Where to Find Antiques on Avoca Beach

Avoca Beach Antiques

With around three decades of trading Avoca Beach antiques and antiques from other parts of the world, the Avoca Beach Antiques is a must-go-to place for any collector. Avoca Beach Antiques offers the largest range of antiques for any collector. Whether you are looking for antique and stunning collections of Silverware and Fine China or antique jewellery, Avoca Beach Antiques should be on your list of places to visit.

Avoca Beach Markets

Another great place to get antiques is to visit the monthly Avoca Beach Markets. Every fourth Sunday of the month traders, farmers, food lovers and musicians come together for the Avoca Beach Markets. There are also great antiques and great deals that you will probably bump into here, just as long as you are willing to look and probably do some customary haggling. And even if you don’t find a particular item that takes your fancy, you can always enjoy the rest of the morning at the Avoca Markets and enjoy some great food, music and company.

Tips on Finding Great Antiques

Finding antiques and getting great deals can be a daunting task if you do not know what you are looking for and how to spot the antiques from the Avoca Markets. To help you add that perfect item of history to your collection, here are a couple of simple tips that you can put to work the next time you look for antiques at any of the Avoca Markets or at any market anywhere.

Know Your Market

Before you start any collection or start buying antiques, it’s best to get acquainted with the market and with the particular items that you want to collect. Decide on and read up on a style of antique that you want to collect. Know their prices and the range of items that you can find.

Choose Individual Pieces

Sets are priced higher than individual items. For example, chairs in sets of four to eight always sell higher than individual chairs. The same thing goes for other antique items of a set. One good way of building a collection and save on the premium cost of set items is by completing your collection by buying piece by piece.

Turn left and think differently

Everyone will turn right after they pass the entrance to any fair, or in this case, Avoca Markets. To get ahead of the buying crowd, turn right and go to the odd and out of way places. You just might get there ahead of the pack.

Fantastic Location

Definitely one of the best reasons why Avoca Beach is famous as a prime family holiday spot is its fantastic location. It’s so close to Sydney that all you need to do is to hop into the family car and drive yourselves to paradise. Aside from that, there are also tons of other great places that you can go to in Central Coast from Avoca Beach. Beach hopping, anyone?

Relaxing Environment

Tired of the busy life in the city? Want to spend some quiet family time with the whole family? The Avoca Beach is the place to go for your family holiday if you just want to sit back, relax, and enjoy your family holiday. There’s no heavy traffic going through Avoca Beach, for example. And you can spend the whole of your family holiday outdoors in the beach or inside your hotel or apartment. The decision on how to spend your family holiday is definitely yours.

Family Activities

The reason why you’re having a family holiday is to do stuff with the whole family and you can do exactly that in Avoca Beach. You can go fishing, visit the Avoca Beach Side Markets (great food, art and song being offered here), go biking around the area, go to picnics (there are tons of great locations that provide picnic areas), or catch a movie and make some memories at the 60 year old Avoca Picture Theater (it’s the place where the locals have made some of their best memories). You can even learn to surf together; and the next thing you know, you’ll be a family of surfers. There are definitely a lot of things that your family will enjoy doing in Avoca Beach.

Family Friendly

All in all, the community at Avoca Beach has made sure that there is fun for the whole family available the whole year round. It’s the perfect place to relax and catch up with the rest of the family during the Easter holidays. In fact, the Avoca Beach community is one big happy family, and they are more than willing to welcome you into the family during your family holiday here.

So if you are planning to do some travelling this Easter why not drive to nearby Avoca Beach instead and spend a great fun filled holiday vacation with the whole family? You definitely won’t regret it, and your family will surely love it.

Avoca Beach Side Markets

One of the most famous of the markets Central Coast has to offer, the Avoca Beach Side Markets happens every 4th Sunday, from 9am to 2pm, of each month. If you happen to be nearby during that particular Sunday, don’t forget to head on to Heazlett Park Foreshore in Avoca Beach, to experience firsthand just what everyone is talking about.

Shop, dine, listen to music, and enjoy some great art – these are just some of the things that you can do during the Avoca Beach Side Markets. Because of the massive response from the community and the visitors, the Avoca Beach Side Markets has become one of the premier markets Central Coast holds regularly. You can buy food, local art, jewelry, international food, and even antique pieces, just to name a few. And you can do that while listening to beautiful music from the local musicians from Lizotte’s.

The Terrigal Food and Wine Fair

It’s only on for two days, but the biggest of the Terrigal events attracts more than 30,000 visitors. Time your vacation when the Terrigal Food and Wine Fair happens and you’ll be spending a fantastic day enjoying quality food and wine from different exhibitors.

Not only is this the best place to taste good food and wine, this is also the perfect opportunity to talk with the experts behind the great tasting wines. So if you are looking for quality food and wine, this is the place to be.

Mangrove Mountain Markets

Held every last Sunday of the month, from nine in the morning to two in the afternoon, the Magrove Mountain Markets is the market to visit when you are looking for quality natural products. It only takes an hour’s drive from Hornsby to visit this picturesque mountain community located at Corner Wisemans Ferry Rd and Waratah Rd, Mangrove Mountain.

Once here you can buy any of their products, which range from citrus, stone fruits, and vegetables, to freshly baked sour dough breads, art collectibles, and gourmet vinegars, oils, and spices. There’s definitely something in the Mangrove Mountain Markets, which is one of the best and most unique Central Coast markets around.

There are lots more Central Coast markets that are held in Central Coast. Ranging from small to large markets, these gathering of producers effectively markets Central Coast products to tourists and enthusiasts alike. So if you’re looking to buy something, then definitely check out any of these markets Central Coast offers.

Glenworth Valley Outdoor Adventures

Looking for a rugged time outdoors? Glenworth Valley Outdoor Adventures offers horse riding, quad biking, kayaking, abseiling, and definitely a lot, lot more. This is Australia’s largest outdoor adventure centre with over 3,000 acres of beautiful and rugged wilderness. You can go camping and even hold team building events for your company here. There’s definitely something for you out here if you’re looking for adventure.

Treetop Adventure Park

Need something a little more up there? Get yourself up in the trees with Treetop Adventure Park. You’ll be moving from tree to tree across suspension bridges, sliding down flying foxes, and test your courage as you highwire above the forest floor. At the Treetop Adventure Park everyone can have fun. Whether you’re three year old or a 63 year old, there’s something here for you.

Microlight Adventures

The trees still not high enough for you? Take to the skies in one of the most adrenalin pumping of the Central Coast attractions: Microlight Adventures. Fly over the beautiful Central Coast scenery in an open weight shift aircraft. If you don’t know what that means, don’t worry because before you take to the skies and experience one of the greatest Central Coast attractions, you will be trained by a qualified flying instructor in a two-person microlight. You can request to fly over locations of your choice, like Avoca Beach, for example.

Coast Helicopters

Microlight still isn’t doing it for you? Well, you can always go higher and take to the air in Coast Helicopters aircrafts. Coast Helicopters is the only helicopter operator located in the Central Coast. So if you need someone who specialises in charter flights, transfers and scenic flights then you go to Coast Helicopters.

Go Fishing

Done with flying? After conquering the skies, you can also enjoy another one of the most popular Central Coast attractions: reef and game fishing. Even if you don’t have a license to fish, you will still be able to enjoy the joys of fishing with the Central Coast Reef & Game Fishing, as they have a block license that covers you while you fish with them.

There are a lot of things to do in Central Coast, and a lot of attractions that can take even the most relaxed traveller out of Avoca Beach and enjoy some adrenalin pumping fun. So the next time you visit, Avoca Beach or any other part of Central Coast, make sure to drop by any of these exciting attractions.

This year, they’ve included another category to make sure that everyone has a better chance of winning and having their films shown. So if you have a film that you shot (and at almost five minutes to ten minutes per film – tops – you can really put together a short film in a jiffy) submit it to the Coasties Film Festival and get it shown at the premier Avoca Beach cinema: the Avoca Beach Theatre.

The Sponsor: Avoca Beach Theatre

The Avoca Beach Theatre will be the venue again for this year’s Coasties Film Festival. So if you make short films, animations, claymations, music videos, and other creations of yours which can be shown in the big screen, make note that the Avoca Beach Theatre would love you to submit your film into the film festival.

The much-awaited Coasties Film Festival will be held at Avoca Beach Cinema on March 25th, with the deadline for submission of entries set at the 16th of March. There’s still plenty of time for your masterpiece to get shown in the Avoca Beach Cinema screens for the Coasties. And if you want to know just how many people are going to see your masterpiece, the Avoca Beach Cinema has always been packed to capacity during the event.

The Categories

Primary School

Primary age filmmakers or those who are K-Year 6 young, this is where your film can be shown. Entries should not be more than 5 minutes long, and that includes the time when the title and the credits roll.

Secondary School

Open to Secondary School students (Year 7 – 12). Again, the entries should not be more than five minutes long, including title and credits.

Open Category (under 10 minutes)

This is where anyone can submit their works. This is open to anyone of any age. If you’ve already submitted an entry into any of the other categories, you can still submit an entry here (for a fee). All films should not be more than ten minutes long, including title and credits.

Open Category (under 100 seconds)

Like the Open Category (under 10 minutes), this category is open to anyone of any age. However, all film entries should not run more than 100 seconds, not including title and credits.

Seniors (Over 55)

The newest category is open to filmmakers over the age of 55. As with the Open Categories, anyone who has entered a film into one of the other categories can still submit a film to this category, for a fee. Films should not run more than ten minutes each, including title and credits.

Central Coast Surf School Lesson Options

Central Coast Surf School is the authority on professional surfing and they are providing individuals such as you the chance to learn surfing, by offering different surf lesson options. You can learn to ride the waves by being instructed one-on-one by a skilled surfer or joining a group of eight and learn to surf with your group.

These Central Coast Surf School lessons are ongoing and there are even surf lessons for advanced surfers. If you happen to be a veteran surfer, you can push your skills to the next level by training under professional surfer Glen Hall.

There are even lessons during school holidays for students who want to learn how to surf – and they can do that with their friends and classmates, too. And if you have an event in mind (like a teambuilding activity for you and your team, for example), Central Coast Surf School is willing to host that event as well.

Avoca Beach Surfing Tips

Avoca Beach is simply the best place to go surfing in Central Coast and that’s why lessons done in Avoca Beach are taught by Pro-surfer Beau Atchison. Learn from the best when you study surfing in Avoca Beach.

Surfing is a great sport, but learning it can take a bit of your time and may even become frustrating if you aren’t careful. However, like any other activity, there are a couple of tips that you can use during your lessons to get the best out of your training.

1. Paddling is your best friend

You are going to paddle a lot if you want to surf. When you need to catch a wave you need to paddle, when you need to get to a good position in the water you need to paddle as well.

2. Learn how to balance on the board

When surfing, you need to keep on the board – both while standing up and when you lay on your board. Find the position on your board that keeps you balanced when you’re standing up and when you’re laying on your board. Mark the spots with special markers or wax.

3. Keep safe

Whatever you do, especially if you are doing it in the water, the most important thing is to be safe. Before you go into the water and rip some curls (or at least start learning to), you best get familiarized with the area and keep safety tips in mind. When you make safety your priority, having fun won’t be too much of a problem for you.

Ride Great Watercrafts

Your children will definitely have tons of fun maneuvering all of Aquafun’s different watercrafts. There are rides for one child as well as watercrafts for four people. They’ve got single, double or quadruple pedal-boats; single, double, sit-in or sit-on kayaks; fun surf skis; and stand-up paddle boards.

Safety is the first concern at Aquafun so you don’t need to worry about a thing when you or any of your family take to the waters of Avoca Beach or Avoca Lake, since they will be wearing the proper safety gear and will be using very safe watercrafts. The place is also made sure that there are no pieces of debris floating around the water.

Exploring Avoca Lake

Just behind Avoca Beach, is beautiful Avoca Lake, a magnificent coastal lagoon and you can explore it at your leisure using the different kayaks that Aquafun offers. Here, nature takes center stage as you explore and marvel at the wetland areas and the wonderful animals that call it home – see the pelicans, the jumping fish, cormorants, herons and more.

Avoca Lake is also home to Australia’s Green and Golden bell frogs, which are already on the endangered species list. Also this place offers excellent opportunities for fishing lovers. There are definitely many things that you can do and enjoy in Avoca Lake.

Relax on the Beach

When you and the children are done playing and having fun in the water, you can have more fun on the picturesque shores of Avoca Beach. Have a nice picnic with the whole family at the shady and beautiful picnic areas at Aquafun. There are also barbeque areas so you can grill up a storm and feed the whole family.  The area, at around just a hundred meters away from the beach, is very near Avoca Lake.

There are also some other shops and cafes that you can visit and an oval children’s playground and sandy swimming areas that can keep the children occupied with fun for hours. Aquafun so near to both Avoca Beach and Avoca Lake is indeed a very nice and relaxing place to visit.

Aquafun is indeed a great place to visit for some excellent family fun. It’s safe, affordable and fun, which means it has everything that any parent is looking for at an activity center. That’s why when you visit Central Coast, make sure to place Aquafun on the top of your go-to list.

Once a part of Australia’s Naval Fleet, the HMAS Adelaide has been decommissioned and was sunk 1.8 kilometers off of Avoca Beach on April 13, 2011. The remains of the warship now serve as an artificial reef and dive site, the first of its kind in New South Wales.

The new dive site provides a new kind of Central Coast diving experience for divers of all skill levels. Whether you’re an experienced diver or someone who wants to experience the thrills of diving for the first time, the safe and calm Avoca Beach dive site is a great site to visit.

Welcome Dive Site

For the different local diving companies and the Avoca Beach scuba clubs, which banded together in 2000 to form the Central Coast Artificial Reef Project, the scuttling of the HMAS Adelaide is a very big development indeed. After being unable to secure the ex-HMAS Brisbane in 2001 and the ex-HMAS Canberra in 2006, the group (as well as the people of the Central Coast) were extremely jubilant when the ex-HMAS Adelaide was finally brought to its final resting place.

Diving Opportunities

There are different ways that you can experience this new Central Coast diving site. You can either meet up and take advantage of the services of local dive operators that offer dive tours to the sunken warship; or you can opt to dive from a private boat. However, whether you are diving from a chartered boat or a privately owned boat, each diver needs a diver access permit and each boat needs mooring booking from Central Coast Tourism before you will be able to enjoy the sites of the new diving site.

Who Can Dive?

This Central Coast diving site is approximately 32 meters under the surface of the water. For even novice divers, this should give you an idea of the kind of skill level that you need if you want to enjoy the dive site. However, if you don’t think you have the necessary level of training for this particular dive, you can always ask for professional advice from a commercial dive operator. In fact, you can even get some training to prepare you for the dive at the Ex-HMAS Adelaide dive site.

Pricing per dive, per person varies depending on whether you dive with a commercial dive operator, a public one, or club booking. If you rent gear and diving equipment, then extra costs will also apply. You can always ask commercial diving operators for a quote on diving packages.

It has been a long time coming, but now divers are enjoying the beauty and excitement that comes from enjoying the EX-HMAS Adelaide – and so can you.

The Club itself was founded on January 6, 1929, just a week after two people drowned in Avoca Beach. Vowing to keep the waters safe for everyone, the community came together and decided to form the said Avoca Surf Club. And while it beginnings were humble, the Avoca Beach Surf Club was quick to make its presence known and its drive felt.

In just four months, the Club already had a dozen Foundation Bronze Holders. This was no easy task as the feat was accomplished even before the Club had its own reel! A year later, the Club gained its first surfboat and with that another half a dozen Bronze Medallion holders.

This growth of the Avoca Beach Surf Club was not only seen in the awards and honors that the Avoca Surf Club took home but in the continuous growth of its clubhouse and its activities. During the first years of its existence, the clubhouse, before being relocated to its current position, was built by Club members and volunteers. However, with the continued growth that the Club was experiencing, almost three decades later, new plans for the Clubhouse were drawn up. By 1964, the building was done, followed by another major extension at the back.

Another testament to the community’s part in making the Avoca Beach Surf Club grow, in 2006 the Clubhouse was rebuilt and refurbished, also with the help of the community through the “Buy a Brick” program.

The women also played a prominent role in the Avoca Surf Club. In 1946, the Avoca Surf Club’s Ladies Auxiliary was formed, giving women a strong voice and part in keeping the waters of the Avoca Beach safe. These women have worked tirelessly and selflessly for the Club in the past decades and since the Avoca Beach Nippers were started in 1965, they have regularly placed as one of the top ten clubs at the State Championships every year.

But the Avoca Surf Club isn’t all about awards; they are also about giving back to the community and celebrating life with the community. Through the many programs that the Club has held, the community was able to come together and celebrate and have fun. One of the most famous activities that the Club started was the Surf Carnival on New Year’s Day. Started in 1930, it became an annual event for the next half a century. It showcased surfing events, as well as wood-chopping and horse racing.

Come down for a delicious Sunday lunch at the international food area. Shop til you drop with over 70 handmade local arts and crafts stalls on offer, including jewellery, collectables, antiques and homewares. Kick back and relax in the Chai Chillout Area with the most delicious chai on the Central Coast and fresh fruit.

There’s loads of things for the kids to do too. From storytelling to face painting and balloon twisting, there’s sure to be something to keep the kids entertained.

Lizotte’s will be providing another rich batch of local talent including Claire Sheather, Rowan Falzon and many other local acts. They’ll be taking the live stage all day long.

The Avoca Beachside Markets have been nominated as a finalist for the Gosford City Australia Day Community Awards 2012. We wish them the best of luck!