BARRINGTON TOPS AND GLOUCESTER TOPS NP - DRIVE, HIKES AND SWIM - 18 JANUARY 2017

I woke up early, had breakfast and readied the van for a drive.

During the night, I heard a large band and as I was leaving the campsite, I saw that the money box holding the camp fees and part of the pole were gone. the mystery of the bang was solved.

I drove in the Gloucester direction and stopped for a short hike at Cobark Park. The parking area looked impressive but the trail was overgrown and lead nowhere.

I continued on and stopped at Gloucester for a cappuccino, breakfast and petrol. Gloucester is a nice town and I like the atmosphere, the small cafes and the backdrop of rugged mountains.

I continued further towards Gloucester Tops. I passed over about six causeways with water running over them and then in was the long and windy road to the top where the hikes are located.

My first hike was to the Gloucester Falls. It was an easy track leading down to creek and then following it. I turned off the main track at one stage to wander closer to the creek and watch the water cascade over the rocks. Further onwards, I stopped at the view point for the Gloucester Falls. I hike up a steep hill brought me to expansive lookout with great views. I continued along the track back to the car. It was an extremely hot day! I rested for awhile in the shelter and struck up a conversation with a retired couple.

Though it was very hot day, I did another 1.17 km hike along the Beach Forest Track. The vegetation was very thick with trees and ferns and the track was steep in parts leading to two creek crossings. The humidity was extreme. The second creek crossing was very peaceful and pretty and I  rested here for awhile taking in the relative coolness of the cascading water. Back at the van and it was time to get out of the heat and down to the camping area.

The camping area at Gloucester River was nice and I gathered some light food and sat in creek for the rest of the afternoon to cool off.

Late in the afternoon a storm hit with strong winds, rain, thunder and lightning. the rain continued lightly throughout the night.

BARRINGTON TOP NP - HIKES, MTB AND KAYAK - 4 TO 6 DECEMBER 2015

A bit of free time so I drove to Barrington Tops National Park.

I rang earlier to check local conditions and all was looking good.

My first stop was Gloucester where I picked up a number of pamphlets/maps on the parks in the area.

I backtracked to the Gloucester Tops Road and followed it till the end. It was such a great drive - rolling hills which became more clustered amongst rustic farms with  cows wandering over the roads, cattle grates and gates, low bridges and five water crossings.

Upon reaching the national park boundary, the farms ended and the bush dominated thick and dry.
The road became very steep in sections after passing the camp area and finally, I reached the start of the Gloucester Tops walking tracks.


I was soon on the track and loving it. The track was open at the start meandering above the river and passing through small trees, dense bushes and grasses, then wandering up and down through forests along an easy to follow path.

Along the way, there were glimpses of the river and various cascades. The highlight, I thought was the Antarctic Breech forest which was covered in moss the greenest of greens. It wandered down to a rocky mossed covered gully with cascading water. It was so pretty.

A great 5.92 km hike. with an elevation range of 102 metres.

I drove down to the camping area and rested during the afternoon. There was still enough light so I cycled down the river walk trail. It was a great 2.18 km ride with a river crossing in ice cold one metre depth water.


Darkness fell with a great starry starry night and quiet sleep.

In the morning, I did another bike ride of the river walk then drove to Gloucester.

In Gloucester, I had coffee and watched the quiet, easy life of the townspeople then went to the local markets.

I had booked a kayaking trip with BOAC, which was a short distance from Gloucester. There was three of us. We were transported to the Barrington River and kayaked down to a pick up point. Pretty easy!



The kayak was good but the water level was low so there were a number of shallow spots where we had to porter the kayak. Still, there were some good rapids and I learned a few more kayaking skills.

I camped at the Steps and had a short ride ride on the mtb trail before it got dark.


In the morning, I rode the MTB track again. It was good though a bit short at 1.79 km.


Over to Copelands SRA, for a 1.75 km hike along the hidden treasure trail. It was a nice walk beneath dry rainforest tyrees and a few gold mining relics. I nearly stepped on a large lizard!