North Coast Emu Patrol

North Coast NSW - North Coast Emu Patrol

Two great beachside camping spots that cost next to nothing

Do emus surf? Can they even swim? These are the pressing questions of the day as I sit and stare at the sea from my campsite at the mouth of the Sandon River in Yuraygir National Park on the longest stretch of undeveloped coastline in NSW.

According to the ranger these isolated and empty beaches are one of the few places in the country where you'll see emus on the beach. I think the scores of pelicans trying the steal the fishermen's catch have scared them off, but it's a good excuse to spend the afternoon doing nothing but watching the water, cold drink in hand, officially on 'emu watch'.

A popular spot with fishos, our campsite is on the banks of the cleanest river in NSW, and I'm hard pressed to think of any other places where you get absolute waterfront views for just $10 a night. When we first arrived, the place was wall-to-wall with 4WDs, but now that the sun has set they've hitched up their boats, taken their fish and gone home, and we pretty much have the place to ourselves. It's so quiet that the sound of the surf lulls us to sleep.

Brooms Head

Next day, we pack up and head back out to the highway, getting distracted on the way by the bright lights of Brooms Head, population 200. This delightfully laid back coastal village, almost entirely surrounded by Yuraygir National Park, is everything the north coast used to be before the developers discovered it, although there are signs that they may be moving in shortly for a makeover as new holiday apartments are being built opposite the main street caravan park. Right now, it's blissfully somnolent, and an ice cream or fish and chips overlooking the beach is the perfect brunch stop.

We take a short detour off the road that leads us back out of the park to check out the astonishing views from the lookouts at Red Cliff on the headlands south of Lake Arragan, losing another hour or so as we wander the pebbly beach beneath the (you guessed it) red cliffs at low tide, exploring countless rockpools. We're tempted to do the 10km walk along the coast and beaches to Angourie, but can't quite face the 10km return hike, so jump back in the car and point it north to our second millionaire's night by the sea with all the views you can get for $10.

Bundjalung National Park

This time, we're in Bundjalung National Park, between Evans Head and Iluka (just across the wide mouth of the Clarence River from Yamba). Another expanse of undeveloped coastline, the Esk River, the largest untouched coastal river system on the north coast, runs through the southern half of the park, which also contains the World-Heritage listed Iluka Nature Reserve, the largest remaining beachside rainforest in NSW. We spend an hour strolling along the 2.5km walking track that spears through the centre of the narrow rainforest strip, climb up to Iluka Bluff which has a great whale-watching lookout and cultural heritage display in the picnic shelter, then head to the pub. The Sedgers Reef Hotel, overlooking the river where the tiny wooden ferry boat from Yamba flits back and forth across the Clarence and seagulls wheel and screech overhead and pelicans hover hoping for a stray morsel of food from somebody's lunch, is famous for its fish and chips, and we can't resist joining the happy locals at the bar munching their way through a trawler's worth of catch of the day.

Woody Head, just 6km from Iluka town centre, is the most popular camping spot in Bundjalung, with hot showers, a kiosk, great views and room for 103 tents and caravans, but we're looking for something a little less crowded, so head instead a bit further north to Black Rocks.

Black Rocks

Roughly mid-way between Evans Head and Iluka, there's room for just 26 people in this little camping area hidden behind the dunes of Ten Mile Beach, but we have it entirely to ourselves. It's almost sunset by the time we set up camp, so we hurry off to catch the late afternoon sun light off the reflections on the tea-tree stained water of nearby Jerusalem Creek, lined with flowering banksias that glow vibrantly in the dying light. Next time we decide, we'll bring a canoe. It would be a perfect place for paddling as the creek meanders north towards the sea for 8km.

Black Rocks gets its name from the Coffee Rock formations on the beach, a crumbly chocolate-coloured soft rock formed from ancient river sediments that really does look and feel like spent coffee grounds. Early the next morning, we head down to the beach to watch the rising sun turn the shadowing black coffee-rock cliffs pink then red then brown as sea eagles soar the thermals above and we can't believe that we are the only ones here. Or that all this comes with a $10 price tag. Who says you have to be rich to enjoy a million dollar ocean view?

More information:

• Yuraygir National Park is roughly an hour's drive north of Coffs Harbour or 45 minutes south of Grafton.
• Bundjalung National Park is 50km south of Ballina, 60km north of Grafton off the Pacific Highway on Iluka Road.
• NSW Dept. of Environment.

Story by Lee Atkinson, October 2008. Images courtesy of Lee Atkinson and NSW Tourism.