THE stunning New South Wales hinterland through which we were driving was starting to look familiar as we approached the town of Dorrigo. Bill and I were on our way to Bellingen, one of the loveliest little towns we have encountered during our Australian tent travels. It would be our second visit to the arty, picturesque little town set in the scenic Bellinger River Valley, about 20km inland from the coastal town of Urunga. Good friends of ours, Les and Marlene Howes, settled there after they left South Africa a few years ago. They were well-known when they lived on the Hibiscus Coast They used to own the popular Froggy Pond nursery in our home town of Uvongo. Marlene, who has an extensive knowledge of South African indigenous plants, was very much part of our local Delight in Indigenous Gardening (Dig) organisation, which promotes the use of our native plants in South Coast gardens. They were both involved in various conservation initiatives in our area.
We had visited them in Bellingen during our first Australian holiday and were looking forward to returning to their lovely town to see them again and to catch up with all their news. First, though, we needed to do a bit of a detour. The route we were travelling along from Glen Innes, where we’d spent the previous night, was incredibly scenic, winding its way through a jigsaw puzzle of pretty farming areas, national parks, state forests and quaint little towns. Soon after turning into the aptly named Waterfall Way at Dorigo, we found the entrance to the Dorrigo Rain Forest Centre, situated in a very special place comprising about 12 000ha of escarpment called the Dorrigo National Park. Listed as a World Heritage Site because of its exceptional beauty and environmental importance, it is one of Australia’s most easily accessed pristine rain forest. Very different from Australia’s ubiquitous gum forests, these imposing and magical forests have ancient origins and are collectively known as the Gondwana Rain Forests of Australia. They are considered the cradle of evolution for most of Australia’s animals and plants.
We had stumbled across this mystical place on our first visit to Australia and were looking forward to seeing it again. After having a look around the attractive and informative visitors’ centre we took a stroll along the skywalk, a lofty wooden boardwalk that offers incredible views of the rain forest canopy, the escarpment cliffs and tree-covered mountains. It was school holidays and the national park was much busier than it had been on our first visit. We did a short walk into the forest, along with a number of big family groups and a bus load of jolly senior travellers. It was good to see so many people out and about enjoying this natural treasure but it was a little noisy and busy and some of the forest magic we remembered from our previous visit was lost. The picnic sites were also pretty crowded but we found a quiet and pleasant corner next to the info centre to have our lunch. It was a great bird watching spot and we were delighted to make acquaintance with a pademelon, a small, shy, forest dwelling marsupial that strolled nonchalantly through the picnic ground while we were there.
From the lovely national park it was a short and scenic drive to Bellingen, which was even prettier than we’d remembered. We drove through the town, admiring the picturesque old buildings, and arrived at the old butter factory. Converted into an attractive art centre, it houses gorgeous galleries and upmarket crafts shops, linked by pretty gardens, court yards and bright, mosaic pathways. One of the shops is the wonderful wood art gallery that belongs to Les and Marlene, who source a wide and fascinating variety of wooden art work from far and wide. There are friendships that withstand the test of time, that can be picked up where they were left off, sometimes after many years, and these sort of friendships are to be treasured. They are among life’s special blessings. The friendship we share with Les and Marlene falls into this category. We spent a wonderful evening with them, catching up on news and remembering happy times we’d all shared in the past.
After a short walk to the gallery with Marlene the next morning, we set off with Les on a long and very hilly walk in the forests surrounding the town. After a well-earned breakfast, Les went to the gallery and we spent the day exploring the area. We took a short drive to the gorgeous seaside resort of Urungu, which boasts unspoilt beaches, magnificent waterways, good fishing and a pristine estuary. Situated between the striking Nambucca heads and the large seaside town of Coff’s Harbour, it is a town that has grown up around the broad mouth shared by the Kalang and Bellingen Rivers. The most striking feature of this stunning coastal town is its boardwalk across the Urunga Lagoon,. The original footbridge was built in 1908. It was rebuilt in 1940 and extended in 1988. The final extension was completed in 2010 and it is now more than a kilometre in length. With the excellent birding and the access the mangroves, other coastal vegetation and untouched natural beauty it provides, a walk along this boardwalk is a must for visiting nature lovers.
We spent another lovely evening being thoroughly spoilt by our wonderful hosts and in the morning did a gentle walk through the town with them. Our Australian holiday was drawing to a close, so it was time to say goodbye to our dear friends and to start heading back towards Brisbane to spend the last few days with our family. First though, we had a few reasons to spend the next two nights in what would prove to be one of our favourite Australian seaside town.
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