Yuraygir Coastal Walk

[Naturejourney]

Hi!

Just spent last week walking North to South along the Yuraygir Coastal Walk. A 65km walk along mostly beach, some heathland/headland and a little rock platform climbing/walking.

This walk is usually done in 4 days but I decided to take it slow this time and took 4.5 days, 4 nights on the trail.

It is an easy walk if you plan well and the weather is on your side. Luckily I had lovely Autumn sunshine. I had a lot of head on wind all the way from Lake Arragon via brooms head to Sandon which meant my head was down. Also as the tide was slightly up I had to wade a creek just before reaching Brooms.

I drove my car to Red Rock and left it at a friends place. Essentially it takes 3 buses to get from Red Rock to Yamba and the timetable was a little different being school holidays. The bus companies are happy to help you if you just give them a call.

Instead of getting the 7:35Am bus from Red Rock to Corindi I got a lift with the cano ground manager then took the 8:15 Ryans bus to Grafton getting of at Coles car park south Grafton. Then walked through the car park to the back of the shops and waited for the 9:20AM 380 busways bus to Yamba. The drivers were both really nice. The 380 driver took me all the way to the Angourie headland carpark and dropped me off.

My Itinerary:
Day 1 - Angourie to Lake Arragon 13km
Day 2 - Lake Arragon to Sandon River Camping Area 13km
Day 3 - Sandon to Boorkoom Camping Area 17.5km
Day 4 - Boorkoom to Pebbly Beach Camping Area 13km
Day 5 - Pebbly to Red Rock 5.4km

River Crossings

Sandon River by Kayak. Luckily it was School holidays. I approached a lovely family and borrowed one of their Kayaks in the early morning after camping at Sandon River Camping area. They double the Kayak back.
Wooli Wooli River by Boat. Contact Lovely Bruce to get you across. He leaves from near the Skate park and takes you the 3km down stream to the crossing. $10 per person with a minimum of $20 for just one person.
Corindi Creek at Red Rock. Tide was on it's way in so I just waded out a little and waved down some people boating out in their RIB. They came back and got us with two boats and took us across.

Unless you are in super off peak time and no one is around at all I think you would be pretty safe to not worry to much about planning your crossings.

Wooli - Bruce 0439409909
Red Rock - Nico 0403015412


General Stores
Basic resupply

Brooms Head - coffee available
Minnie Water - coffee available
Wooli - Wooli has a fish and chip shop and if you walk further down on the other parallel rd you will come across a nice fancy mod cafe called little fish. Almond croissants, smashed avo with fetta on sourdough and iced coffee on offer as well as many other treats if thats your thing.
Red Rock

The signage along the way was not very clear. Though you don't need to many markers as you are mostly following the beach south. Just as you head out of Sandon, if you intend to walk the 4wd track for 10km stick to the right about 3 times. There are no markers here. You will pass around a padlocked gate and soon come to a Road Closed sign which means you stick to the right. Watch out! I got completely eaten alive by mozzies in here. I don't usually get bitten but these things welted up and became so insanely itchy. Days later I am still applying Thursday Plantation tea tree oil cream.

Just before Pebbly Beach there is a marker on your right which points straight ahead. If you wish to continue walking on the rock formations which are amazing then fine but actually it is RIGHT that you need to go, up the steps past the wooden seat and then to your left up over the headland before arriving to Pebbly Beach Camping area.

I met two friends half way through my walk in minnie and we continued on together. We had a lovely slow walk, usually I am off and knocking off the k's. At Wooli we ate at the cafe, rested and lay in the sun by the river edge, told takes of past adventures and waited for our lift across the river.

If you plan this in, Shelley headland is a gorgeous place to stop and camp and is free, with no car access. All other NP Campsites are $12 per adult per night and if you are meeting a car the car will be $8 per night/day.

I think that's all the info i wanted to share. let me know if you have any questions.

[ofuros]

Thanks for sharing all that info, Naturejourney.
Glad you enjoyed your coastal adventure.

[TerraMer]

Great post! Very helpful information. I walked through the bushland of Yuraygir following fire trails and 4wd tracks. I have been planning to do the coast walk this year and now I am more relaxed about the water crossings. Thank you

[Pink Cap]

I’m keen to do this walk in July. Since I’m walking alone I was planning to do the distance in several out and back stages, driving to each place and not carrying much. From what I’ve read this seems a feasible itinerary: Lake Arragan to Sandon and back, Minnie Water to Little Pebbly and back, Minnie Water to Wooli and back, Red Rock to Wooli River south side and back. My question is, does anyone know if it is ok to wade or swim the river at Red Rock? I can plan to do one direction at low tide but not both (unless I sit and wait a long while). I checked with the Ranger and there is no boat at Red Rock, and its not economical for me to do the crossing both ways at Wooli.

[DavidB]

Like you I'm doing this walk with a few others at the end of August. And like you I've been trying to find out about the crossing of the Corindi River at Red Rock. After several enquiries including some good help from one of the local bushwalking clubs, the advice can be summed up as cross the river at low tide near the boat ramp. Failing that try and hitch a lift with a passing boat.

If I find out anything more I'll post it here.

[Pink Cap]

I have now had my (largely successful) attempt at this walk. I did a series of 6 day walks, all either out and back or a loop and avoiding any river crossings. I heard from other walkers that Wooli River can't be crossed atm. Sandon River didn't look too scary and Corindi River looked like no problem at low tide for a wade. But the northern section of the walk is closed (to Lake Arragan) but you can walk on the beach some of this. The beach walking is out of this world and the trails behind the dunes also fun.

[Pink Cap]

I should clarify how I did the Wooli to Corindi River stretch without crossing a river. Firstly I didn't have time to do the whole thing. I aimed to drive down to Station Creek campsite on the dirt road off the motorway and then hike in 2 directions, but you can only get within 7 kms of the beach in a 2WD as there has been a landslip on the 2WD road. So I parked where the road is closed and jogged to the beach to walk this section but I ran out of time (and energy since this added 15 km to my day).

[yeverett]

We walked Yuraygir last year, its a beautiful coastal walk - wriite up with our logistics etc is here https://sydneysolesisters.org/yuraygir-coastal-walk/
My tip of the day, is to consider continuing on towards Coffs Harbour on the Solitary Islands Coastal Walk - there is no reason to stop at Red Rock if you are having fun!

[DavidB]

I've spoken to the fellow who does the Wooli River crossing and he's still taking people across. His phone no is the one on the NPWS webpage.

[DavidB]

Hi Yeverett

Great walk report. Looks like you found someone to help cross the Corindi River. Was that just a passing boat or someone who does it on a regular basis?

Cheers
David

[ofuros]

I like the idea of adding on the Solitary Islands for a longer coastal walk.
Catching a Coffs - Yamba bus to return to the car.
I'll put it on sun, sea & sand to-do list.

[gbagua]

I got a question about the section "Wooli to Red Rock."

The track notes I got are:

The trail itself is rock scrambling for about half of it, then beach walking on Pebbly Beach the other half. Both are tough & sturdy boots are recommended. The scenery here is stunning. You must do the rocky section at low tide or you will have to go up over the headland numerous times.

How do I find the exact tides to avoid walking up on the headland?

Cheers!

[johnw]

How do I find the exact tides to avoid walking up on the headland?

I don't know the walk except for reports by others. But Willyweather is often useful for that type of thing:

Wooli Beach
https://tides.willyweather.com.au/nsw/mid-north-coast/wooli-beach.html

Pebbly Beach
https://tides.willyweather.com.au/nsw/far-north-coast/pebbly-beach.html

Red Rock
https://tides.willyweather.com.au/nsw/mid-north-coast/red-rock.html

There may be other locations in between those spots you want to research.

[DavidB]

Or the BOM http://www.bom.gov.au/australia/tides/

[johnw]

Or the BOM http://www.bom.gov.au/australia/tides/

BOM doesn't list the locations required, or am I looking in the wrong place?

[DavidB]

You don't need to overcook this. I did the Yuraygir Walk a few years back and the Yamba tides were good enough for me. Did Wolli to Red Rock no problem.

[gbagua]

Thanks guys.

DavidB, so the beach walk is doable on high tide in that particular spot, right?

[DavidB]

I try to avoid beach walking at high tide as the sand at the top of the beach is softer and it is much harder walking. That said if you are doing a long walk over 100km or so at some point it will be hard to avoid walking on a beach at high tide. So I generally stop and wait for for the tide to drop. My preferred walking is to do the long beaches on a morning falling tide. Of course beach sand morphology varies and some beaches have what seems to be soft sand so the tide is less of an influence. I do recall the walk into Wooli was hard work along the beach as the sand seemed to be softer even though it was a low tide.

[gbagua]

I'll have to defer this one for mid-April or so when weather cools off a bit. Also want to do the whole thing: Angourie to Red Rock.

Not planning to sleep anywhere outdoors, too much sand, lol. I don't mind it while exercising hate it for anything else especially having a nice down bag littered with sand.

My question is where is accomodation available along the walk? My plan is a 3-day walk and will carry only liquid and food for the day. Expected aided river crossing at Wooli (hopefully a fisho passing by, alternatively call the guy who charges for the service with his dingy).

Cheers!

[Warin]

My question is where is accomodation available along the walk?

https://www.trailhiking.com.au/hikes/yu ... tal-trail/
Looks like a caravan park at the end of each 6 day walk itinerary. Caravan Parks these days usually have onsite cabins...
Of course you may find other accommodation a bit further away...

----- edit..
The post above on Mon 20 Jul, 2020 10:28 am has some accommodation detail ... maybe you should read it?

[gbagua]

Thanks for the links. I didn't check the SsS blog.Very helpful.

[gbagua]

When do temperatures start to cool down in that area of NSW. Don't want to carry any warm clothes for night time; I'm still thinking in summer mode.

[crollsurf]

When do temperatures start to cool down in that area of NSW. Don't want to carry any warm clothes for night time; I'm still thinking in summer mode.

It's aleady started cooling down. I hope to walk it towards the end of the month. You can see past weather observations here http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/dwo/202203/html/IDCJDW2149.202203.shtml Just scroll down a bit to see month by month.
Still warm/hot during the day, but there is normally a sea breeze, so should be comfortable most days. Ocean temps will start to cool off in May if you want a swim.

Clothing wise, I'll be wearing shorts and t-shirt (and sun screen) and carrying a long sleeve shirt, wind pants and a rain jacket. Sleeping: tent, mat and 10C quilt. Anyway you can see my full gear list here https://lighterpack.com/r/86dazy. This is the same setup I used in October walking from Coolangatta to Yamba.

I'm not bothering taking any cooking gear because I'm planning to walk past Red Rock and there are towns all the way down the coast.

Best tip I can give is tape up your outer right heel for walking the beaches if South Bound. Otherwise you'll almost certainly get blisters.

[gbagua]

Thanks for the notes and very helpful BOM stats site which I totally forgot about. My plan is right after Easter this year. It will be 2 deg. less on average compared to 2022. Actually better as sun is still strong so having to endure a 8h sun while walking the cooler night will be very welcoming. I wish I could sleep just on the ground like a wild animal, lol. Will book a couple of nights only at the couple of holiday accomodation available in the region.

Have you looked into the two concerning river crossings?

1. Sandon river (short swim in low tide next to the boat ramp)
2. Wooli river. 50/50 on this one. I'm only carrying a 10L pack with two dry bags. By looking at Google Maps and this pic plus the video footage:

https://deanwormald.com/kayak-camping-wooli-nsw/

The breakwall near Wooli beach facing Jones beach

https://www.wooli-minniewater.com.au/20 ... oli-river/

It's only a short stretch which in low tide would be quite manageable as long as you don't carry a multi day hike pack; in this case forget about a swim. However I'm not a tidal current expert and not sure if that river has a strong ebb tidal flow during the slack water period. Do you have any idea? Anyone else checking this thread?

[DavidB]

I advise you not to attempt to swim either the Sandon or Wooli Rivers. Nor attempt to cross the bars. You need to cross these by boat. If you go to https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/th ... sitor-info
you will find contact numbers here for boat crossings. There is no boat service for the Corindi River at Red Rock. However, you can cross the Corindi at low tide at the boat ramp. You may still need to do a short swim but its doable. In any case one of the friendly locals in a tinnie or a paddleboard may be around to give you a hand.

As I said do not attempt to swim the Sandon and Wooli Rivers.

[gbagua]

Hi DavidB,

Care to explain why? Obviously if I see someone on a boat I'll always ask first for a pickup.

However the Sandon river crossing was reported by another forum member at mid tide:

https://bushwalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=28758

At low tide would be even considerably easier.

[DavidB]

Ultimately, its your choice. There is a boat service available and you can book that at a time that works for you. I personally wouldn't swim the Sandon but its up to you.

[gbagua]

Bad swimmers, people carrying big packs then a boat service is basically a must but for anyone carrying a daypack swimming is fine. That river looks lovely!



Also:

https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Location ... Wales.html

Wooli River rivermouth, a few minutes drive and the PERFECT spot for kids to swim.

If it were that dangerous it wouldn't be advertised as such.

[crollsurf]

I'll try my luck at Sandon and swim across at low tide as a last resort.

Wooli looks sketchy, I rang the boat shed, and no worries. $30 so a no brainer really. 0439409909

Sent from my SM-G998B using Tapatalk

[CBee]

I definitely would not swim across the wooli at the mouth.