Where The Rivers Run

Smart cyclists follow rivers. Water takes the easiest course from the mountains to the sea, there’s often good camping on the river banks, and perhaps a place to swim at the end of a day in the saddle. Story by Sue Webber.

From the mountains to the sea through classic cattle country and luxuriant rainforest, and lots and lots of rivers, this 570km tour will take you on a back-roads journey through northern NSW.

We started at Glen Innes at 1073m above sea level on the New England plateau. It’s a smart country town with solid buildings that suggest the prosperity of the past. There are supermarkets to stock your panniers with and a variety of places to stay including the squeaky clean Fossickers caravan and campground on the highway.

From Glen Innes follow the sealed Red Range Rd south-west out of town for about 8km and turn right on to Pinkett Rd. It’s a ride through classic Australian calendar country with lush paddocks, prime cattle and horses, and very little traffic. The road crosses the Yarrow River that flows down to the Mann River, which you’ll meet on your way back at the end of the trip. Don’t take the turn off to Pinkett, instead follow the signs along the unsealed road to Kookabookra on the Sara River about 48km from Glen Innes. Climb out of Kookabookra, cross the river and follow the road uphill towards the abandoned gold mining town marked on some maps. We bush camped by the Oban River about 6km from Kookabookra.

Flies are the curse of cattle country and in March we had plenty of them. The second day was one of meadows, cattle, distant mountains and flies. Every downhill was three times as good: no pedalling, a cool breeze and no flies. I calculated minimum fly-escape velocity at 15km/h, although a headwind would have helped. They sat on our backs like a bitumen crust waiting their chance to invade our ears, eyes and mouths. We rode through Wards Mistake and I wondered if the error had anything to do with insects, and on to Aberfoyle where it would have been possible to camp by the Aberfoyle River if we’d kept our mouths and tent shut. We rode on, joining the sealed Guyra–Ebor Rd and turning left towards Ebor. The evening’s halt was the wonderfully fly-free campground just off the road at Native Dog Creek in Cathedral Road National Park. The facilities are basic but the charge is only $3 a night per person.

The next day brought possibly the easiest and most enjoyable 70-odd km I’ve ever ridden. It was an undemanding run from the campground to the Waterfall Way and then four kilometres into Ebor, where there is a service station. I saw more vehicles on the Waterfall Way than I’d seen in the previous two days from Glen Innes. Instead of following the Waterfall Way to Dorrigo we turned left 10km beyond Ebor and followed the road to Tyringham via Hernani. The weather and the environment had changed from the plateau country and here we rode past lush green gullies of tree ferns and rainforest plants. The sealed road runs mainly downhill towards Tyringham and it’s worth the extra kilometre to ride into the village centre and enjoy lunch at the picnic shelter. There’s a small shop here too, for provisions to get you to Dorrigo. I expected plenty of climbing to balance the morning’s descent but there’s only one big climb on this road, just after the mill town of Bostobrick. This long steady ascent at least provided some views to the north-east where we’d be riding next. A downhill took us to Dorrigo where my essential touring supplies of beer and pizza, as well as other important foods, are available. We camped at the Dorrigo Mountain Resort on the Waterfall Way but it might have been better to explore the option of staying at the campground near the Dangar Falls instead.

From Dorrigo it’s another big downhill to Coramba. Leaving Dorrigo is somewhat challenging as the central crossroad around the war memorial seems to confuse drivers and I nearly became a casualty myself. The road north leads past the quaintly decorated sewage treatment works, then Dangar Falls and through rolling country with green pastures and red, potato-growing soil.

The old timber railway winds back and forth over the road searching for a suitable grade through the hills. There are plans to one day reopen the rail from Dorrigo to Glenreagh as a tourist line and it would make a great cycling trip to ride up on the train and down on your bike.

The road is sealed to Megan and then the dirt leads through the forest past the white trumpets of lilies. Deeper into the forest we heard bower birds and saw a scrub turkey run across the road. We stopped by Jack Ferney’s giant tallowood to admire the size of the trees before they were first felled and wondered if today’s trees will every reach that size.

The big downhill starts just after the turn-off to Lowanna. It’s sit tight and enjoy the scenery for 12km at 40km/h. The wheels spin through the rainforest, past gullies of palms and tree ferns, under spreading birds nest ferns in the tree tops and past the shimmering skirted grass trees. There was little traffic on this good sealed road and we hardly felt we’d earned lunch at Coramba even after 60km riding. This little town has all the facilities except a place to camp. It’s another 33km through the bush to Woolgoolga but you could bush camp in the Orara East State Forest if you have water with you. From Coramba the options are: a busy ride down into Coffs Harbour where you can link with buses, trains and planes; a road ride to Nana Glen and then down the Lower Bucca road to the turn off along the Eastern Boundary Forest Road and through the bush to Woolgoolga; or, go cross country through the State Forest from Coramba to the Central Bucca Road. We took the third option although I wouldn’t recommend it unless you have plenty of time and good navigational skills. The forestry map is out of date and many of the trails are unmarked or descend into slimy mud.

That’s the downhill section of the tour and anyone not prepared to climb should leave now. The others get ready to climb back up from sea level to 1073m and Glen Innes where we began.

Woolgoolga is a good place to visit on a cycling tour. There are numerous places to stay, including three campgrounds, and supermarkets, a bike shop and a great swimming beach. You may not know the town’s name but you’ll probably recognise the Sikh temple if you’ve travelled up or down the Pacific Highway.

From Woolgoolga it’s a 7km ride north along the highway to the Upper Corindi turn off. The sealed road through the forest was quiet on Sunday morning and it’s also a good time to ride along the highway as there are fewer trucks then. The dirt starts just after Upper Corindi and climbs through the Conglomerate State Forest to Huntley’s Pass and then down to Sherwood Creek and Athol Glen. A second climb leads up to Arthurs Gap and then it’s downhill to the old railway and bitumen. There’s no official camping at Glenreagh but cyclists get a warm welcome at the Golden Dog pub where’s there’s food, drink and accommodation.

The bakery at Glenreagh opens early for breakfast so we stopped there on our way out of town. We headed north along the sealed road that leads to Grafton. The servo at Lanitza was happy to sell us cold drinks but wouldn’t give us water for our bottles. We turned left off the main road into Braunstone and then right, following the sign to Coutts Crossing. We stopped at a crossroads where Coutts Crossing was signed straight ahead, we wanted to turn left to go to McPherson’s Crossing where a picnic area is marked on the map however a sign across the road claimed that it was closed. I’m not so easily put off and we rode along to find out what the problem was.

The Orara River starts from the hills above Coffs Harbour and heads north to join the Clarence River above Grafton rather than taking the short trip to the sea near Coffs. Its waters had risen to cover the bridge at McPhersons Crossing and while we were wondering how deep it was, a driver, with a similar attitude to road closed signs, arrived to test it out. He soon decided it was too deep for his car but we were ready to give it a try. Walking through the water showed that it was only just over knee height and between us we soon carried the bikes and all our gear across. The water was pleasantly cool but its effects had worn off by the time we reached the servo at Coutts Crossing with its welcome supply of cool drinks. The road to Nymboida was busy with construction traffic working on a water pipeline and we were glad to reach the riverside campground at the Canoe Centre with its shady trees and cool water.

The hot weather continued the next day and I began to wonder if we should have waited until April before doing this tour. The dirt road to Buccarumbi is well-signed and this quiet undulating road would be fun under cooler conditions. After 12km we turned left at the junction, heading west along the old Grafton–Glen Innes Rd. This old coaching road follows the Boyd River and then climbs up to the New England plateau. We crawled under a bush by the Buccarumbi Bridge in an attempt to find some shade at midday. Fortunately the dirt road alongside the river was shady but there were many signs from the Travelling Stock Reserve forbidding camping along the river. However we found a spot before Dalmorton without the signs and camped by the cool waters of the river.

There’s not much traffic on this road and we spent the next day sharing the river valley with wild-looking cattle, dingoes, neon-coloured dragonflies and brush-tailed rock wallabies. The road passes through a 20-metre-long rock tunnel built in the 1860s when the road was made. Some sources claim it as convict-built while others affirm that it is nothing of the sort. Whoever built it, it provides a short but welcome cool haven on hot days.

The road follows the Boyd River inland and it’s hard to understand why hardly anybody lives in such lovely country. The trees grow down the hillsides to where the river runs along its stony bed. The road leaves the Boyd at Broadmeadows – more of a name than a settlement – and goes through Newton Boyd which is the same, to cross the Henry River. As we neared the small settlement of Wytaliba the road crossed and re-crossed Leather Jacket Creek and then plummeted down a hill that seemed to loose all the altitude we’d gained since leaving the coast. The Mann River Nature Reserve is just beyond the bridge and school and is a great spot to stop and camp. We swam in the waters that were fed in part by the Yarrow River we had crossed on the first day out of Glen Innis.

We had one more day and one big climb ahead to complete the circuit. “The Big Hill” is not misnamed; it’s a steady 9km climb up the sealed road to the top. The hot weather had passed and we rode through a cool mist to the top, out of the lush forest and into the drier lands of the New England Plateau.

The road returns to dirt at the top of the hill and then joins the sealed Gwydir Highway. We rode the highway for 8km before turning left along a good dirt road to Shannon Vale. We were back in cattle country and the flies were back too but with Glen Innis around the corner we sped along the country road and over the Mitchell River into town, outpacing the black clouds of followers.

Tour Guide

This northern NSW tour requires some forward planning because of sections without shops. It can be ridden as a complete circuit or in sections.

Transport links

Air, rail and coach links from Coffs Harbour.

Coach links to Woolgoolga and Glen Innes.

Maps

Hema North East New South Wales.

Coffs Harbour State Forests map. The pink version may still be available from outdoors shops and is useful, if out of date.

When to ride

Spring and autumn are the best times. Expect hot weather down nearer the coast in summer, it used to rain a lot then too. Expect cold weather in winter up on the New England Plateau, Glen Innes likes to go into negative temperatures in winter.

Accommodation

Glen Innes tourism 02 6732 2397, www.gleninnestourism.com

Native Dog camping area Cathedral Rock NP 02 6657 2309, www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au

Dorrigo tourist information phone 02 6657 2486, www.dorrigo.com

Coramba Hotel 02 6654 4216.

Woolgoolga visitors information 02 6654 8080.

Glenreagh Golden Dog 02 6649 2162.

Nymboida canoe centre camping 02 6649 4155, Nymboida Coaching Station Inn 02 6649 4126.

Mann River Nature Reserve 02 6732 5133, www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au

Supplies

Shops at Glen Innes, servo at Ebor, small shop at Tyringham, shops at Dorrigo, Cormaba, Woolgoolga, Glenreagh. Copyright Sue Webber 2007

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