Car touring Coffs Hinterland and cycle touring Coffs Creek

We decided on a “Crafty” tourist drive, on a circuit to and from Dorrigo to the West of Coff’s Harbour, today but we were too early for the Big Banana, got our days mixed up for Georges Goldmine and missed craft shops because they were closed midweek.

Finally we decided to head to Dorrigo on a track we didn’t know was going to be dirt, narrow, steep and fully equipped with logging trucks. Basically the trip didn’t start well.

It was very scenic though [see photos], we saw Dangar Waterfall [photo], we had lunch in a quaint old Cafe in Dorrigo, we went out the tree top walk at Dorrigo National Park for magnificent views [photo].

Dorrigo State Forest

Dangar Falls Dorigo Drive

Dorigo State Forest Skywalk

Followed by this was Griffiths Mountain Top Lookout for great views again with many rows of ridges off into the distance .

Griffiths Mountain Lookout

The pastures here are over the top lush with many different colours of fat cows with calves grazing happily. There appears to be no water problem at all in this area, dams are full and waterfalls big. They get over 2500mm of rain a year.

Bellingen was our next stop and we found a magnificent Gelato shop which bettered our Rome Gelato experience.

There was also the beautiful old “Hammond and Wheatley Emporium” [photo], which now sells very expensive clothing, shoes, homewares and accessories.

Bellingen Emporium

Bellingen Emporium [Internal]

Bellingen is a quaint old town which has become a tourist drawcard with craft and artisan outlets in the town and there is also a converted butter factory just outside of the town which has been turned into an Arts and Craft Complex.

We returned to the caravan park after a very long day touring the above route and topped off our day with a 12k ride around Coffs Creek Walkway mainly on rough dirt tracks and timber walkways through the bush and wetlands.

Coffs Creek Walk – Cycle Track

Coffs Creek Walk – Mangrove Boardwalk