The generous offer of babysitting for a couple of days was too good an offer to refuse. Joel and I were keen to head into the hills west of Kempsey, and after talking with a family friend who knows the area very well we were persuaded to visit Werrikimbe National Park. This park was recognised as a World Heritage Area in 1986, and is one of many scattered rainforest remnants along the Great Dividing Range of NSW and southern Queensland that comprise the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia.
We drove through the lovely farming country of Rollands Plains, and then into state forest, before finally entering the national park. The last section of Hastings Forest Way had only recently reopened after a long period of closure. It was freshly graded and in very good condition. We arrived at Brushy Mountain late in the morning and discovered a very nice campground set among ribbon gums and blackbutt forest. There is a large shelter shed with picnic tables and some very informative signage.
After quickly grabbing some lunch things we headed off towards Spokes Lookout. The walk starts on a mown track through long grass and rampant vegetation, which seems odd for a place that feels so remote. But soon we entered the rainforest and were surrounded by lichen-covered Coachwood trees and the towering trunks of Antarctic Beech, while mossy logs littered the forest floor.
It took me a while to realise just how many Antarctic Beech trees there are in this small pocket of rainforest, as it’s been a long time since I’ve seen these beautiful trees. But I slowly became aware that almost all the large trees are Antarctic Beech. Most of the remainder are Coachwoods, with their stunning, mottled trunks on display.
After soaking up the awe-inspiring atmosphere we passed through a very strange and disturbed part of the forest where a fire had come through and burnt a lot of Antarctic Beech trees. It looked like the fire had maybe started from a lightning strike, and it had certainly done a lot of damage. We then emerged into open forest that had also been burnt and was covered in very thick, lush regrowth. The track was again a mown pathway through young eucalypts, acacias, tall grasses and tree ferns.
We found a great rocky outcrop for our lunch, with expansive views over the forested hills to the east, and all the way to the coast. It was wonderful to be there on such a clear day. We could easily make out the distinctive peaks of Yarrahapinni, Smoky Cape, Hat Head and Crescent Head, and could even see a ship out at sea. The steep cliffs of Mt Banda Banda were just visible on our right. We were sitting on rocks covered in orchids, but it was the wrong time of year for a display of flowers.
We continued on to the junction with an old fire trail, and from there followed signs to Spokes Lookout. The views were much the same, but it wasn’t as nice a spot as the one we’d found at lunchtime. At this point we were feeling quite confused about exactly where we were, as the map didn’t seem to match with our expectations. Luckily the tracks were well signposted, so we took a punt and soon found ourselves back on Hastings Forest Way. Shortly before arriving back at the campground we turned off at a disused picnic area and found ourselves in an extraordinarily different type of forest dominated by grass trees. The huge variation in forest types within such a small area is truly amazing.
After crossing a clear mountain stream that forms one of the headwaters of the Forbes River, we turned back into the cool, darkness of the rainforest. The sun was getting low in the sky by the time we returned to our campsite and set up for the night. Brushy Mountain is above 1000m and the temperature dropped rapidly as night fell. We made use of the shelter shed with its large fireplace, and firewood brought from home, to warm ourselves by a cosy fire. After an early dinner we lasted until 7.30pm before retiring for the night to the comfort of our little tent.
I awoke feeling refreshed after a good night’s sleep. It was a chilly morning but not as cold as I expected given the altitude. The sky was clear and we had another day of exploring ahead of us. After packing up our gear we headed off to Plateau Beech picnic area. The picturesque drive down a narrow, winding forest road came to an abrupt end at an open, grassy area in the middle of the wilderness. This place seems even less visited than Brushy Mountain, and I thought it was divine.
Without further ado we headed off on a short loop walk through the cool temperate rainforest of Plateau Beech. The track starts high up on the edge of a gully and I almost felt like we were walking in the treetops. This forest is again comprised mostly of Coachwood and Antarctic Beech trees with a fern understory, but it had a lighter, brighter feel compared with the forest we walked through at Brushy Mountain. Some of the Coachwood trees are absolutely enormous, easily the largest I have ever seen. And the track was gorgeous, with mossy rocks lining the sides of the path.
We wound our way down to King Fern Falls and then on to Filmy Fern Falls. I didn’t walk right down to the falls as it was a bit steep and slippery, and unfortunately didn’t see any filmy ferns. Apparently this rare plant has fronds up to one metre long that are only two plant cells thick! I did see lots of vibrant patches of giant moss though, which I believe to be the tallest species of moss in the world.
There were lots of fallen trees on the lower section of the walk that we had to scramble over, through or around. These present a wonderful opportunity to get a glimpse into the inaccessible world of the rainforest canopy – a place that has been described as the last frontier of biological research due to its incredible diversity of life. Some of the Antarctic Beech trees are more than 700 years old, and support a whole ecosystem of epiphytes such as orchids, mosses and ferns. I thought it was fascinating to see the dense accumulation of flora that is normally found up to 40m above the ground.
The Antarctic Beech trees also host some wonderful fungi, including ancient-looking bracket fungi that were themselves covered in mosses and even sprouting little seedlings.
I have always known the beech trees as Nothofagus moorei so I was surprised to discover on my return home that they have been re-classified in recent years and are now known to botanists as Lophozonia moorei. It will take me quite a while to get used to that one I think.
After our little walk at Plateau Beech I was keen to drive back via the scenic Rimau Road. We drove in a short way, but felt uncomfortable about committing to the entire 15km trip, having no idea of the condition ahead. It doesn’t sound like far, but I’m guessing it would have taken us at least an hour, and much longer, of course, if we’d been forced to turn around. So we walked for a bit instead, which is probably a much more pleasant way of enjoying this road anyway. Unlike the other areas we’d seen there were pioneer rainforest species here such as giant stinging trees and pencil cedars.
After deciding to take the safe option and return along roads we knew were negotiable, we headed out to the Banda Banda Arboretum, which is in Willi Willi National Park. This reserve was established in the 1960s by the NSW Forestry Commission to examine how foreign conifers grew in high altitude climates. We can be thankful that it was not a successful experiment (presumably), as otherwise this whole area might have been cleared for pine plantations.
Another time I would love to go back and see how easy (or hard!) it is to get to the top of Mt Banda Banda. At 1260m it is an impressive mountain when viewed from the coastal plains of my childhood home. When I was growing up there was a substantial cleared area at the top which prompted my sister and I to refer to it as the ‘missing tooth hill’.
This trip was only a tiny taste of what the Werrikimbi and Willi Willi National Parks have to offer in terms of wild and beautiful places. But even so this place seems to have already gotten under my skin and I can’t wait for more walking, exploring and peaceful, bush camping in these lovely hills.
