Ever heard of Coorabakh National Park ?..
The mid north coast of NSW is scattered with stunning beaches and coastal getaways, but some times if you look a little inland you just might be surprised. Sitting quietly between Taree and Port Macquarie, Coorabakh National Park has many surprises with Volcanic Plugs, stunning lookouts, and huge rock formations all surrounded by pristine rainforest and eucalyptus old growth forests. Coorabakh National Park, relatively small at 1,830 hectares, was declared in 1999 to protect its wide variety of wildlife and the parks stunning scenery.Entry to the park can be made from Moorlands, just south of Port Macquarie, where there are plenty of signs pointing you in the right direction towards the park. Traversing through old dairy farms when you leave the Pacific Highway, you get a sense of adventure as you look westwards towards the escarpment ridge lines that lay ahead.
Passing through several state forests keep an eye out for the old logger trees, where you can still see the cutouts from the planks that the timber cutters stood on when these huge trees were cut by axe around 100 years ago. The forests are full of eucalyptus, hardwood, coachwood and bloodwood trees. Coorabakh National Park is significant to the Biripi Aboriginal people of the local area and takes its name from Coorabakh, meaning bloodwood.
The forest loop drive of around 100km isn't a hard drive but in some sections where the road does get a little steep it might be wise to select 4wd high for added traction. Road base out here changes from a granite base material to black soil, that can get pretty slippery in times of rain. Along the way there are many stops that can be explore such as Waitui Falls. In summer time this is a great spot for a dip as where the water spills over a rock face into a deep pool, while surrounded by a pocket of rainforest.
Forest Way soon leads deep down into a newly opened area named Starrs Creek picnic area. Here there are toilets, several tables and a formed pathway which lets you wander through a thick pocket of rainforest where you can get up close and personal to several large red cedar stumps, pristine rainforest trees and any wildlife that may cross your path.
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