Yuraygir Coastal Walk - self guided, light packs

[Macnut2]

We, a group of eight friends, are planning to walk the Yuraygir Coastal Walk later this year. We wanted to do the walk self guided with light packs and comfortable accommodation. The 4 day/3 night walk is generally promoted as guided or with information for camping in the National Park. The walk though can be done as an "inn to inn" walk with a bit of organisation. Just thought I would post the arrangements we worked out for anyone who might want to undertake this beautiful walk in a little more comfort. The biggest issues we struck were limited overnight accommodation with minimum 2 night stays preferred and how to return to our starting point at the end of the walk. Each of the three villages we will stay at, while small, has a shop or cafe where we can buy breakfast, lunch to carry and dinner. At all of the accommodation we have specifically booked linen so we don't have to carry sleeping bags. Essentially all we will carry is our clothing, water, first aid kit and personal items.
Pre-walk accommodation is at Yamba where we will leave our cars. Plenty of motels, etc, at Yamba so take your pick. Day one we will taxi to start of track at Mara Creek Picnic Area which is only a couple of kms. First day's walk is around 22km to village of Brooms Head. Here we will stay at the Brooms Head General Store holiday apartments which accept one night stays. There are only five one bedroom apartments though so you may need to book well ahead. Day 2, Brooms Head to Minnie Waters, has a river crossing in the middle of the walk at Sandon River which needs to be arranged with the boat operator pre-walk. Accommodation at Minnie Waters is in an ensuite cabin at the Minnie Waters Holiday Park which did accept a one night booking out of school holidays. Day three we walk from Minnie Waters to Wooli where we will stay at the Wooli River Lodges. Day 4 begins with a pre-arranged boat trip to cross the Wooli Wooli River and ends with another boat crossing at Station Creek to get to the village of Red Rock. The second crossing may be tide dependent but we will probably book the boat to be on the safe side.
Red Rock is the end of the track and we couldn't find any transport out which would take us back to Yamba although there is some bus transport to Grafton. We thought about driving down and leaving cars at Red Rock but there is no secure parking and it is a three hour round trip anyway. Fortunately, we found Action Hire Vehicles at Maclean which will pick us up from Red Rock in a minibus and take us back to Yamba at a very reasonable rate.
Another big consideration on this walk is the tides as there is a lot of beach walking but more critically, a couple of rock shelves on days 3 and 4. The rock shelf after the Wooli Wooli River crossing is about 5km and may be impassable in big seas or high tides. Checking the tide charts before you pick your dates is recommended.
For more information on the walk check out NSW National Parks.
Will post a trip report after we see how it all worked out:)

[ofuros]

Thanks for sharing your planning info, Macnut2.
You'll enjoy it, it's lovely coast to explore.

[Macnut2]

Yuraygir Coast Trip Report: August 2016

This walk was a beautiful, varied walk highlighted by rocky headlands and coves, long stretches of beach and some lovely coastal heath walking. We ended up with 11 walkers and a partner with injured knees who walked a stretch with us each day then drove to the next village. This meant we could all stash a bag in the car and walk with just a light day pack. Luxury! Our group was made up of all over 50s with pretty good fitness levels and varying levels of hiking experience. Pre-walk accommodation at Angourie as planned. Accommodation was a short drive from the start of the walk at Mara Creek and the Resort allowed us to leave our cars there over the four days of the walk.

Day 1: 9th August 2016: 18km: The day started with light rain clearing during the day to sunny skies and temps of around 22°. The first few kilometres of the track were through bushland which opened out occasionally onto coastal headlands with views back to Angourie and south down the coast. We stopped for morning tea just after Dirrigan Lookout on a rock platform overlooking Shelley Beach. Signposting from this point, and for most of the way along the track, was scarce, particularly when walking on to and off the beaches and through campgrounds or villages. Signage was a little better in the southern part of National Park. Over the next four days though we often had to stop and consult our map and brochure for directions, explore likely track options or ask locals to find out which way to go. Make sure to take the National Park’s map and brochure and keep them handy along the walk. After morning tea we took to the beach for a few hundred metres before walking up and out through Shelley Headland Camp Ground back onto the bush track through the coastal heath. An East Coast low the week before had brought down quite a few trees along the track but the walking was pretty easy and the track otherwise in good condition. We spotted kangaroos, listened out for birds and kept our eyes peeled for coastal emus. It was also the perfect time of year for whale spotting with the whales still heading north for their annual migration. Around 13km in we reached the campground at Lake Arragan where half a dozen kangaroos and joeys were sunning themselves while we ate our lunch. From Lake Arragan we headed up and around Redcliffe and Grey Cliff camping grounds then down onto the beach for the final 4km into Brooms Head. Our accommodation for the night was basic apartments conveniently located behind the Brooms Head General Store which sold camping supplies, some groceries, coffee and alcohol. It was also opposite the beach so a few of us headed in for a swim. The beach at Brooms is quite sheltered and ideal for a post walk cooling off. For dinner that night we enjoyed hearty Chinese or Thai meals from the Bowling Club about 200m up the road. Very convenient and open for dinner seven days a week. One of our party mentioned to the General Store owner that we would all be keen for breakfast in the morning. The Store kindly telephoned the owner of the beachfront Snacky Shack who said they would be happy to open up at 7:30 for us instead of the usual 9am.

Day 2: 19km: After bacon and egg rolls and coffee at the Snacky Shack, we stepped back down onto the beach for the 8km walk to Sandon River, the first of our river crossings and the one which posed the most difficulty in organising. Although the National Parks brochure listed contact numbers for the three river crossings, only one of those listed was still actually in operation. After a bit of phoning around, we managed to find a friend of a friend who had a boat and a holiday house at Sandon. We had thought we may be able to just paddle our gear across on a stand-up paddle board or similar but once we reached the river we realised that would have been pretty difficult. The crossing was about 80m wide, deep, choppy and fast-flowing on an outgoing tide. With 11 of us making the crossing, we were glad to have organised the boat and we were all across in two trips. We managed to get ourselves a bit lost in the two street town of Sandon, unsure whether to head down onto the beach, up a couple of likely looking tracks or out of town. Out of town it was, along the four-wheel-drive track (the only way into Sandon) until a gate across the track, and then a left turn finally leading to stairs going down onto the beach. Once down on the beach it was a straight 10 km hike into a brisk southerly. It was beautiful walking on firm sand and we spread out along the beach until we met up again at Minnie Water, our stop for the night. We had phoned ahead to the Minnie Water Store to order meals for the night which we picked up and took back to the Minnie Water Holiday Park (about 1 km out from the beach) where we had booked out all six cabins. Then back down to the beach for a swim in a beautifully sheltered cove just next to the main beach. That evening we all gathered around the barbecue area in the centre of our cabins for a few drinks and dinner. Our Thai green chicken curry or lamb shanks on mash from the Store was delicious. The Store is set up for campers and walkers with yummy cakes, groceries, organic trail mix and for those so inclined a good range of wine, cider and beer.

Day 3: 14-16km: Back to the Minnie Water Store for a cooked breakfast, packed lunch at a few photos before heading off again down onto the beach, then up to Melaleuca Park and the walking track. A short walk through the bush and stairs took us down on to Back Beach for about 5 km of beach walking and a small rock platform. The day was warm and sunny and without the wind in our faces of the day before. By the time we got to Diggers Camp we were ready for morning tea and a swim at this protected little corner. As this was a short day we relaxed here for an hour or so. From Diggers Camp we climbed the stairs up to Bookroom Camping Area, making our way across the headland to Wilsons Headland Picnic Area. From here it was down onto the beach again for what looked like a long stretch to Wooli, around 6.5km. Once again we had firm sand on a low tide. Although we’d been given directions to our accommodation for the night we overshot by about 2 km as the township of Wooli stretches narrowly along the coast and is mostly hidden by sand dunes. We should have turned off less than half way down the beach. Some of our party walked ahead all the way to the river and had to backtrack about 4 km. We were all pretty glad to arrive at Wooli River Lodges after what turned out to be a longer day than the easy 12km we had estimated (If staying here, ask Margie to email you a mud map of the short cut to the Lodges). The lodges were very comfortably appointed with lovely decks overlooking the pool and river. This was luxury end of our accommodation but not budget breaking. Even better the lodges are only 100m from the pub where we had an early dinner.

Day 4: 14km: Today was a day with two river crossings bookending the day. We had organised our first crossing with Bruce the Boatman (contact listed on the NP brochure) for 8am and we walked the couple of kilometres from our accommodation along the river for our pickup. We could have been picked up at our accommodation for a longer boat trip but with so many in our party we opted for two short hops across the river mouth. The walking today would be the most challenging with a 5 km rock shelf sandwiched between stretches of beach. The brochure had warned that this section must be walked at low tide and we had planned our walking dates to hit the shelf on an outgoing to low tide. The timing was perfect and we certainly found that this section deserved its level 4 grading. The shelf is made up of rock which had been pushed up vertically so you are often walking along sharp, narrow bands of rock. There is no “track” so it is a matter of finding the best route above the water line and below the cliffs. The shelf is interspersed with small, soft, sloping coves which also made for hard going. We took about 2/12 to 3 hours to walk the whole rock shelf, staying together as much as possible and waiting for those who might be a little slower over the climbing sections. At the end of the shelf is Freshwater Beach which sloped fairly steeply and was soft sand even at low tide. It was a short stretch though and then we were soon up and over the headland to Pebbly Beach and Station Creek Camp Ground. The beach and the camp ground. At the end of the camp ground we spread out trying to find the shallow crossing for Station Creek. No signage. Once found, we all took off our shoes for the wade across which was only about knee deep. Many of us left our shoes off as we rounded the sand dunes for the final 5km beach walk to the Corindi River and Red Rock. Back to firm sand for this stretch. We had organised our boat trip across the Corindi River with the Red Rock Holiday Park and I had phoned then a couple of times during the day to let them know our progress. We were met just around the corner into the river and delivered to steps straight in front of the Red Rock General Store. Our minibus from Action Hire Vehicles (Maclean and Grafton) was already there waiting for us at the carpark but the drivers were more than happy for us to order some lunch from the General Store and get ourselves sorted for the trip back up the coast. An hour bus ride later and we were dropped off at our cars at Angourie.

Trip Tips: The boat trips were the most difficult aspect of the trip to organise. Check with National Parks to see if there is anyone available for the Sandon River crossing. If you are on your own or only a couple you may strike it lucky at Sandon as there seemed to be quite a few fishers around the campground. Bruce the Boatman and Red Rock Holiday Park seem to be well set up for the last day river crossings. We chose the accommodation largely on the basis that they would allow one night stays. Most we contacted required 2 nights or more. Location near a store or somewhere to eat dinner was also a consideration. The Yuraygir Coastal Walk takes in about 45km of beach walking so think about footwear that doesn’t allow sand in. Trail runners or hiking shoes are both fine and our group wore a mix of these. We chose the cooler months and found the walking temperatures were perfect. Summer would be pretty hot for walking such long open stretches of beach.

We all live only an hour from the start of the walk so knew a bit about the area and were able to drive to the start of the track. If the logistics sound a bit daunting, Adrian from Yuraygir Walking Experiences might be the way to go. They offer all sorts of packages from minimal transport support to fully guided. Adrian was really helpful even though we didn’t use any services in the end.