New England

Easter 2006

Point Lookout in New England National Park is about 85km East of Armidale and a 6-hour drive from Brisbane. It is perched on the edge of the escarpment with views to the ocean. Kempsey, Macksville and Coffs Harbour can be seen in the distance. We were very lucky to have blue skies for the entire Easter break so we were able to enjoy the incredible views from many vantage points.

I had booked a cabin in the National Park that has 8 bunks, open fire, gas cooker, table and chairs and most important hot showers. Although basic it was clean and comfortable.

We all settled in on Friday morning deciding to have lunch before venturing out exploring. We started with a walk around Point Lookout below the cliff line called Eagles Nest walk which took us to Weeping Rock and through Antarctic Beech forest.

Saturday we walked across Cathedral Rock National Park taking in views from on top of Cathedral Rock, Woolpack Rocks and the Snowy Range. This country is similar to Girraween with more alpine vegetation. After the walk we visited nearby Ebor Falls in Guy Fawkes National Park and we couldn't resist an ice-cream from Ebor store.

Early Sunday morning a few brave souls headed up to Point Lookout for sunrise. It was a little disappointing due to a heavy layer of cloud which only gave us a brief glimpse of the sun appearing.

We combined two circuit walks and a side trip to a lookout on Sunday. We started off on the Lyrebird circuit then ventured out to Wrights Lookout for morning tea amid stunning views over the park and back to Point Lookout. We then dropped down into 5-Day Creek for a circuit walk through some of the most beautiful creek scenery I have ever seen. It was so good I wanted to go around the circuit again. No time for that so we completed the Lyre Bird circuit above the cliff line.

After a quick break at the cabin we drove to Wollomombi Falls in Oxley Wild Rivers National Park to view one of the highest waterfalls in Australia. The Wollomombi and Chandler Falls enter either side of a razorback ridge and join to form the Chandler River. It is very impressive gorge country and worth the drive and walk to the viewing platforms.

We made it back to the cabin for some well-earned nibbles and drinks on the balcony before dark. Thanks for the great company. Barbara Makepeace