The magazine also includes cultural trails to highlight the area’s visual arts and heritage sites.

The Office of Regional Engagement on the Coffs Harbour Education Campus was involved in a collaborative project with the cultural development officer from Coffs Harbour City Council for inclusion in the magazine.

The project involved the research and development of two tourist trails designed to highlight visual arts and heritage sites.

One of the trails focuses on the Coffs Harbour hinterland and Northern Beaches, while the other is based in Coffs Harbour and the township of Sawtell.

The trails are published as maps in the Coffs Coast Explorer and will potentially reach 120,000 Coffs Coast visitors each year.

The project has also produced an audio CD, which guides the listener along each of the trail journeys, highlighting many aspects of local history.

The CD was produced by Southern Cross University (SCU) arts students.

Along with detailed information about each trail, the CD includes about 25 minutes of original music. The CD is also available from the Visitor Information Centre.

The launch of the trails coincided with the Explorer magazine unveiling at Aanuka Beach Resort resort.

A variety of artists embarked on a range of activities to display their talents.

Jesse Emmanuel, who has accompanied The Whitlams, charmed guests with her amazing musical talent, life-size Derketa the mermaid, designed by Krishna Ellis, was on display and the Ultimate Sword Experience brought a touch of medieval to the event.

“This was a great celebration for the many involved in the success of the project, which brought together six different Coffs Harbour council work areas, SCU staff and students, the Coffs Coast Tourism Association and several local creative industry businesses,” a tourism association spokesperson said.