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Tourism NSW photo of pelicans gathering for food
Boat hire
is it 3.30 yet?The Entrance
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The self-styled Pelican Capital of Australia, The Entrance is a large town on the NSW Central Coast, a couple of hours drive from Sydney.
It's been a popular holiday destination for a long time in Australian terms, its first guest house being established about 120 years ago. It's popular with both Sydneysiders and people from much further away.
A big, popular and fascinating attraction is the pelican feeding at 3.30pm each day. It began years ago when the local fish & chip shop threw unwanted scraps to the birds. Word spread amongst the pelican population, more and more turned up and it became a regular and well-organised attraction. It now has corporate sponsors, a special viewing area and feeding platform.
It amazes me to see the pelicans start to gather about half an hour before the feeding - how do they know the time?
The centre of The Entrance has water on three sides, ocean and lakes, and the waterfront is a stunningly beautiful area. On the low hill leading down to it are the shops, cafes, restaurants, take-aways and also a hotel.
The town was given its name, by the way, because the area is the entrance of the coastal waters into the ocean. Inland is a huge system of lakes, including Tuggerah Lake which itself is 12km x 8km.
The choice of ocean or inland water makes the area ideal for all kind of water sports including water-skiing, canoeing, sailing, rowing and sail boarding. Fishing is excellent too, including prawns which are plentiful in mid-summer.
