Australia Day public holiday fell on the Tuesday this year so Thomas, Matt and I decided to take an extra Monday to create a long weekend and get in some hiking. With work still to be completed on Sat we made a fairly relaxed move south starting just after 3 in the afternoon… We pulled into Grafton with the expectation of a nice Pub counter meal for dinner but found they were in short supply! First pub only had a Chinese buffet and the second had already sent the chef home! The publican recommended the Services Club just down the road, so we went off in search for that. It was pretty easy to find, it was where seemingly everyone else in Grafton was parked. Carpark: Full. Vacant Lots (2 of them!) across the road: Full. Street: Full. With the expectation of a long wait for dinner we doubled back to a Pizza place seen on the drive through. Pizzas came out brimming with toppings and a good base, worth the run around we had for dinner.
We finally rolled into the Mulligans Hut campgrounds by about 8:30 pm and found a spot to make camp. After our tents were setup we made use of the provided firewood and built a decent fire. It wasn’t a big night for me after the long drive down and thoughts of a longer day of hiking I soon slid into my sleeping bag and drifted off. I didn’t have the best night sleep, developed a bit of a sore throat on Friday and was starting to feel it.
Sunday 24th
We had a short shower in addition to lots of condensation last night and with not much in the way of sun for the morning had a fairly wet pack up. Eventually we were all ready so I shifted my car around to the day use parking and we began the journey. It wasn’t long before we were alongside a beautiful creek with near crystal clear flowing water. We followed the banks on and off for a while getting glimpses of swimming holes. The thoughts of chafing kept me from partaking, ouch! We were only about an hour into the hike before we passed the first group heading the other way. They were heading to the Hut (where we started) and we spent the rest of the weekend trying to work out if they had camped on trail (not at a camp site) or left camp really, really, really early that morning. I almost stepped on a bright red little spider, very small little dude never seen one that bright before.
A few precarious creek crossings on the next stretch, some had bridges, some had planks of wood and others were simply swampy/mud. There is lots of water about and plenty of low lying area to catch it. As we crested a pretty decent rise we heard a noise come from Thomas’ backpack, apparently we had found reception for the first time since 8pm last night. It was decided that this would be a pretty good spot for arvo tea… I had already turned my phone off for the hike, but as we were seated took it out for a look. Heh, no Optus service anyway. Oh well, no loss. Off it went again and to the bottom of my pack until we were finished. Truth be told I was thankful for the break, I hadn’t been feeling will with a bit of a stomach ache and coughing from the sore throat.
It was only about another 2km before we strolled into an empty campground. I was ready to collapse on one of the tables but Matt suggested that if we didn’t go to the falls now (~400m) we likely wouldn’t later… Knowing he was probably correct I dropped my pack and headed off down the path. We passed the day area on the way and saw another hiker group on the way to the falls. Down a flight of steps to the bottom and a very impressive creek, 30m along to a great swimming hole at the bottom of the impressive falls.
Water was a bit fresh (bloody cold!) but all 3 of us dropped in for a swim and it felt great. One of the hikers from the group in the day use had made his way down. He was taking some pretty good shots with his DSLR so we asked him to take a few for us. Was great standing under the falls, water was a little heavy raining down on the head but felt like a massage. The walk back to camp was a little slower, bare feet and trying to avoid chafing. I didn’t. Guess I’ll sleep it off.
We got to work on camp and getting a fire going. The wood was a little damp and it took a little before it was going but we had a good fire not long later. Late afternoon another hiker troupe turned up. Group of 6 young guys, around 10-16, with one leader. A caravan pulled in not too much later. Big camp site here so we were all pretty well spread out. The first group of hikers had forgotten their camping stove… and fire source, so one of their group came over and asked for a piece of burning timber. Of course we were happy to help out. He had taken some pics of us before with his DSLR so he took Matts email to pass them on to us when they got back to civilisation.
Not sure if it was the ~20km we did today or the fact that I felt sick but I was lethargic and only lasted until about 7:20pm before I turned in for the night.
Monday 25th
Had a brilliant sleep, barely stirring at all. I woke up with first light and was out of the tent by 5:30 feeling much better than yesterday. Had the morning to myself, for all of 20min, before other people began to stir… Except the couple in the Caravan. There was another short walk from here (3k return) and Thomas and I thought, you know what we need on this hike? More hiking! So off we set (sans packs) to see Lyrebird falls. These falls were significantly taller than Boundary falls and had a decent flow. No (easy) way to get to the bottom and the view was pretty far away and partially obscured by mist, but still worth the short jaunt out.
Arriving back at camp to see the young troupe almost fully packed and ready to move out. The other hiker group looked like they had ventured back to Boundary falls for some early morning photos, or possibly another swim and the Caravan still looked silent. We had a fairly quick pack up and were back on the path ourselves shortly after.
Yet another opportunity for more hiking! An offshoot to Duffer falls which were a mere 700m away. Just shy of 1100m on the GPS later and we found the falls. Track must have gone around a few more trees since the distance marker was put in… The falls were pretty impressive and again if it wasn’t so early in the day it would have been a great spot for a swim. Upstream offered a nice protected swimming hole and for the more brave amongst you downstream (little bit of easy climbing) would get you to a great hole near the cliff. Looked like it would offered an infinity pool type view, but with trees instead of tourists.
After getting back to the main track we wandered up and down some hills until we reached Grassy Creek Camping. For people taking 4 days to do the round trip this is a likely second night stop for us it made a good lunch spot. It offered 1 table, 1 fire pit some fairly level ground and 20m away a pretty nice flowing creek. Smaller than the ones offered at other grounds, but more than enough to get your feet wet. Just before we reached it the sky had opened up a little and we were starting to get a bit wet. We had stopped to put pack covers on and make sure the poncho/rain jackets were handy.
We were a little damp now but it wasn’t too bad. It was enough to make you wet but not soaked, with the warm weather hiking in a rain jacket can be more uncomfortable than being wet so I left the rain jacket in its pouch. Further along the path we came across a carpet snake sunning on a log, slithered off to the side when I went in for a closer pic. It had stopped drizzling and I thought I could see blue skies.
I thought wrong. Cloud cover came over again and it begun what you could actually now call rain. We were wet. We reached the bottom of a very long hill and sat near a creek for a bit to rest our feet. Not long now until camp. With the exception of a couple of side paths the next 1.5k was the first time we weren’t on a management trail. Feels a lot more like a bush hike on a thin winding path with rocks, roots and other obstacles to avoid… like leeches. We were definitely in the rainforest now and with the rain the leeches were active. I was pretty lucky and managed to get them all off before they dug in. I was surprised with the amount that dropped on my hands though. Usually they’re ankle biters.
We arrived at the camp grounds and it was still coming down pretty heavy so we took shelter under the registration hut. We were held up for about 30min before it started to ease up and probably about another 15min before it stopped. We took the opportunity to make camp and get out tents up just in case it started again. Luckily everyone had their rain protection in place. Thomas’ Osprey Pack cover worked perfectly, Matt had a full Poncho that covered him and his pack and while my pack had nothing, and got wet, I had garbage liners protecting everything inside though, so all my gear was safe and dry.
The rain held off for the rest of the arvo/night and Matt once again got to work on the fire. This one took a little encouragement (read: shellite and butane) but after a lot of perseverance from Matt it was roaring. Well… self-sustaining at least. Yet another early night for me, we covered 23km today so I think that’s justified.
Tuesday 26th
Only 10k back to the car… seemed a little short so Thomas and I decided to tack on an extra 8.5km loop. It was once again rainforest path and the leeches were out in force! Not a minute went by without having to pull one off my shoes or flick it off my shin. They were everywhere. You could see them dancing on the leaves, waiting for you to brush up against them. We ascended for what seemed like ages and finally came across a waterfall. Further up we went until we peaked and started on a descent, past some big red cedar trees and eventually back to camp. In the 8.5km round trip to camp Thomas had counted over 80 leeches… and he wasn’t counting for the first kilometre or so… Not a walk I would suggest after they’ve had a bit of rain… Good waterfall though…
Matt had already packed up and headed off to the car. Thomas and I left out tents up to hopefully dry out a little more. Which mostly worked. We had a bite to eat and started heading to Mulligans hut. The road out from Coombadjha campgrounds was 3.3km of uphill. Some bitumen, mostly gravel road base. Unlike the other tracks/management trails this was an open road. The occasional car coming down the hill and much harder ground that leaf covered management trails. Not an enjoyable section. Half way up we came across a Red Belly Black snake sunning itself on the road, seemed fairly docile and stayed around for a picture. Unlike the Carpet snake yesterday, I didn’t go in for a closer picture this time…
Just as we reached the top of the hill (or so we thought) it started raining again. The info sign at the park entrance had a roof so we took shelter and had something to eat. The rain was short lived, thankfully, and we moved on. Crossing the highway and back into a more rainforest section on a management track. Heading uphill again but didn’t feel as bad as it wasn’t a road and not quite as steep.
Thomas spotted another Red Belly just of the side of the track just as we finally started to descend. By the time we reached the bottom of the hill my feet were asking for a rest and we took up a seat on the Twin Bridges. Short lived rest, less than 2k to go and we were ready to finish. As we crossed the final bridge at approx 1330, at Mulligans Campground, we saw Matt resting his feet in the stream. There was a short discussion about a swim but thoughts of home won out and we hopped in the Ute to head home. We searched the radio stations and eventually were able to get onto TripleJ so that we could listen to the remaining Hottest 100 on the drive home.
All in all a good weekend. Beautiful creeks and streams and amazing waterfalls. Probably could have done without the rain and the leeches though! I’d recommend the campgrounds if you’re in the area. All beautiful spots and many have short day trips from them, the total walk itself mainly followed management/fire trails so you could probably skip bits if that’s not your thing.
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