
It's my first child-free weekend since my second son was born, and absolutely nothing will get me out of bed earlier than 8am.
Absolutely nothing, that is, except the message from my friend Chloe that comes through at 6.18am, which reads, simply, "Dolphins!".
And it's true: as the sun rises directly in front of our oceanside AirBnb in Callala Beach, a pod of dolphins is frolicking off the coast.
Perhaps it's the comparison to my normal morning routine, which generally involves making porridge for two starving toddlers while Paw Patrol blares in the background, but it's the most peaceful morning I've had… perhaps ever.
I'll admit that Callala Beach wasn't on my 2025 travel radar. It's less well-known than its fancy South Coast cousins like Huskisson and Hyams Beach, but I was thrilled on arrival to realise it's just as beautiful. If anything, its seclusion makes it even more gorgeous — for our whole weekend visit on a hot weekend in early February, we only saw a handful of other beach-goers.
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How to get there.
Callala Beach is a fairly comfortable 2.5 hours from Sydney (closer if you're coming from the airport), which makes it a really doable drive. It's close enough that you can leave Sydney straight after work on a Friday and still arrive at a decent hour, especially in summer.