I suppose like most of us, my family haven’t really left the Coffs Coast since lockdowns began at the end of March. With not a lot of time off work for me these school holidays I decided to take the kids on a little trip out West for three nights.

I wanted to spend some money in smaller communities really suffering from drought and fires (and of course, Covid!) plus we had quite a few adventures that we’ve never had before as you will see!

YES it was cold, but that all added to the fun. And while we didn’t see snow we will try to go back again one day soon.

Here are some of the things we did:

 

DAY ONE:

First stop, Bellingen.

From Coffs to Bellingen it’s around a 30 minute drive.

I got coffee from Swiss Bakery and the kids went into Sweet Bellingen and got a $5 bag of mixed lollies (photographed below).

I also popped into Kombu Wholefoods for some fruit and some other healthy snacks.

Next stop: Dangar Falls.

From Bellingen to Dangar Falls it’s around a 35 minute drive.

I would normally go to the Rainforest Centre at Dorrigo and do a little walk or the SkyWalk but we had been there only a couple weekends before, so we headed straight to Dangar Falls.

We parked at the picnic area and took a walk down to the bottom of the falls. The walk is suitable for children, it’s about a 10-15 minute walk down, a combination of paved and raised boardwalks. At the bottom there are rockpools and the waterfall is amazing!!! Definitely worth the walk.

Next stop: Ebor

From there it’s a winding 40 minute drive to Ebor and boy, was it COLD there!

We headed straight for Ebor falls. In November last year the Bees Nest bushfires tore through here and you can still see the destruction. The upper viewing platform was burnt entirely and the lower platform and access is blocked off due to dangerous trees. There is evidence of the fires everywhere. It’s quite sobering yet beautiful at the same time. We caught a glimpse of the falls and had a look at the amazing burnt trees then headed back into Ebor to Fusspots for some good old fashioned country cooking / lunch.

Next stop: Guyra

From Ebor to Guyra it’s just under an hour drive.

I booked us into the Summit Caravan Park, (Australia’s highest caravan park!) they have a cute little 3 bedroom for $130 a night. Complete with fireplace, full kitchen and great views. Cheap! We stayed there for 2 nights and the owner was so lovely. Would definitely recommend (if you do book make sure you ring up and book direct. I checked out the room types etc on Wotif but then rang direct. The accommodation booking sites take a big chunk of commission, so it really helps the owners to pick up the phone and book directly with them).

The choices for dinner in Guyra are pretty limited, so we went to the Bowling Club then settled in for some board games.

And YES it was cold! But we loved it! While there wasn’t any snow the kids were so excited the next morning when there were icicles hanging off the water tank!

 

Next post coming up: Our day trip to Green Valley Farm.