Our entry into NSW seemed to almost instantaneously coincide with rain, I swear it was sunny when we left Queensland but as soon as I tyres rolled over the border we were faced with an endless wall of water. Matt rescued a freshwater turtle off the road which seemed to have confused the asphalt with a stream, it was an easy mistake to make. We stopped in Tenterfield for a delicious breakfast in a tiny little cafe that I swear was the only thing open in the entire town, I had earl grey pancakes with berries and Matt had some kind of bacon and egg thing that also looked really nice. Even though the weather was awful we still made the time to visit the biggest cork tree in Australia which seemed to be the main tourist drawcard in the town. We were determined not to let the rain dampen our spirits so we went for a very wet bush walk to Bald Rock and punished ourselves further by hiking in the rain to witness the raging power of Boonoo Boonoo Falls. Soaked to the skin and in desperate need of lunch, we arrived in Glenn Innes where we ended up eating a pie in the servo. I’d found a reasonable looking farm stay style campground just out of town so we headed there through literal rivers of water. The roads had started to flood but I was hoping there would be a warm camp kitchen and some flat ground for us when we arrived. I’d messaged the owners before we’d left and they’d confirmed everything was good to go so I was more than a little annoyed when we showed up and the only person there was a spacey lady that was also camping. She showed us where we could park, and no word of a lie it was underwater and she also didn’t seem to understand why we didn’t want to park our van on a piece of ground with no shelter that was 10cm underwater and next to a rapidly rising creek. Realising we’d almost certainly made a mistake we drove back into town and parked up on a concrete slab in a little caravan park. We made ourselves at home in their camp kitchen, lit a fire, and got on the rums in an attempt to warm up.
The following day the rain had eased a little bit which gave us the opportunity to get back on track and do some more 4WDing. We drove down the Gwydir Highway which had, like so much of this part of the world, been significantly impacted by the black summer fires. It was still beautiful winding through the valley next to the raging river and between lush green farms. We made good time getting into Guy Fawkes River National Park, drove through a hand-cut tunnel, and stopped for lunch in the ghost town of Dalmorton. It was an unpleasant surprise to find that the Chaelundi Road we had planned to take was still closed as the result of fires in 2019 so we had to make a snap decision and change our route to incorporate Nymboi-Binderay National Park. We set up camp in a beautiful rainforest next to yet another river and set about trying and failing to make a fire with the damp wood that was available to us, it was freezing, wet, but so beautiful we didn’t mind too much. The next morning it had cleared a little so I walked around the main camp area and managed to take some brilliant bird photos including a sacred kingfisher. When we were ready to leave Matt opened the bonnet to check the oil level and found that a small possum had been sleeping on our engine last night. So cute!
The weather kept improving as the day went on and we even managed to go for a walk down to the waterfall just outside Dorrigo, I’d say we didn’t get wet but even though it was sunny the falls were heavy and we still got damp from the spray. It wasn’t unpleasant however as we both dried off nicely by the time we got to the town bakery to get some bread for lunch. As we continued along the Waterfall Way drive we experienced bright sunshine intermingled with pea soup fog, the clear patches showed us beautiful rolling hills covered in green paddocks inhabited by fat black-and-white cows. We stopped at Ebor falls for lunch and went for another short walk around the cliffs before making our way into New England National Park. Just before we got to the park entrance Matt spotted a sign for smoked trout so naturally, we had to make a detour to sus it out. After cruising down a dirt road we found ourselves at Dutton Trout Hatchery, before we’d even parked I looked over at the concrete tanks and spotted a huge rainbow trout flopping around on the grass. Matt reefed on the breaks, leapt out of the van, ran over to the flailing fish, and tossed it back into the tank. He almost strutted into the hatchery centre and proudly informed the visitor guide that was behind the desk he’d saved one of their fish. The old mate turned out to be very grateful for the fish rescue and offered to show us around the hatchery. I don’t think I have ever met someone so passionate about fish, he told us all about the insane things he’d done to get down to fishing spots including abseiling with a normal rope off a cliff, showed us all of the more exotic fish they had in their tanks, and proudly declared that he’d been trying to get the trout hatchery job for years and he’d managed to get it 3 months ago. His arms were covered in fishing tattoos and it was just brilliant to meet someone that clearly loved every second of their job, we walked out with smoked trout, dips, and new knowledge of recreational trout fishing in NSW. A little further north we came upon some of the most spectacular rainforests I’ve ever seen and an outstanding viewpoint called Point Lookout. Our final stop for the day and campground for the night was Wollomombi Falls where we briefly admired the 230m cascade before setting up camp and somehow managing to light a blissfully warm fire.
After listening to the falls range all night we decided to complete the 4km waterfall hike the next morning. We were lucky that we’d arrived when we did because judging by the rubbish all over the pedestrian bridges they’d been underwater not that long ago. It was a stunning hike around the edges of the valley with several stops at lookouts to enjoy the views. I have always been a huge fan of Tasmanian waterfalls but I’ve got to say NSW well and truly has Tassie beaten, they’re just so huge and impressive. As we made our way towards our planned stop in Tamworth Matt declared that he had a work meeting and we’d need to stop somewhere for lunch with reception. I thought that Armidale might be a good option so we parked up at the Bicentennial Arboretum and Matt got to work while I crawled around in the grass and finally got some really good photos of grass parrots. I’m glad there weren’t too many people around as I literally spent an hour and a half crawling around on my stomach on a grassed area with my giant camera. Unsurprisingly it started to rain yet again so we parked up in a little caravan park just outside of Tamworth’s CBD where we made the most of some hot showers and an undercover camp kitchen.
Campsite Reviews
Glen Rest Tourist Park – Very cute small town caravan park with a friendly owner and the most vital concrete slab so we didn’t have to step out into the mud. $24pn – 7/10.
Platypus Flat – This area of the national park has recovered so quickly from the fires if there hadn’t been information signs with photos of the destruction I wouldn’t have been believed it had been touched. Situated on the banks of the river with flat sites and free firewood you couldn’t really go wrong. $6pp/pn – 7/10.
Wollomombi Falls – Another of the brilliant NSW national parks with free wood. I really wish more of Australia had this as I feel like there would be a lot less tree vandalism in National Parks if there was chopped wood readily available. $6pp/pn – 8/10.
Tamworth North Holiday Park – Beautiful little caravan park with spotlessly clean showers, toilets, and camp kitchen, The managers were kind and welcoming. $28pn – 8/10.
Matt and Annie's Adventure 