Day 4: Take your time

Text and photosGreg Keaney

In this article Greg recounts the 4th stage of the coast walk; 8 days and 167 km from Coffs Harbour to Port Macquarie.

Introduction

8 days - 167 km

I’m doing a ‘thousand mile, thousand beaches’ NSW coastal ‘Camino’, aiming to walk every beach and every headland of this magnificent coast. I do the walk in stages and this article recounts Stage 4 from Coffs Harbour to Port Macquarie on the Hastings River. The stage took me 8 days of moderate walking with a few majestic water crossings, lots of spectacular headlands and, of course, a plethora of long, lonely, stunning, isolated beaches.

Day 1: Coffs Harbour and Sawtell to Urunga

19km, 6 hours (with a kayak crossing of the mouth of the Bellinger and Kalang Rivers)

Sawtell was the jumping off point for the first full day of this stage after a short saunter the previous afternoon along Gallows and Boambee Beaches. Because of repairs to the pedestrian bridge at Boambee, I had to do this as an ‘out and back’, although by the time

of publication the Boambee Bridge crossing should be well and truly repaired, and this section could be done as a through walk.

This first day of walking (and kayaking) was a day to remember. Started with a perfect sunrise at Bonville Lookout at Sawtell after a ‘first light’ stroll along the beach. Then it was down to Bonville Creek to find a way across.

I’ve written before about the momentous ‘first step’ thing – but a cold-water, chest deep crossing in the middle of winter with an icy wind blowing became more of an enterprise than a step. I ‘cased the joint’ a lot more than was required for what was, ultimately, a fairly straightforward crossing near the stairs, creekside of the Caravan Park.

After the crossing of Bonville Creek was complete, I re-robed and stepped onto a perfect span of isolated beach. First was a lovely 7km stretch of sand along Bonville and Bongil Beaches. I arrived at beautiful Bundagen Headland, where Bundageree Creek enters the sea coastside of the 'intentional' community there. The Bundagen

Corambirra Point from Boambee Beach

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cooperative/commune was established in 1981, and it seemed, from my quick walk through, to be a mighty fine group of folk living in a superb location and treating their profound blessings with deep respect.

I next made my way along beautifully isolated North Beach which extends for about 9km from Bundageree Creek to the northern entrance wall of the Bellinger River. I diverted to the Bongil track for a short distance to see Tuckers Cottage and the Bluff Lookout before returning to the sand and a view of Tuckers Rock. Mr Tucker has a cottage, a rock, a nob and an island named after him – not bad for a cedar getter working in the Bellinger valley in the 1860s! He must have been an enterprising chap along with a misguided, imperial belief in ‘terra nullius’.

After a café lunch in the pretty riverside town of Mylestom, I walked to the mouth of the Bellinger and Kalang Rivers, where my ‘legendary’ mate, Garry, had carefully towed a spare kayak across the river mouths to pick me up. It was a slightly challenging paddle across the rivers, with the combination of an

Day 1: Sawtell Beach from Bonville Head Lookout

Day 1: Made it across chilly Bonville Creek

Day 1: North Beach (Bundageree)

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incoming tide, a big swell and a very strong wind (as well as the two submerged rock walls that are supposed to 'train' the rivers but can be precarious for a novice kayaker like me). I was happy (and relieved) to get across without any real dramas and it was a wonderful way to complete the day's walk. Anyone planning to do this part of the walk without a mate with a spare kayak might note that it is also possible to catch a bus around the river mouths at 2.30 pm on weekdays from Mylestom to Urunga.

I stayed the night in Urunga at the historic Ocean View Hotel. It was a perfect pub for my needs. It has been tastefully renovated but it remains wonderfully ‘old school’ and must be one of the most reasonably priced accommodation options on the coast at only $50 a room the night I stayed (telephone bookings only). A hot meal, a cold beer and an extremely satisfied coastal pilgrim.

Day 2: Urunga to Nambucca Heads

22km, 6 hours

I checked the weather app before setting out and was a little concerned about the predicted 40 knot (70 km/h) southerly winds. I left at first light and when I got to the magnificent 3km Urunga footbridge all was perfectly calm.

Day 2: Urunga Boardwalk

Day 1: Mylestom

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Day 2: Schnapper Beach

There's a moral there somewhere – the early bird gets the worm, don't believe everything you read, always look on the bright side of life... or, maybe, I'm just a lucky fellow and the gods and goddesses of wind and waves and weather looked kindly on their wandering coastal pilgrim.

Urunga means 'long white sands' in the language of the local Gumbaynggirr people, and I loved its amazing boardwalk (which would make a fine walk in and of itself) and its long and white(-ish) sands. Urunga Beach becomes Hungry Head and then Schnapper Beach before lovely Wenonah Head. After rounding the headland, North Valla Beach

stretched 6km southwards to Valla Head and then Mid and South Valla and Hyland Beaches extended a further 5km to Nambucca Heads Main Beach. Beilbys and Shelly Beaches and Wellington Rocks completed the day’s coast walk, before a pleasant denouement along the V wall and its many painted stones on the northern shore of the Nambucca River.

The wind did pick up considerably as the day went on, but the many small headlands and rocky outcrops between Urunga and Nambucca provided some shelter as well as perfect views and resting spots along the way. Beach walking is definitely more difficult into

Day 2: Great spot for a rest

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Day 3: Tinny across the Nambucca River

the teeth of the wind but, combined with a dramatic southerly swell, it does add plenty of ‘action’ to the scenery.

There were no real obstacles on this day of the walk, especially at the bottom of the tide. It was shoes off for a knee-deep wade at Deep Creek, Valla, which seemed to amuse the resident pelicans. It was a particularly beautiful stroll from Valla to Nambucca, although I note that this would be a much more difficult walk up in the dunes at a full tide. There are parallel fire trails in the swale behind the dunes, but these are very soft sand and would be much more taxing than the walk in the 'goldilocks zone' of firm wet sand near the water.

I spent the night at Garry's in Valla, who, as well as being a wonderful kayak coach, was also a great source of information about this part of the coast.

Day 3: Nambucca Heads to Scotts Head

15 km (and a boat ride across the Nambucca River)

Day 3 was another superb day's saunter for an extremely contented coastal pilgrim.

I started the day with a 'tinny' boat ride across the gorgeous Nambucca River. Shoutout to Grant and Nambucca Boatshed & Cafe for a perfect way to cross, even in less than ideal conditions. The boat ride is a great investment at $25 and once across the river, pristine South Beach awaits. It has to be one of the finest wild beaches on the coast. Sea and shorebirds everywhere, pelicans and gannets, terns and little terns and pied oyster catchers and a pair of my totem bird for the coast walk, the white-bellied sea eagle. Sensational!

South Beach (also somewhat confusingly called Forster Beach on Google Maps) is one in a series of longish beaches on this part of coast. It’s about 12km long and faces southeast for much of the way from the Nambucca River mouth, before sweeping around to face north in the lee of Scotts Head. Warrell Creek runs parallel for most of its length and there are no crossing points until Scotts Head – so once you cross the Nambucca River you are absolutely and completely committed!

Day 3: South Beach towards Scotts Head

Day 2: North Valla

Day 3: South Beach looking back to Nambucca Heads

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With no road access or housing anywhere north of Scotts Head, there was not a soul around - just a perfect, perfect stretch of beach melding into Scotts Head Main Beach. It might not be quite as idyllic in peak season, as there is 4WD access at the southern end of the beach, but simply perfect for my meander in the winter sunshine. It was a little less than my usual quota so I took my time (well, I always do - it's all about the journey as the self-help books relentlessly remind us).

It was still quite windy, along with a powerful southerly swell. It was great to have a bit of dramatic wind and ocean, ‘Sturm und Drang’ sensory overload to accompany a solitary saunterer, even though it did seem to push the whales a lot further offshore and made the walking a tad chillier and more demanding.

Scotts Head is a gorgeous coastal holiday spot and a bit of a surfing mecca when the conditions are right. I stayed in a beautiful Airbnb granny flat. After a day of southerly gales in my face, a long, hot bath and nice cold beer went down very well indeed!

Day 4: Scotts Head to South West Rocks

22km, 9 hours

Day 4 was a day of mighty swells and cliffs and winds and beaches and rivers. Dramatic, intense and thrilling don't even come close!

Heading south from 100m high Scotts Head the coast feels incredibly wild, despite the houses perched bravely on a few of the clifftops. The winds and thunderous swells made the rock platforms along the way a bit precarious, but it was absolutely top notch sauntering.

On a day of such magnificence, it’s hard to select particular highlights but the newish Goanna trail which starts from Waki Beach just south of Scotts Head certainly makes the

Day 4: Little Beach

Day 4: Walking to Waki

Day 4: Sunshine on my shoulders

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Day 4: Another great view on the Goanna Trail

Day 4: Follow the pink ribbons and all will be well…

cutoff. (Note that Waki Beach is not named on Google Maps, but it is immediately to the south of Little Beach). I’d also like to give a shoutout to Wayne, a perfect Airbnb host, who checked the walk out, took numerous pics of the signage, confirmed details with his surfer son and thus put me onto the trail after I had mentioned my plans the previous afternoon. Thanks Wayne, deeply appreciated. While the natural beauty of our coast is the main driver of my walk, I equally love the interactions with so many great folk along the way - everyone's in a kind and generous mood at the beach!

The Goanna Trail is an absolutely stunning cliff top walk, probably grade 5 in difficulty, if not length, but some of the best benches in perfect viewing spots I have seen on the coast so far. There is interesting interpretive signage and pink ribbons where needed (put in place by the local hiking group I believe) to guide you through the trickier bits. Just incredible walking and views and probably one of the best 1-2 hour walks on the coast. For anyone in the neighbourhood this is a coast walk to get the heart (and soul) pumping!

The Goanna trail comes out onto Middle Beach with a 2km stroll to Middle Head. This smallish headland represented a bit of a challenge with rock climbs and descents and some dense bush - once again some thoughtful pink ribbons were a guide, but it was very slow going. If it proved too difficult, note that it is also possible to walk back to Grassy Head Road about a km from the headland, and then walk via the road to 'Scratchies' (because you have to scratch around to catch a wave there) and the northern end of Grassy Beach. Grassy Beach had some perfect waves in the lee of Grassy Head today, but definitely for expert surfers only. Waves were huge and powerful, and I winced several times watching some brave (or foolhardy) locals getting gloriously ‘chundered’!

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Day 4: Middle Head with Pandanus

Day 4: Footbridge across the Macleay Arm near Stuarts Point

There were a few friendly folks in 4WDs cruising the beach or parked up for fishing, but otherwise it was just the firm, flat sand, the incredible Pacific Ocean (not so pacific today) and moi.

I was pretty exhausted by the time I arrived at magical Hat Head, where I stayed for the night in a quaint little 'container' Airbnb. It had a gorgeous outdoor bath with a wonderful view of the night sky. It was crystal clear and the Milky Way was 'full fat unpasteurised'. I soaked in the hot water looking at the amazing starry, starry night and reflected on another magnificent day on the Dreamtime to Eden quest while pondering the classic Tolkien quote, 'Not all those who wander are lost'. I looked forward to the morrow’s walk from Hat Head to Crescent Head with even more sacred coast to celebrate on the way to one of Australia's top surfing spots. Lucky me!

Day 6: Hat Head to Crescent Head

22km, 7 hours

I don't want to sound too much like the 'everything is awesome' Lego guy but wow! Day 6 was just another ‘to die for’ batch of headlands and beaches. I started out with the 3 km Korogoro track around the 'head' of Hat Head. It was another exceptionally scenic clifftop walk with plenty of kangaroos to add to the magic. The track is listed as grade 4 but there was nothing too difficult for anyone

of average fitness, although hiking shoes or trainers with decent grip would be highly recommended.

I then moved on to the Connors track which was more 'oscar winning' material. I ambled past perfect O'Connors Beach and Kemps

Day 5: Hat Head

Day 6: Korogoro Track

Day 6: Third Beach, Connors Track

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Day 6: Looking south from Hungry Gate over Killick Beach

Corner before touching down on the gentle sands of Hungry Gate and Killick Beach. The signage for Connors walk says 6.7km return but I would suggest planning plenty of extra time as it's a headland walk not to be missed.

I had lunch at the northern tip of 14km long Killick Beach and then had a long afternoon beach stroll past the Hat Head sand dunes, Ryan's Cut, Richardson's Crossing and Killlick Creek before finally wending my way to Crescent Head where I was stopping for the night.

Once again, I was accompanied over the headland and onto the beach by a beautiful pair of sea eagles who put on a bit of a swooping mating show just for me. It was just like those on the nature documentaries with their perfectly synchronised, entwined soaring and gliding and diving and avian acrobatics... what a thrill!

I have been to Crescent Head many times over the years, as it is a renowned surfing destination, but it is always good to be back, and it somehow felt very different arriving by foot after many leagues of lonely beach (a league is the distance a person can walk in an hour – 3 miles or 4.5km – and I find this ‘archaic’ measure of distance to be really useful in my mental planning). There’s a lot to be said for moving at the speed that we were built for.

The southerly wind started to drop over the day which made the sauntering much easier. While I had appreciated the drama provided by the strong, chilly southerly winds over the previous few days, it had also made the walking a bit more tiring, so I was glad for a return to 'normal' north coast weather. It was a useful learning experience for me though, as I had not previously taken wind much into account when planning my walks – a detail I’ll note for future stages.

Day 7: Crescent Head to Point Plomer

19 km, 6 hours

On Day 7 everything was still awesome. I had a morning stroll up Little Nobby and then Big Nobby, waiting for the tide to ebb a little before setting off to Goolawah Beach via Goolawah track.

Day 6: Crescent Head – don’t forget your second wind!

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When I do this walk all again (!) I’ve made a note to myself that there is a newly made track below the Big Nobby lookout at Crescent Head. It is just down the road southward and beachward - with the track entrance near the telegraph poles on the left. Unfortunately I only found it once I had already made beachfall via the road.

Goolawah was another fine long stretch of sand, with views south to Racecourse Headland. It’s about 7km of sand from Crescent Head to magic Racecourse Headland where the track around the head is another ‘to die for' short cliff top walk. From there it was a comfortable beach walk past Delicate Nobby with a stop at the great little cafe at Waves Campground and then on to Big Hill. Big Hill had a pretty loop walk that combined great views with a pretty stretch of littoral rainforest.

There were sheer cliffs on the southside of Big Hill so I returned for a short walk along Point Plomer Rd to the turn off to One Palm Beach. A small beach that packs a big punch. What a place! Dramatic cliffs on both sides, the huge sea thundering in, and a cute little cove that is just splendiferous.

Day 7: A crack in the matrix at Racecourse Head

Day 7: One Palm Beach

Day 7: Delicate Nobby

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Getting down to the beach was not for the faint hearted and climbing up the steep, steep incline pretty much wore me out. I was just congratulating myself and thinking 'not too bad for an old bloke' when I moved over the headland to see a group of rock fishermen of a similar vintage perched precariously on isolated rocks surrounded by the mean roaring swells. Getting there would have involved serious, serious scrambles and rock climbing surrounded by crashing waves. Those fish must be really tasty to make it worth the danger. As a non-fisher it seems to me you've never known a crazy risk-taker until you've met a fanatic who's into rock fishing - the recreational activity where courage meets insanity!

I stayed the night at Point Plomer campground in a primo little cabin with a balcony looking north up the coast from whence I had come. Just sensational!

Day 8: Point Plomer to Port Macquarie

18km, 7 hours

I had always wondered what was 'up the 4WD track' between Port Macquarie and Point Plomer so it was a pleasure on the last day of this stage to finally see it for myself. I started with a glorious dawn walk around the 'point' of Point Plomer to its beautiful lookout with breaching whales and diving seabirds combining to bring up the majestic sun.

I waited till mid-morning due to the tides then made my way across to Back Beach, past some amazing sea caves followed by rounding Queens Head and its superb lookout at the tip, with a fine view of some gun surfers making the most of the ideal conditions.

Day 7: Looking towards Point Plomer

Day 8: Point Plomer sunrise

Day 8: Point Plomer Lookout

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It was a final, almost melancholic, meander along the 14km of North Shore Beach to Pelican Point. With a few perfect driftwood logs to rest on (and a ‘community’ table and chairs not far from the southern end) it was a reflective stroll to the northern breakwater of the Hastings. I then wandered a little up the river to the car ferry to take me across from Settlement Point to Port Macquarie, the southern bookend of this section.

Conclusion

There is something reverential about traversing all these beaches and headlands on foot. Just as our bodies struggle with ultra-processed foods, our minds need a gentler, more natural pace and rhythm for optimal travel rather than the stress and strain and whir and rush of automobiles and aeroplanes.

I just love sitting on a headland, or a piece of driftwood or a firm sandbar in the middle of a long, lonely beach and feeling a part of something much greater than myself. Without being too philosophical, I think many of us find this kind of peace in the bush or on the beach or in the mountains, where everything is quiet and pure and natural and 'just so'. It is a state of mind that lingers and something I

Day 8: North Shore Beach

Day 8: The ‘chop’

Day 8: Queens Head Lookout

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