Coramba Hotel Paint and Sip Recap: Koalas and Country Views Near Coffs Harbour

Coramba turned on a beautiful night. Chilly out, heaters running, a massive event tent on the grounds of the Coramba Hotel, paddocks rolling out to the horizon, koalas on the canvases and a crowd that came rugged up and ready to sing. Lotti held the mic. Trent ran the easel. Everyone got into it from the first chorus. Here's how the Coramba Paint and Sip went down, 25 minutes inland from Coffs Harbour.

Coramba Hotel and an event tent under a country sky

The Coramba Hotel is a proper country pub. Wide grounds, dog-friendly, locals on the verandah, the kind of place that's been the heart of a small town for longer than anyone in the bar can probably remember. Out the back is a massive event tent that sits on the grass with views straight out to green paddocks that just keep going. Drop your easels in there, line them up, and you've got one of the better paint and sip rooms you'll find anywhere along the NSW north coast.

It was chilly. The kind of cold that's a feature, not a problem. Heaters went on early, blankets came out, painters arrived in beanies and big jumpers, scarves over the shoulder, the whole vibe was country-pub-on-a-cold-evening. Within ten minutes of doors open the tent was warm enough that everyone settled into a paint mode without thinking about the temperature again. Heaters humming, paddocks glowing in the last light, brushes moving.

Koalas on canvas, fresh and full of personality

The painting brief was a Paint Juicy koala. Soft grey fur, a peaceful face, big rounded ears, a gumtree branch tucked under one arm, a backdrop of deep green leaves. The koala is one of those designs that gives every painter room to put their own personality into it. Some painted theirs looking dreamy and content. Some painted theirs side-eyeing the viewer. Some leaned into texture and made the fur look properly fluffy. Some kept it tight and stylised. The variation across the room was great, and the energy at the easel was great too.

Honest moment: most painting tours run the same design for a stretch. The koala was a fresh one for the night, and you can feel it in a paint and sip when the artist running the easel is genuinely enjoying the demo. Coramba got that version. The koala carried the room.

A mix of birthdays and an early Mother's Day

The crowd was a beautiful mix. A couple of birthday celebrations across different tables. A group celebrating Mother's Day a week early because their Sunday was already spoken for. Friends, partners, daughters with their mums, mums with their daughters, sons who'd talked their mums into coming along. A few couples on a quiet night out together. The Coramba pull is genuine.

The early-Mother's-Day angle gave the room a soft current that kept showing up through the night. Painters checking on their mums between layers. Mums quietly proud of canvases their grown-up kids were painting. A few quiet moments at certain tables that the rest of the room didn't need to see, but that we noticed walking past with brushes.

Lotti on the mic with the playlist that pulled the room together

Lotti was hosting and she read the room straight away. Country town, chilly night, mixed crowd, koalas on canvas, mums and daughters and birthday tables side by side. The playlist matched the room. A few crowd-pleasing singalong anchors early to warm everyone up. A couple of slow, beautiful, big-voice moments through the middle when the painting was getting detailed. Then the back end of the night opened up into the kind of sing-at-the-top-of-your-lungs run that makes a paint and sip feel like a small concert.

Painters who'd come in quiet were up out of their chairs by the second-last song. Painters who'd been into the koala from minute one finished their canvas with a flourish and joined them. The heaters were earning their keep. Outside, the paddocks were dark and the stars were doing their thing. Inside the tent, Coramba sang.

Country views, dog-friendly verandahs and a town worth a Sunday drive

Coramba is one of those places we genuinely fell in love with. The drive in from Coffs Harbour is about 25 minutes through some of the prettiest countryside on the NSW north coast. Trees, big green hills, paddocks of cows that watch you go past, the road winding through forest and farm land. You can do it as a day trip from Coffs without thinking about it, and the drive itself is worth doing twice.

The Coramba Hotel is dog-friendly, which matters. A few four-legged friends were hanging out around the verandah with their humans before our session started, having the kind of country pub afternoon that dogs were made for. The hotel sits like the heart of the village, and the village sits in a green valley that does not stop being beautiful. If you've never made the drive out, do yourself a favour. Pack the rug, the boots and the dog, and go.

What is a Paint Juicy session, exactly?

Three hours, one canvas, no painting experience required. We bring everything: easels, canvases, paints, brushes, aprons, the host, the mic, the lights and the sound. You bring your group, your favourite drink and the willingness to belt out a chorus when the moment lands. Paint Juicy is 100% mobile. We come to the venue, set up around you and pack down at the end.

Public sessions are $59 per person standard. Bottomless sessions at licensed venues are $99 with food and drinks handled by the venue. Most events are 18+. Some are 12+ with a paying guardian along for the ride. Bottomless and nude life drawing sessions are strictly 18+.

Want a private Paint Juicy session on the Coffs Coast?

Public sessions like this Coramba one run regularly across the Coffs region and along the NSW north coast. Private bookings are a different format. Our private sessions start at $700 flat for the first 10 guests, then $65 per extra head, with a 10-paid-seat minimum. Hens nights, milestone birthdays, team building, Christmas parties, baby showers, bridal showers, fundraisers and corporate events all run on the same private format. Pick your venue, pick your theme, we come to you and run the night.

Big love to Coramba for the welcome, to the Coramba Hotel team for the event tent, the heaters and the country hospitality, to Lotti for owning the mic, and to every painter who rolled in rugged up and left with a koala that has more personality than half the people we know. If you've never made the drive out from Coffs Harbour, do it. Pack the rug, the boots and the dog. We'll see you at the next one.