I am always reminded when we travel that (a) travel is often easier if you are inclined to be a planner- like we are- and have researched and made reservations and plans in advance of your trip (b) no matter how carefully you plan, there will almost always be last minute changes, and (c) it is important to be able to pivot and roll with those changes, or else you will spend your valuable trip time frustrated and unhappy. Today was an excellent case in point.

When we started planning this trip over a year ago, we had already started making a rough itinerary for our Campervan stretch when I came across an area of Australia called “Waterfall Way.” Being a fan of all things water, I was instantly intrigued and rerouted our itinerary to include this 185 km stretch of scenic highway that includes rainforests and national parks with multiple waterfalls. So today when we woke up in the Campervan to the sound of pelting rain, it was a huge bummer (to put it mildly). Forecast didn’t suggest the day would improve the weather much, so we had to do a pivot and (once we finally got in range of cell and WiFi) change up our itinerary. Instead of hikes and multiple stops, we picked a few waterfalls close by the car parks, threw on our rain coats and sweat pants, and went about our modified journey. Of course, it was still a great day. 😁 Hearing the Dorrigo park ranger tell us the hiking paths were heavy with leeches on rainy days reinforced that we made the right decision!

Bellingen

After we packed up the camper (Rob- my soggy hero removed the outdoor hoses) and checked out of our holiday park, we hit the road and stopped at the first town on Waterfall Way to see what was up in this cute little area. They had some nice shops and a few cafes. I am getting spoiled with all the fresh sourdough they use here for breakfast toasts and sandwiches. Yum!!

When we got back on the road and put our first stop in our GPS, our map literally had us turn down a dirt road (panic moment #1 as this is NOT ok in our rental contract and this thing is tough to turn around) and showed us literally CROSSING A RIVER in our van (panic moment #2!!!!!). Again, my driving hero Rob managed to stop BEFORE we got into the river, get us turned around on the tiny one lane road, and return us to the main road, where we promptly found another (safer!) path.

Dorrigo National Park

Dorrigo is home to a bunch of beautiful waterfalls and hikes, plus a skywalk that I was eager to see. Thanks to Rob’s excellent navigation, we made it to the visitors center, which was where we learned about the rain=leeches issue and decided to forego any woods walks today, no matter how short! We did, however, get to go out on their skywalk, which afforded us beautiful views.

Dangar Falls

Our first waterfall stop was the lovely Dangar Falls, which was a ten minute ride from the mountain town of Dorrigo. You could actually swim at the bottom of the falls, but given the leeches advisory (above), we declined. 😬

Ebor Falls

Our last falls stop on the trail today was the lovely Ebor Falls. By the time we got up to Guy Fawkes River National Park, it was raining buckets and the low clouds and poor visibility made it a very “interesting” drive. On the way in to the park we passed a cemetery with a mob of eastern gray kangaroos hanging out in it! Super creepy and cool!

At Ebor, we walked to both the upper and the lower falls. We were especially glad we did both, because the “view” from the lower falls looked like this:

The upper falls, however, were visible, and really pretty.

Port Macquarie

We finished the waterfall viewing with another five hours left to drive to get us from Ebor to Newcastle, our night stay location. We decided to break up the drive with a dinner stop in Port Macquarie on the coast. Port Macquarie has a lot going on… could easily have spent a few days here, but we made the most of the rain-free time we had!

The Breakwall

Port Macquarie has a wonderful walking path along the water (“Breakwall”) full of painted rocks. They began as an art competition in 1995 (organised by the Port Macquarie City Lions Club), but are now a sort of outdoor gallery that anyone could add their own touch to. It makes for a colorful and fun walk!

The Lighthouse

From the Breakwall we headed up the cliffs to the Tacking Point Lighthouse, stopping at a few points for the views. We caught it just in time for another beautiful lighthouse sunset. Lucky us!

Our final stop in Port Macquarie was dinner at the Black Duck Brewery. They had live music tonight, and we enjoyed the food, a beer, and the music.

We knew it would be a late night tonight, and it sure was. We left Port Macquarie with a 2.5 hour drive to make around 8:30 p.m., but on the plus side our stop tonight was a hotel, so no camper hookups to do. This was also our longest drive day, so tomorrow will be a bit easier on Rob, I hope. I have offered to drive, but he genuinely likes driving this big beast, so I won’t argue that! We made it safe and sound, helped out, perhaps, by the fact that we were checking in to the “Lucky Hotel.” We certainly feel lucky! Thanks for adventuring with us!