Werrikimbe National Park
Ask the people of Port Macquarie the best place in the Hastings to visit when you are in the mood to get away from the hustle and bustle of civilisation, and chances are you’ll receive a common reply: Werrikimbe National Park. Just over an hour of scenic driving will see you arrive on the doorstep of this amazing world heritage wonderland.
The ambiance of Werrikimbe will definitely make a visitor feel as if they have stepped into a wilderness scene from an action movie! However, it is all real and magnificent as well. Situated on the edge of a plateau in the area that is known as the Great Dividing Range, the park is a relatively new one, established in 1976. This area was extended in 1982, and now covers a land span of 333.06 km, giving those who love and appreciate nature even more space to explore and admire.
You can make your way through magnificent temperate and subtropical rainforests, eucalyptus forests, heaths, gorges, and snow gum woodlands. Along the way you will see waterfalls, rivers, and in the springtime, wildflowers galore. Not only is there quite a bit of flora here, but ample fauna as well. Bird watchers who are visiting Port Macquarie will especially enjoy Werrikimbe National Park.
There are five different areas of the park that have been developed for visitors to use as picnic areas. These are located at Brushy Mountain, Plateau Beech, Grass Tree, Cobcroft, and Mooraback. There are barbeque pits, picnic tables, and toilets in each separate area. Overnight car camping is possible in most of these areas as well.
Werrikimbe National Park is not the type of manicured national park that you can drive through. There is only one road in the park that is accessible by four-wheel drive vehicles only, and that is Racecourse Trail. It will take you to the east and the west side of Werrikimbe. Coachwood Road will give four-wheel drive vehicles access to the north of the park. There are several dirt and gravel access roads that are intended for visitors to use in order to arrive at these main roads., Don’t be surprised if during rainy weather, these access roads are impassable by any kind of vehicle at all.
Easier to access in Werrikimbe are the bush walking trails. You can find these in each of the above mentioned picnic areas, and each trail goes through a different scenic aspect of the park. The Mooraback trail will take you through the rugged snow gum woods and the sections of evergreen heath, with its pink and purple flowers. The trail that begins at the Plateau Beech area takes you through a forest on Antarctic beech trees, and past gorgeous mountain streams. Also visible along this route are the Filmy Ferns Cascade and King Fern waterfalls.
From the Cobcroft area, there is a trail by the name of the Carabeen Walk. This trail is a bit longer, around 1.5 km, and allows you to experience the temperate rainforest and the mature and beautiful eucalyptus forest. For seasoned bush walkers, there are even longer trails to be had. If you head up to the Werrikimbe Trail, you will be able to hike all the way to the Hastings River.
Your Port Macquarie holiday can be enriched by some time spent in the wilderness that is Werrikimbe National Park.
