The Journal · 2 August 2026

Kempsey and the Macleay Valley

A guide to Kempsey and the Macleay Valley, NSW — the Slim Dusty Centre, Gladstone, the markets, Fredo pies, and what's worth stopping for on the way to the coast.

Almost everyone who comes to Crescent Head drives through Kempsey, and most of them treat it as a supermarket stop. That’s fair enough — it is where the supermarkets are — but it’s also the hub of a valley with more going on than the highway suggests.

Twelve kilometres and fifteen minutes west of Crescent Head, it’s the obvious answer to a rainy day, a restock, or an afternoon when you’ve had enough sand.

The practical bit first

This is where you do the big shop. Coles and Woolworths, plus a butcher with a good local reputation. Crescent Head’s Foodworks handles the day-to-day, but anything specific means Kempsey.

Do it on the way in if you can — you drive through anyway, and arriving with the week’s food already in the boot beats working it out on day two. Our self-catering guide has the detail.

Fuel up here too. Options in Crescent Head are limited.

The Slim Dusty Centre

The main cultural draw, and better than people expect if they’re not country music people.

Opened in 2015, it covers Slim Dusty’s fifty-year career and, more interestingly, the part country music played in the culture of this stretch of the North Coast. There’s a cafe, a gallery and a shop with regional products.

It’s a genuine hour or two, and it’s the single best rainy-day option that doesn’t involve driving to Port Macquarie.

Akubra

Kempsey’s other claim, and one locals will mention within about four minutes of meeting you. The town has a long association with Akubra hat manufacturing — an unusually specific piece of Australian industrial heritage for a town this size.

Worth knowing the story before you visit rather than turning up expecting a factory tour; arrangements change.

Art and history

Dunghutti Ngaku Aboriginal Art Gallery — work by established and emerging Aboriginal artists. The Dunghutti people are the traditional owners of this country, and it’s the most direct way to engage with that while you’re here.
Kempsey Museum — includes a pioneer cottage with original furnishings.
Macleay Valley Community Art Gallery, in Gladstone — exhibition space for regional artists.

Gladstone

Fifteen minutes north of Kempsey on the river, and the pick of the valley villages.

It’s described locally as the cultural heart of the Macleay, and it earns it: nineteen preserved historic buildings, a heritage pub, and a genuine sense of a nineteenth-century river town that never got knocked down and rebuilt.

The markets run on the third Sunday of the month and are worth timing a trip around. The Gladstone Hub, in a heritage building, houses local creative businesses.

If you only make one non-beach trip inland, make it this one.

Eating and drinking in the valley

Garden Bar and Kitchen — riverfront dining in Kempsey, with the water views to match.
Bucket Brewery — a microbrewery in a converted bus depot, which is exactly the kind of thing a valley town does well.
Fredo Pies, at Frederickton just north of Kempsey — a genuine institution, and famous for a range that includes crocodile. Worth the stop on the drive purely for the novelty, and the pies are good.
Kempsey Riverside Markets — monthly, with local produce, crafts, vintage and live music.

Closer to home, our where to eat guide covers Crescent Head itself.

Getting outdoors inland

If you want a break from the coast:

Kalateenee mountain bike trails — a 25km network.
Mount Yarrahapinni — a hike with coastal views from the top, north of the valley.
Boyters Lane bird hide — a 2.5km walk, and good for exactly what it sounds like.
Kempsey Golf Club — 18 holes, par 72, if six holes on the headland at Crescent Head has left you wanting more. Our country club guide covers the local version.

When to make the trip

On the way in. The most efficient version — shop, fuel, and maybe the Slim Dusty Centre if you’ve made good time.

On a rainy day. It’s the closest genuine wet-weather option. See things to do when it rains.

On the third Sunday, for the Gladstone markets.

With the dog. Worth noting: most of the day trips from Crescent Head involve national parks, and national parks in NSW don’t permit dogs. Kempsey and the Macleay Valley are one of the few day trips that work with a dog in the car.

The honest assessment

Kempsey is a working country town, not a tourist destination, and it doesn’t pretend otherwise. If you arrive expecting a polished regional food-and-wine experience you’ll be disappointed.

What it is: genuinely useful, occasionally excellent, and the place that makes a self-catering holiday at Crescent Head work. Gladstone and the Slim Dusty Centre are worth going for on their own merits. The rest is worth knowing about because you’ll be driving through it anyway.