.pacificcoast.com.au.