HAWKS NEST - 30 SEPTEMBER TO 3 OCTOBER 2020

 

HAWKS NEST

30 SEPTEMBER 2020

We left Walcha for a longer than we anticipated drive to Hawks Nest.

We arrived late afternoon, settled in, bought dinner and prepared for the evening

1 OCTOBER 2020

A lazy day.

Checked the surf, sat down the beach and had a swim.

2 OCTOBER 2020

A sunny and warm morning.

I rode the bike to check the surf but it was a no go.

After breakfast, we had a look at the beach again and drove to Myall Lakes NP for a bike ride on the Tomboy track. It was a relatively flat ride of about 6 km return. The scenery was palms and wetland vegetation.

Next stop was coffee at Tea Gardens, petrol and food supplies.

The afternoon was lazing about as the camp area began to fill up.

3 OCTOBER 2020

In the morning, we had a visit from Rolf and Kerry. We chatted away then we finished packing and drove home.

WALCHA - 28 TO 30 SEPTEMBER 2020

 

WALCHA

28 SEPTEMBER 2020

We left New England NP and stopped at Wollomombi for coffee at the general store.

Next stop was Wollomombi Falls. At the lookout, there was a awesome view of the gorge and all the falls. The gorge was very steep and rugged. There were a number of waterfalls at various points feeding into the river below.

Our next stop was Armidale for petrol then to Pines Mountain Bike Park. It was such an awesome run. I followed the black line for ages. The track varied in conditions greatly with heaps of obstacles.

Our next stop was Walcha.

We arrived at Walcha to visit Jacinta’s brother and wife – Gerry and Mary.

The late afternoon was spent chatting, eating and drinking.

29 SEPTEMBER 2020

An easy morning.

After breakfast, Gerry took me for a tour of the town and area. It was heaps of fun – the river through town and the paths, sportsgrounds, free camping area, the town buildings, various views and Aspley Falls.

Later, I got a rego check for my van. A nail was found in the tyre so I went to a tyre place and it was soon fixed.

30 SEPTEMBER 2020

Gerry, Graham (friend of Gerry) and I had an awesome ride at the mountain bike tracks at Walcha. Graham had built the tracks in the beginning. There were a lot of sticks on the tracks in parts. The best sections were a series of downhill black runs with a lot of obstacles to keep you on your toes.

After the ride, we had breakfast, packed and said our goodbyes to Mary and Gerry.

NEW ENGLAND NATIONAL PARK - 26 to 28 SEPTEMBER 2020

 

NEW ENGLAND NATIONAL PARK

26 SEPTEMBER 2020

After Dorrigo National Park, we continued on towards New England National park.

Along the way we stopped at Dangar Falls. There was a pleasant, short hike to the large pool in front of the falls. The falls were very pretty.

Next stop was Ebor Falls. The wind was howling here and it was bitingly cold. The area around the falls was rugged, dry and burnt out from the bushfires earlier this year. The wind was so strong at times that a lot of the water dropping from the falls was blown back and over the top. Amazing!

We arrived at New England National Pak and settled into our campsite at Thungutti camp.

In the afternoon, I had a bike ride to Wright’s Lookout. It was a good downhill ride. At the start of the accent, I parked the bike and continued by foot to the top. It was a a bit of a rock scramble at the end. The view from the top was over the deep rainforest valley below. It was a bit scary at the edge as the wind gusts were quite strong. Definitely, not the place to have a fall.

We spent the afternoon around the camp site and lit a fire. It was such a beautiful night with the stars but it was very, very cold.

27 SEPTEMBER 2020

It was a very cold night’s sleep.

We lit a fire and had breakfast.

We drove to Point Lookout for the Eagles Nest hike. It was a very steep hike that hug to the mountain side and traversed and undulated its way around the escarpment. The views were awesome, the vegetation was like it was 80 million years ago, green and shade were dominate, water dripped and at times there were clusters of pretty flowers. The hike distance wasn’t long but it did take awhile to do it.

Later, in the afternoon, we had a ride around the camp area and a few nearby tracks.

The wind had decreased so though it was still cold in the evening it wasn’t as bad as the night before. We lit a fire and watched the flames roar and dwindle.

28 SEPTEMBER 2020

After a better night’s sleep but still sore from the previous day’s hike. We decided to have an easy morning and then continue on our journey.