MANNING POINT BEACH

Manning Point Beach is one of the hidden kite spot gems in Central Coast NSW. It’s at Old Bar, an hour South of Port Macquarie. It is not yet marked on the Kiteboarding Map so take notes. 😊 🗺

The spot we investigated is on the far North side of Old Bar beach, pinched between the ocean and the river and you can kite on both! The first thing we need to tell you is that it’s only accessible with a 4WD (or a fairly long walk). It works great in NE, NNE, S and SSE winds for the ocean side; whilst NE through NW would work great on the riverside. Plenty of pump-up space and no hazards (electrical lines or trees) to speak of. 👍

This part of ocean beach has a shallow slope, great for kids, and creates small swell for those who want to do some easy going wave-kite. We’ve tried and it’s heaps of fun. Should you be more experienced wave-kiter we would suggest a bit further South on the same beach.

The riverside is quite wide and offers flat waters. We didn’t test it this time as the tide was coming in and we could notice strong currents. Having said that, the riverbank is sandy and has a steep drop-off. We wouldn’t recommend swimming there as this can be a dangerous combination. Better have the kids stay on the ocean side. But that flat water looked so alluring. We hope we can give it a go before we move on.

We noticed that Old Bar Beach is peppered with small, colourful stones that entertained the kids. They spent hours collecting them and comparing the patterns and colours. Furthermore, there was loads of driftwood, so the girls made constructions and more sand art creations. We give this beach a 5-star rating for kid-friendly. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ⛱👍 Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/XpVVJWFuxc95QNSt7