Finally the tax refund arrived so we were all cashed up with no plan. A couple of days spent dreaming about
Cape York we decided on a reconnaissance mission of the
camping grounds of the Nthn Tablelands of NSW before heading back to the coast for a week of
camping.
It was a major challenge packing the 80series. Jen and I used to have a Troopie and no kids....And since the first part of the journey involved staying in caravan
park cabins it was a logistic nightmare having certain things accessible. I may keep my vehicle basic but the
camping gear is another story! It was about this time I started thinking, against personal prejudice, that I need a trailer. (see second rig photo)
Day one was Sunday, 27th August. Our destination was
Tenterfield via Kyogle and Casino, leaving from near Murwillumbah. Approx 230km. It took 4 hours including a quick food stop in Kyogle. There is a range to climb on the way to Kyogle and then again up to
Tenterfield; both finding the overloaded diesel back to third gear. Yep, get to see the scenery when you own a standard diesel! We passed Rover
Park along the way which we had never heard of; having looked it up since then it sounds pretty good.
When we reached
Tenterfield we drove out to Mt Mckenzie
Lookout with the road winding through a farm full of sheep and very
young lambs which was a hit with
young Cooper (nearly 5) and my wife, Jen. The view from the
lookout took in the town plus the mountains separating
QLD from NSW, and the rain which was forecast for the next four days. God bless the rain on annual holidays.
Craig’s C.P. was where we slept for the night in a ensuite cabin for the princely sum of $109 for two nights. Two things we found once one is West of the Pacific Hwy; no traffic and cheap accommodation.
Day 2 we climbed
Bald Rock and the rain held off for most of the walk. That is one amazing piece of
granite. On the way down we took the longer but less steep route which winds through tunnels and canyons formed by the massive
granite boulders. The N.P.
camping ground here had fire pits and
toilets but no
water I think. Camper trailers would be fine. Very nice.
Boonoo Boonoo N.P. is on the same road back to town so checked out the grounds there as
well and they were also in a great setting beside the river. The road continues through the
park hugging the river until you reach
Boonoo Boonoo Falls which are spectacular with a great
swimming hole at the top. We may wait ‘til Summer to take a plunge there though! Back to the cabin and the rain really set in.
Day 3 down the
New England Hwy to Glen Innes. This section of road winds through
granite boulder-strewn hills which are covered in masses of wattle trees. Even in the dull
grey weather it was beautiful.
The plan was to cruise through town and take the old Glen Innes-
Grafton Rd to go
camping on the coast but since we knew it was bucketing down on the coast we chose to stay in a cabin again until the weather broke. So the next two days were spent checking out the local history and old buildings and having lunch in pubs to avoid going nuts in a cabin with two kids.
Day 5 we tackled the convict road and recent rain made it interesting in
places. Not actually a 4wd track, but the wet, soft clay surface saw us putting it in H4 for safety in the narrow sections. Not too far from Glen Innes is
Mann River Nature Reserve; a lovely
camping ground right on the river. Fire pits,
toilets, c.t.’s no problem.
The rest of the 131km road mostly winds along beside the river with a steep drop on the river side. There is a convict-built tunnel which is pretty impressive. On two occasions we needed to clear the road; once was fallen rocks from the cutting on the left side of the road, and the other was a fallen tree (not too big). There were plenty of cattle wandering on the road with a few ‘roos and wallabies as
well.
With the likelihood of more rain and the light fading from the sky, we decided to spend the night in
Grafton and head out to the coast early the next day. After driving around
Grafton for one and a half hours looking for a decent C.P. we ended up at the first one we had passed on the way into town. If there’s something that really bleep es me off, it would have to be WASTING BLOODY TIME.
Day 6 started with a ‘quick trip’ (not likely with the whole family in tow) into town to restock and realized we had left our chiller bag and ice pack in the fridge at the cabin. If there’s something that really bleep es me off……
I was starting to really look forward to the first beer of the day. Soon I would be unpacking the wagon (after the beer) once and for all until we were heading home.
About 15km North of Woolgoolga is the turn-off to Yuraygir N.P. and Station
Creek camping ground. It is a spot we remember fondly and it was nice to return after eight years. The sites here are
well grassed and under the shade of beautiful large eucalypts. Firewood supplied,
toilets, fire pits, no
water. There is a wooden stairway to the
creek which is ideal for kids and canoes. Between here and
the beach is a track through
sand dunes (take the boogie board) and coastal heath. This was home for the next seven nights.
There is another
camp ground here called
Pebbly Beach. Access is via a 4wd track to
the beach, up
the beach a short distance, across the
creek (easy), a short sandy track then you are there. Right on
the beach amongst the casuarinas and banksias.
A couple of things have changed in eight years; you used to be able to drive South from the
beach access to the end of
the beach and the estuary of Corindi
Creek with
Red Rock on the opposite bank. Not any more; there’s a big
sign stating ‘no 4wd access beyond this point’ courtesy of National Parks I presume. We don’t remember there being any sandflies our last time but now they are in plague proportions. Kyan (9 months) was eaten alive even though his pram was covered with mesh that was sprayed with rid. The poor little dude looked like he had chickenpox.
Pebbly beach would be the better option next time; didn’t notice them on
the beach.
There is plenty of wildlife here; ‘roos, goannas, bandicoots at night, yellow-tailed black cockatoos, blue-faced honey-eaters, a large colony of
rainbow bee-eaters in the
sand dunes, soldier crabs in the thousands, kingfishers,
water birds, sea eagles, brahminy kites, whistling kites, ospreys etc. Also good fishing, surf,
rock pools on the headland.
On the way from the highway to the
camp grounds you pass through
state forest with plenty of tracks to investigate. There was a lot of
water lying around after the recent rain and I was having fun until the rest of the family chickened out as the mud sections got longer and longer. I don’t know why Jen hates the mud so much; sure there was that time on Fraser I got us bogged up near Wathumba on a rising tide, and then there was the time when……
We paid the penalty one night for forgetting a basic
camping rule: all food needs to be inaccessible to wild life! We had a rat chew through the screen of the vestibule of the tent to get to some dry foodstuff we hadn’t put in the truck. Jen had got up to investigate the noise (as the women do) and then all hell broke loose. Screams, torch-light, swearing, leaping rodents; it’s funny now.
Back to the trailer issue; the day we packed up for home it took six hours to break
camp and pack the wagon! That was partly due to forgetting to put something on the roof and having to pack the roof a second time. If there’s something that really bleep es me off…….
Being rather vertically challenged, packing up top is a pain at the best of times. With a trailer most of the
camping gear would be permanently packed and ready to go and space wouldn’t be so much of an issue. Then again I’m sure we could fill a trailer with all the other
camping gear we’re thinking of buying LOL.
Back at home dreaming of the next trip.
Regards, Brian