ABC Coffs Coast

11/01/2026

More than 1,200 people became 'volunteers for the day' during clean-up efforts after the devastating mid north coast floods last year.

Now the SES is looking at ways to quickly rally community groups together to harness the power of mud armies.

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Experts say volunteering is not in decline, but it is becoming more spontaneous. The NSW disaster agency is moving to embrace this after seven women mobilised 1,200 people to volunteer for a day in record-breaking floods.

07/01/2026

It's a beautiful day to be out on the water in Coffs Harbour!

Any nibbles? We'd love to see what you've caught today 🐟

05/01/2026

Do you think our red and yellow flags need an update?

The flags are a familiar sign of beach safety for locals and most visitors to our beautiful beaches, but research shows many international tourists to our shores misinterpret what the flags mean.

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Every summer, millions of Australians head to the beach and every year thousands are rescued by lifeguards or surf life savers, and even surfers or other bystanders.

04/01/2026

David Gillett has taken on brumbies before, but he says Nugget was the first that had come straight from the bush.

Nugget is one of 180 brumbies captured since 2021 by North Coast Local Land Services as part of a brumby rehoming program.

Mr Gillett says Nugget couldn’t be touched or handled when she first arrived, but two years on he said she fits right in and “she is the boss of the paddock."

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About a third of the brumby population on the NSW Mid North Coast has been rehomed through a program designed to give wild horses a second chance as pets.

02/01/2026

The identity of the woman who drowned at Dunbogan Beach, south of Port Macquarie yesterday has been confirmed.

The 45-year-old Sydney mother was one of three drownings on the NSW coast in recent days.

The identity of one of three people who died in a cluster of drownings on the New South Wales coast in recent days has been confirmed as a Sydney hairdresser and mother.

02/01/2026

The Seaworld Foundation is urging the community to fish responsibly and for divers to continue to report sightings of injured sharks.

The Sea World Foundation teams up with divers to locate, catch and release tangled grey nurse sharks — often referred to as the "labradors of the sea", despite their toothy appearance.

02/01/2026

01/01/2026

What's your New Year's resolution for 2026?

We asked Coffs Coast locals and visitors.

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01/01/2026

SAWTELL FUN DAY KICKS OFF 2026

The Sawtell Fun Day is held annually on the 1st January and drew a crowd.

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01/01/2026

ROUGH OCEAN CONDITIONS AS WE USHER IN A NEW YEAR

Wild seas are continuing to hit beaches across the Mid north Coast.

A Hazardous Surf Warning is currently in place in NSW from the Byron Coast all the way south to the Eden Coast.

Port Macquarie lifeguard Darren O'Rafferty says beachgoers are urged to swim at patrolled beaches.

"Be vigilant, there is still a lot of swell around, look for the flags to swim between," he said.

He says the end of Town Beach near the Port Macquarie breakwall can be particularly dangerous, with strong currents during rising tides, which can pull swimmers or surfers into the Hastings River.

Darren says recently a young bodyboarder was pulled into the river, and tried to climb out at the end of the breakwall, which is a dangerous place to due to the impact of the waves.

"On the run in tide with a south swell it becomes really dangerous down near the breakwall end because all the energy is going into the river...if you go out and lose your feet off the sandbank it will pull you straight into the river, and a lot of surfers go into the river as well," he said.

"Our biggest message for people if they are getting sucked around the breakwall is not to panic, and don't try and fight it...you are better off drifting up the river, waiting for it to calm down a bit up there and then coming up the breakwall."

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31/12/2025

HUGE SURF OFF THE MID NORTH COAST

If you are on the coast, how's the surf looking where you are?

This is some of the action off Port Macquarie's Town Beach today.

There is currently a Hazardous Surf Warning for the Byron Coast, Coffs Coast, Macquarie Coast, Hunter Coast and Sydney Coast.

In those areas, surf and swell conditions are expected to be hazardous for coastal activities such as rock fishing, boating, and swimming.

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31/12/2025

Keen to celebrate the end of 2025?
You're possibly not as keen as the revellers preparing to celebrate the new year three times tonight 🎉🎉🎉

It's more than 1,000km from any capital city, but Cameron Corner, at the junction of the NSW, Queensland and South Australian borders, reckons it has one of the best New Year's Eve parties going around because it is a triple celebration over three time zones.