Holiday Houseboat Hire - About Us

About Us - FAQs

You will find the answers to our "most frequently asked questions" on this page.

Should you not find the answer to your question you can get a prompt response by:.

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Q. Where do we get on the houseboat? A. Board the Houseboat at The Colonels Cafe Forster marina. 69-75 Little Street. Forster. This is also a fully functional Cafe so please feel free to order breakfast or coffee or lunch before we depart just make sure you give yourself an hour or so to enjoy it before the departure time as we have to leave on time.
Q. What about my car? A. You drive to The Colonels Cafe Forster Marina & unload your bags onto the houseboat. One person drives their car following my car to the designated parking area the others can stay with the boat & we drive you back from the designated parking area to the boat ready to set sail.
Q. What about picking up my car? A. Once you get back we will take you back to your car and you can drive it back to the Colonels Cafe Forster to unload your baggage hopefully a little more relaxed.
Q. Where is the information manual? A. Once you have paid a deposit we will email you the Houseboat manual which will explain in detail about the boat you need to print this out & bring it with you.
Q. Where is the contract agreement? A. It is on the first page of the Information Manual you need to sign & email back to me as soon as you receive the PDF Information Manual.
Q. Can we eat at the Colonels Cafe? A. If it’s before we set sail you will need to give yourself an hour before we set off. As long as you get there early enough of course you can, some of the best coffee in town with hot eggs benny is my favourite plus they do lunch & dinner but this is not accessible during the hire only before & after hire as you cannot drive the houseboat in this area for safety reasons.
Q. When and where can we drive the houseboat? A. We drive you out from the Colonels Cafe to the designated drop-off zone which up the river on the Western side of Wallis Island about a 30minute steam. Then you can commence the hire from there. We have a map on board which highlights the no go zones.
Q. Running Late? A. Don’t run late get well organised the boat has to leave on the agreed time due to tides. If you are heading north from Sydney give yourself a little extra time it usually takes 3hrs but to be sure give yourself an extra 1.5hrs on top to have a relaxing & enjoyable trip up with no rushing. If you are running late call 0448 109 712 as soon as possible. It can take up to 40 minutes to load up the boat & about 20 minutes to go through the Safety Management System. We have limited time at Forster Marina to load up & late arrival will incur a late fee. These are your options: 1. You pay the late arrival fee to cover staff costs 2. Arrive the following day but booked rate still apply 3. Preferred option - If someone arrives early enough to be shown through, fix up the paperwork and drives the Houseboat to one of the islands then we can taxi people out to the Houseboat a fee of $30 per trip max 2 people.
Q. Arriving by plane? A. If you are travelling to your Holiday by Air there are three options 1. You can take a commercial flight to Taree Airport where we will be happy to pick you up, 2. You can fly your own plane to Wallis Lake Airstrip and we can have your boat meet you there, 3. You can fly in from Sydney by Chartered Sea Plane and we will meet you on the water.
Q. Is there parking at the Marina? There is, but just for unloading. For parking overnight you need to drive just up the road & we will taxi you back to the Marina. Please limit it to 2 cars per houseboat.
Q. Do I need a Licence to drive the Houseboat? Yes, a motor vehicles driver’s licence is required. You must be at least 25yrs old to hire our boat. The same rules apply as on the road DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE .
Q. Can I drive at night? No, you cannot drive between sunset & sunrise.
Q. Will you show me how to drive the boat? Yes, we will explain how to steer, accelerate, stop & drop the anchor & to lift the anchor.