Coastal walk ideas along NSW

[gbagua]

Hello,

I'll be driving from Brisbane and down to anywhere you guys may suggest I should start walking.

My plan is to carry a small pack with only a water bladder. Zero food.

Trying to be as close to nature as possible.

Sleeping will be on the beach but because I practice meditation on a daily basis, nights will be spent doing that.

Return, I'll try to get a lift back to the car.

This is basically like a walkabout on the beach.

I'll walk for 1 week or so.

Is it going to be very hot this time of the year (starting from 24 to 1 January 2023) for a coastal walk?

Cheers!

[crollsurf]

I walked from Coolangatta to Yamba a couple of months ago but had to stop due to forecast floods. Hoping to continue down the coast around April next year. I carried very little food but there were times when I needed to. Otherwise I'd eat in the towns.

Really looking forward to the Yamba to Coffs section. It would be the best section up north and there's a bus service that links up with the train. https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/things-to-do/walking-tracks/yuraygir-coastal-walk

It would be too hot and sweaty (for me) this time of year on the north coast and crowded seeing as it's school holidays. South coast NSW would be better, not as humid but still hot, and cafes/supermarkets... are further apart. So you'd need to carry food for sure.

Best time I think is after Summer when the days aren't as hot but the water is still warm.

[sandym]

How far south? You could drive south of Sydney and walk one of the sections detailed here http://greatsouthcoastwalk.net/. Once you get south of Ulladulla, a huge chunk of the coast is national park with just small settlements along the way.

You could easily jump a bus back to your car when finished as there are daily buses up the coast. If you are down the south coast it is unlikely to be too hot and along the beach you should be quite comfortable. On average, we only get one or two really hot days a year when the westerly blows in and those are hot everywhere.

Most of the opening/closing lakes are low enough right now you could get across but depending on where you choose some (eg Tuross) could be difficult.

Leaving from Ulladulla, you can walk the entire way on either beach (low tide best) or bush tracks.

[gbagua]

crollsurf. I was looking forward to walk along the Yuraygir section:

https://weareexplorers.co/yuraygir-coas ... kraft-nsw/

Lovely! It's what I'm after: peace and solitude with great oceanic coastal views.

But it's going to be hot I know. Maybe not this time of the year. I can dip in the sea as often as needed to cool off but then J won't be walking very much. I'll give it a crack anyway, got nothing to lose.

sandym,

Thanks but I can't drive that much plus on January I got an upcoming trip to Kaputar (trad climbing with a friend), which is a 7h drive from Brissie.

It would be a better option this time of the year for sure.

[DavidB]

I've been walking down the north coast in stages. Started in 2020 at Fingal and have reached the Manning River (Harrington). Its taken longer than planned due to COVID and floods. Next stage will be to reach Hawkes Nest. 'Stealth' camping is feasible but don't set up till nightfall as council rangers will want you to move on and a few locals can be unfriendly as they assume you are planning to stay for a while. Beach walking is also feasible but best done at low tide as the beach sand is harder and you don't want to get pushed up to the back of the beach where the sand is softer.

The main challenge will be crossing waterways. Most are OK at low tide but you will need a boat to cross rivers like the Nambucca and the Macleay. It can be too pricey for one person to hire a boat so you will need to look out for a friendly local with a tinnie. The Yuragir Track water crossings are more organised. Check the NPWS website for details.

Yamba to Sawtell is good walking but the section between Sawtell and Port Macquarie is also very scenic and less frequently walked.

[gbagua]

Thanks DavidB, I'll look into all of that.

Cheers,

G.

[crollsurf]

BTW If your heading south and beach walking, your outer right heel will blister for sure, so tape up. Vice versa heading north.

[Neo]

BTW If your heading south and beach walking, your outer right heel will blister for sure, so tape up. Vice versa heading north.

Ha! Yes the camber of a beach or a long flat fire trail can bugger up the hips or somewhere else. Maybe walking a third of the distance facing backwards would balance the body!

[yeverett]

Late to the conversation - track notes and GPX for the coastal route from Woody Head (north of Yamba in Bundjalung NP) to South West Rocks are on coffstrails.com.
Keen to work coastal section from Coolangatta south next.
There’s a Great South Coast Walk (NSW, not to be confused with all the other south coasts) but we think the Great North Coast Walk is better!

[Champion_Munch]

Hi all, inspired by the ideas thrown around in this thread I'll be heading off for a walk down the coast starting at the Gold Coast and aiming to reach Coffs over the next few weeks.

A few quick questions for anyone having walked this coast, or any locals:
- What's the best way to deal with big river crossings? e.g. both Tweed and Richmond Rivers are massive, can a water-taxi be organised in advance somehow? Or how likely is it that I can find a local with a tinnie for help getting across?
- For smaller river crossings, have others just "sucked it up" and back-tracked to cross a road bridge, or found some other way to cross them safely?
- I've had a quick look at camping options, there is very little in the way of unpowered sites anywhere (outside the NPs). I'm not keen to pay $100 for a concrete slab(?!). Is stealth camping the only option along here?
- I'll be bringing some food, but also eating along the way. Any suggested cafes or pubs worth visiting?

Any other tips for walking the far northern coast very welcome!

Thanks!

[Warin]

- I've had a quick look at camping options, there is very little in the way of unpowered sites anywhere (outside the NPs). I'm not keen to pay $100 for a concrete slab(?!). Is stealth camping the only option along here?

Some country pubs allow camping ... don't know about the coastal ones.
A stay in a pub should be less than that $100.
Caravan sites may let you squeeze in, unpowered ... small tent one person kind of thing, they don't advertise as they want the $$ people.

PS ... There is a camping map running off OSM data..
https://opencampingmap.org/en/#10/-29.3 ... 18/0/0/bef

[Champion_Munch]

Thanks Warin, that open camping map site is amazing. I'm hoping to keep it flexible, so will probably check in with any local caravan site if I'm near one, and they are happy to squeeze me in on a patch of grass somewhere. I'm guessing that mid-week outside of peak times would probably make it a bit easier to do that. Good to know that's an option too.

[Warin]

[quote="Champion_Munch"]Thanks Warin, that open camping map site is amazing./quote]

It is made to try and improve the mapping of campsites. So if you see stuff that is missing or wrong .. then change it using OSM - the data updates daily in my experience.
The map is actually very useful for planning, though unintended...

[crollsurf]

Hi Champion, I've walked from Coolangatta Airport to Yamba last October and hope to start walking again from Yamba next week. So we might bump into each other, you never know.
When I walked last October a lot of accom was booked out for flood victims but there are plenty of stealth sites to be had, along the longer beaches.
South of Evans Head is a military no go zone. I ended up catching a taxi around it ($80)

No issues with river crossings down to Yamba. From Yamba there are a couple. I'm thinking I should be able to wade/swim/hitch a lift across most.
Sandon River phone 0407 362 118
Wooli River with it's break walls, looks sketchy so ring 0439 409 909 if you think you need to.

A few links you might find interesting:
https://www.facebook.com/nswcoastwalk
https://share.garmin.com/robcroll
https://lighterpack.com/r/86dazy

[Champion_Munch]

Thanks crollsurf, that's super helpful. Looks like you bypassed all the river crossings over bridges or ferries so far.

I'll be doing something very similar to you, planning 4-5 days from GC to Ballina, then 3 days to Iluka, then 5 days from Yamba to Coffs (or as near to Coffs as I can get). I'll be doing in 3 sections so to be home on weekends, catching buses/trains back and forth. Sounds like you'll be well ahead of me if you're starting from Yamba next week, but I'll keep an eye on your FB page for details of upcoming sections.

For the military "no go" zone - I wasn't able to find any confirmation online whether this is accessible or not, via the beach. You made a mention of finding a reference on NPWS saying it is OK to walk through as long as no military operations are scheduled, but I can't find any details about when they are scheduled. I guess walking along the beach should be fine.

[crollsurf]

Fishing mate from around Evans Head has since confirmed you can't walk the beach either, which is a shame.

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[ofuros]

As mentioned above, bypass the military area at Evans Head...anyway you can.

[ofuros]

Tweed Heads to Coffs coastal walk.
A quick question. Just south of Byron...coastal headland section between Broken Head to Jews Point. Do-able at low tide ?

[Champion_Munch]

Hi ofuros,

When I walked through there last year I rock hopped around the headlands from Broken Head Holiday Park as far as Brays Beach, then took the access route from there up to the main road (I had actually intended to walk the coast as far as Whites Beach but wasn't paying attention to the map until I'd already climbed back up). I walked it at close to low tide and would certainly not recommend it at anything other than at or near low tide. It's slow going on the rocks but an amazing stretch of coast with views back north to Byron.

I'm not certain you can navigate Jews Point itself (it looked fairly inaccessible from the northern end of 7 Mile Beach) but you have exit options if you find yourself stranded partway since there are access tracks to both Whites Beach and Brays Beach. There's a great stealth camp site just off the dunes at the northern end of 7 Mile Beach if you find yourself running out of time after all the rock hopping.

Munch

[Champion_Munch]

I've now walked as far south as Smoky Cape, the whole northern coast of NSW is amazing and very much worth walking. If anyone else is considering walking the coast and has any questions I'm happy to try and answer questions or share my experience.

[ofuros]

Thanks for the info, Munch...

[crollsurf]

Hi Champion,
I was wondering how you went crossing the Macleay River?
ATM I'm thinking of catching a taxi from Stuarts Point to SW Rocks because it's looks unlikely anyone would want to risk their boat with those breakwalls

[crollsurf]

Tweed Heads to Coffs coastal walk.
A quick question. Just south of Byron...coastal headland section between Broken Head to Jews Point. Do-able at low tide ?

I stayed at Byron and walked the Cape that afternoon. Which is kind of a must do. The next day, walked the road to Suffolk Park. Followed a track to Broken Head and then followed the road around to the north end of 7 mile.

The road is graded, very nice, and saw zero traffic. Unless you're on a mission, the Seven Mile Beach Road is pleasant enough.

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[ofuros]

Tweed Heads to Coffs coastal walk.
A quick question. Just south of Byron...coastal headland section between Broken Head to Jews Point. Do-able at low tide ?

I stayed at Byron and walked the Cape that afternoon. Which is kind of a must do. The next day, walked the road to Suffolk Park. Followed a track to Broken Head and then followed the road around to the north end of 7 mile.

The road is graded, very nice, and saw zero traffic. Unless you're on a mission, the Seven Mile Beach Road is pleasant enough.

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Thanks Crolly...I was picturing Seven Mile Beach road being busy, it's only a couple of km's long anyway. All good.

[Champion_Munch]

Hi crollsurf,

For the Macleay, I reached out to South West Rocks Estuary Charters who mostly do fishing trips, but (to my surprise) were happy to pick me up from Fisherman's Reach and drop me off just outside SW Rocks. Only $30 also which is good considering the long trip. Much more scenic than a taxi. Matt even came out to pick me up on his day off. Very decent guy.

If you haven't sorted out the Nambucca River yet, check in with the boatshed at Nambucca Heads. While I was walking through town, I popped by to see if they could take me across - apparently they do, but you need to give them a few days' notice, as they usually drop walkers first thing in the morning. Instead I had a long walk via Macksville to Gumma Reserve, where I was able to get a lift across Warrell Creek from a fisherman who was camping there.

The inland bush track through South Beach NP is very pleasant if you can find it from the beach-side. The walking from Scotts Head through to Smoky Cape is some of the nicest scenery I've walked through so far. If you have time, the side-trip to Mt Yarrahappinni is superb and easy to do as the start of the track is near the beach. Just be aware the track has a lot of ups and downs (most of which are steep) so it's tougher than it looks on the map. I did it as a side-trip while walking through to Stuart's Point from Scott's Head, but it's a (very) long day. There's a bush campsite not far from the summit with a reasonable view, if I was to do it again I'd probably camp there (but need to carry water). Or possibly camp at Grassy Head and do it as a day walk.

PS: I benefited a lot on organising logistics from your track notes, thanks for sharing.

[Champion_Munch]

ofuros, do you have a plan for getting around Evans Head?

I had planned to bush bash around the military no-go zone starting on the south side of Evans River around the Gummigurrah walking track, to connect with The Gap Rd. Looks to be only maybe 4-6 km through open forest, depending on exact route.

But when I got there, the walking bridge across the creek was down. They don't appear to be in any rush to re-build it, and I didn't see any warning about it online. The water in the creek isn't very deep but lots of rock oysters deterred me from wading it. The alternative is a long road slog via Woodburn, which I did (but wouldn't recommend). Most of the way there is no road shoulder, no shade and it's basically a highway. I managed to hitch the last 5 km or so to the campsite to avoid a 50 km day. In retrospect I would have probably left my shoes on and waded the creek, and gave the bush-bash route a shot. You would save about 20 km of walking.

Of course you could always just take a taxi, if you're not as pedantic as I am. Don't forget to do the circuit walk around Goanna Headland, it's easy scenic walking.

[ofuros]

ofuros, do you have a plan for getting around Evans Head?

I had planned to bush bash around the military no-go zone starting on the south side of Evans River around the Gummigurrah walking track, to connect with The Gap Rd. Looks to be only maybe 4-6 km through open forest, depending on exact route.

But when I got there, the walking bridge across the creek was down. They don't appear to be in any rush to re-build it, and I didn't see any warning about it online. The water in the creek isn't very deep but lots of rock oysters deterred me from wading it. The alternative is a long road slog via Woodburn, which I did (but wouldn't recommend). Most of the way there is no road shoulder, no shade and it's basically a highway. I managed to hitch the last 5 km or so to the campsite to avoid a 50 km day. In retrospect I would have probably left my shoes on and waded the creek, and gave the bush-bash route a shot. You would save about 20 km of walking.

Of course you could always just take a taxi, if you're not as pedantic as I am. Don't forget to do the circuit walk around Goanna Headland, it's easy scenic walking.

Yes, much the same thoughts as you, Munch...the Beach & North Gate Rd come within the Military zone so they're out.

Gumma Garra track, probably overgrown, looks to be mostly within Np. So I'd give that bushbash shortcut a go.

If your bringing one, Packraft upriver to the bridge or pump station, then walk/hitch along Gap Rd to Black Rocks camp area.
Plenty of water crossings to explore if you want to break up your walking journey.

Hitch to Woodburn bakery for some pastries then onto Gap Rd or the taxi option.

[Champion_Munch]

Good luck ofuros, I'm interested to hear how you go with the bush bashing route. See pic below for the creek crossing to reach Gummigurra tracks (currently closed, or at least it was in Oct 2023).

Shoes for the creek crossing to avoid getting cut feet. Gaiters recommended for the bush bash, it's open forest but looked pretty scrubby.

Hitching the Gap Rd should be easy, it's basically one road into the campground with scattering of farms, so everyone's already headed there anyway. Walking the highway onramps to get there from Woodburn is a bit of an adventure (not the good kind).

[ofuros]

Good luck ofuros, I'm interested to hear how you go with the bush bashing route. See pic below for the creek crossing to reach Gummigurra tracks (currently closed, or at least it was in Oct 2023).

Shoes for the creek crossing to avoid getting cut feet. Gaiters recommended for the bush bash, it's open forest but looked pretty scrubby.

Hitching the Gap Rd should be easy, it's basically one road into the campground with scattering of farms, so everyone's already headed there anyway. Walking the highway onramps to get there from Woodburn is a bit of an adventure (not the good kind).

Out of curiosity, I'll probably check out that section during a day or overnight trip...it's only a couple of hours drive away. I'll post a couple of pics here when I do.

Otherwise the coastal journey will have to wait until the cool season... unless i do it in short sections. I'll be escaping the heat by rockhopping creeks, exploring gorges & chasing waterfalls until then.

[snowygreybeard]

ofuros, do you have a plan for getting around Evans Head?

I had planned to bush bash around the military no-go zone starting on the south side of Evans River around the Gummigurrah walking track, to connect with The Gap Rd. Looks to be only maybe 4-6 km through open forest, depending on exact route.

But when I got there, the walking bridge across the creek was down. They don't appear to be in any rush to re-build it, and I didn't see any warning about it online. The water in the creek isn't very deep but lots of rock oysters deterred me from wading it. The alternative is a long road slog via Woodburn, which I did (but wouldn't recommend). Most of the way there is no road shoulder, no shade and it's basically a highway. I managed to hitch the last 5 km or so to the campsite to avoid a 50 km day. In retrospect I would have probably left my shoes on and waded the creek, and gave the bush-bash route a shot. You would save about 20 km of walking.

Of course you could always just take a taxi, if you're not as pedantic as I am. Don't forget to do the circuit walk around Goanna Headland, it's easy scenic walking.

Couple of options:
1) Gumma Garra - hit low tide and wade across (~waist deep, not flowing) - aim for ridges heading west then SW to Olive Gap Trig, then straight down to the actual Olive Gap on the Gap Rd. Along Gap Rd to at least Jerusalem trail, along to Jerusalem CK for either a swim or scrubbash North to the mouth of Jerusalem Ck (I suspect that is pretty awful). Easy walking from there. Otherwise its Gap Rd all the way to Black Rocks.
2) From Evans Head take the North Gate Rd to where it is marked 'locked' on the topo, or else out towards, a few 100m short of, Gumma Garra. From here head S through lovely open heath then SW to end up on the Gap Rd somewhere near where the cadastral rd is marked about 1k S of Olive Gap. Some good route finding skills required to avoid the worst, nevertheless a recommended route. Then down Gap Rd etc....