NORTH ROAD TRIP - MYLESTOM, HAT HEAD, NORTH HAVEN, HAWKS NEST - 14 TO 19 NOVEMBER 2021

 

14 NOVEMBER

We left Lawrence and stopped at Grafton for fuel and food supplies.

Our first stop was Mylestom. We checked out the beach and decided to stay for a couple of nights

After setting up camp, we had a walk down to the beach. A pretty white sand beach. We sat for awhile and soaked in the views.

Later, I had a mountain bike ride along a track north of the camp. It was mainly a road for 4wheel drive cars. It was fun with obstacles such as water filled potholes and deep sand. I had two spills on this ride. The first was sliding on the edge of the road to avoid a pothole. I tipped over the edge and landed in the thick bush. The second was scrapping against a broken tree branch which made a 10 cm cut. Not too bad but there was a lot of blood. I stopped back at the camp to clean my arm and continued to the surf club and along the river foreshore.

In the evening, there were a lot of pale faced black cockatoos screeching their presence. there was quite a few of them.

15 NOVEMBER

In the morning, I had a walk to the beach and watched the sunrise. 

After breakfast, Jacinta and I walked back to the beach and enjoyed the sunshine. There were a few surfers out but it was very small.

In the afternoon, we had a long bike ride to the surf club and the river foreshore as far as Repton.

16 NOVEMBER

In the morning, I checked the surf and it was looking okay. I walked back and got my gear and paddled out for a fun 1m surf on some good left waves. The local surfers were a friendly group.

After breakfast, we continued out journey south.

Our first stop was Urunga. We had coffee and sweets and wandered around the town. A pretty place. We drove a little further and pulled into cliff lookout with great views of the beaches north and south.

Our final stop for the day was Hat Head where we camped for the night.

We wandered down to the beach and enjoyed the sun. The surf was dead flat. I had a few swims Korogoro Creek and the ocean. It was nice drifting along with the creek current. 

In the late afternoon, I had a mountain bike ride to the top of the headland on the southern side of Hat Head and then a loop along both sides of the banks of Korogoro Creek. At the headland, there were a number of kangaroos and great coastal views. The creek banks had fun tracks that were connected by two bridges. A great ride!

17 NOVEMBER

We left Hat Head and drove to Port Macquarie. We had coffee and croissants by the Hastings River. Very pleasant.

Next stop was a surf a Middle Rock. The waves was okay but not the best conditions. While I was in the water, Jacinta had a walk along the beach and was bitten by a dog. Not deep but it it was very sore.

We camped the night at North Haven. We had a walk to the beach and along the river bank.

18 NOVEMBER

We left early and checked the surf at North Haven Beach. there wee a lot of surfers out and the waves were short and breaking in shallow water. It all looked like hard work to me, especially in the strong winds and currents.

We continued south and decided to stay at Bennetts Beach, Hawks Nest. The beach at Hawks Nest was wind blown so we drove over to Jimmy's Beach which was more sheltered and enjoyed a relaxing afternoon.

19 NOVEMBER

We left Hawks Nest and drove a short distance to Tea Gardens. Jacinta had a walk and I had a kayak on the Myall River. The conditions were excellent with little wind. The water was reflective, the birds were about and the occasional boat set off a undulating pattern of waves in their wake.

Time to head home. The weather was forecasting rain.

NORTH ROAD TRIP - LAWRENCE - 12 TO 14 NOVEMBER 2021

 12 to 14 NOVEMBER

We left Gibraltar Range NP and headed towards Lawrence.

Jacinta wasn’t feeling too well, so we did a covid test which was negative. Still, she wasn’t feeling well. Jacinta rested up for the next couple of days.

The following day, I had a kayak on Reedy Creek in the Everlasting Swamp NP.

The paddle was actually very short as the creek ended abruptly with a sluice and road - the map was wrong J. I landed and walked around the area. I considered portering over the road but decided I would paddle a different way next time.

Jacinta was feeling a little better so we left Lawrence for a coast trip home.

NORTH ROAD TRIP - GIBRALTAR RANGE NATIONAL PARK - 10 TO 12 NOVEMBER 2021

 10 NOVEMBER

We left Mann River Nature Reserve and continued along the Old Glen Innes Road.

The road was now bitumen as we made our way to the top of the Great Dividing Range. We joined up to the main highway and drove to Glen Innes for supplies and petrol.

Our next stop was Boundary Falls in the Gibraltar Range National Park.

We followed a track to steps which lead down to the base of the falls. The area was rainforest and dark. The waterfalls were very pretty with a deep and wide pool into which the water plummeted. The pool would be good for a swim. 

We back tracked and followed the trail to Lyrebird Falls. It was about 2 kilometres. The ending was at a fenced off viewing area with the falls on the other side of the ravine. It looked very rugged with the water cascading into unseeable bushland.

Next, we drove to at camp site at Mulligans. There was only one other person there. The site was good with firewood and table and chairs. There were a number of birds who visited throughout the afternoon and for the rest of our stay.

After lunch and resting, I had a mountain bike ride to Murrumbooee Cascades. A great ride with a lot of up and down through rainforest on a damp trail. Along the way, I saw lyrebirds. I didn’t quite make it to the end as it was getting a bit late. I backtracked and took the turn off along the Forest Walk. This was more track like with a fun downhill. Towards the bottom, I came to an abrupt halt as a huge carpet python (4m)  was slithering right across the whole of the track. I watched it for awhile and decided that going around it was not a smart option even though they a relatively harmless. I backtracked and took another turn off for Barra Nula Cascades. These were pretty and very rugged. I backtracked again and continued back to camp. The final leg of the ride was a firm and fast downhill.

Back at camp, we lit a campfire, ate dinner and watched darkness descend.

11 NOVEMBER

After a late breakfast, we did the Fern Tree Hike. 

It was a long hike of about three hours with a long steep uphill section. We crossed a bridge not far from the camp and followed the track. The track was wide and lined with a head high bush covered in purple flowers intersperse with bright red waratahs. A memorial sight especially with so many waratahs. The track then descended to the creek and we crossed two bridges. This next part was the long steep uphill. It was rainforest all the way to the top and dark. We didn’t see many birds but we heard plenty in the dense foliage. At the top the track turned to the left and the vegetation was much more open. We skirted around a high heath area and wound our way along the track. The land opened up more with bare areas of granite with small pockets of plants growing in the cracks. Across the ridge was the bridge was a cascade of water wounding its way over the open granite in a number of directions. We stopped for a short while and ate lunch while we enjoyed the view. We descended down the relatively bare rocky hill and down to Dandahra Creek. We crossed a bridge and returned to our camp. At this point, it started to rain lightly.  A great hike! The sign said 8 km but the site said 9.2 km. I think it was the latter.

Back at camp, we lit a campfire and had fun keeping it alight in the increasing rain.

12 NOVEMBER

We woke to light rain.

Eventually, the rain lighten and I went for a mountain bike ride along the track that runs beside Dandahra Creek. It was a fun easy ride of about 6km.

On return, we left Mulligans Campground for the Platypus Picnic Area. We didn’t see any platypuses but it was a pretty.

Onwards and back to Lawrence.

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