Lake Macquarie has a borderline subtropical climate like much of central and northern New South Wales. Summers tend to be warm and winters are generally mild. The average temperature in summer is 20 to 26C and in winter is 10 to 17C. Rainfall is heaviest in late autumn and early winter.
Shopping
Local shops
Avondale Shopping Village Located at the end of College Drive, Avondale Shopping Village is a small complex with a green grocer, cafes, hairdresser, chemist, post office, medical services and novelty stores.
Morisset Just 10 minutes from campus, Morisset caters to all your basic shopping needs:
Supermarkets - Coles, Woolworths
Department stores - Go Vita, Target Country, Reject Shop, Retravision, Rockmans, Specsavers
Take away food - Dominos Pizza, Donut King, Eagle Boys Pizza, KFC, McDonald's, Subway, Chinese, Thai
Post Office and Banking.
A range of cafe and restaurant food options are also available in Morisset.
Buses run daily from Avondale to Morisset. Current routes and timetables are available from the Transport NSW website.
Large shopping outletsWestfield Tuggerah The Westfield Tuggerah Shopping Centre is located 25 minutes south of the Lake Macquarie campus. It offers a wide range of fashion stores, dining experiences, homewares, general retail stores and a cinema complex. Most Thursday nights, a complimentary bus, run by Avondale Student Services, takes students to and from Westfield Tuggerah.
Charlestown Square Charlestown Square is located 45 minutes north of the Lake Macquarie campus. As the largest shopping and entertainment destination in Newcastle and the Hunter region, Charlestown Square offers a diverse range of fashion stores, entertainment and dining experiences, homewares and general retail stores and services.
As mentioned above, there are many local fast food options available close to campus in Morisset. If you are after a restaurant meal, Westfield Tuggerah and Charlestown Square offer a range of options such as Absolute Thai, Sushi Train, Hogs Breath Cafe, Grill'd and Max Brenner. If you are after a unique cafe dining experience, Newcastle offers a wide variety of options on Darby Street, Cooks Hill and Beaumont Street, Hamilton.
There are a wide range of leisure and entertainment options in Lake Macquarie to keep you busy. Whether you like watersports, art galleries and museums, walking trails, beaches, shopping, live music, or fine dining, there is something for everyone in Lake Macquarie.
Medical, dental, physiotherapy and naturopathy services are available in the Avondale Shopping Village. The closest hospital is Wyong Hospital, located 25 minutes south of campus.
Childcare and Schools
A wide range of reputable childcare centres and schools are located close to the Lake Macquarie campus. Avondale School is Avondale's partner school, a K to 12 Seventh-day Adventist school with an Early Learning Centre. For more information, visit the Avondale School website.