105Aus
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On the 10th of October my partner and myself in my HZJ105 and my parents in their 78 Series Troopy, adventured north to check out the sights and sounds focusing around the Cotton Bimbang National Park.
I'd seen a few video's on TV shows and social media of the area and thought it'd be a good place to start up the touring season again. We kicked off early Saturday and headed through Wauchope westbound toward our first stop just outside of the small town of Long Flat to check out one of the longest suspension bridges still used in Australia at just over 60m long. It made for a nice view to start the trip and the creek below looked pretty great too with a few locals in kayaks having a fish. (Pics later, need resizing)
After long flat we decided to make a bee line for our first camp ground as the long drive up had us abit buggered. We were initially looking for a turnoff onto a fun (4x4 required) track, but it obviously had not been used in a long time as the entrance was grown right over so we kept heading west till we hit the main forestry road and followed it down to Maxwells Flat Camp Ground. This camp ground was a good size and had long drop toilet facilities and was nestled beside a small creek which was good for a cool off and a short nature walk.
Only after 5 minutes of arriving we seen out first bit of wildlife, a 5 foot Red Bellied Black Snake slithering through camp to the creek!
The next morning we were up bright and early and made tracks for the Cells Jeep Trail as I knew of it by. This track after the first few km followed a creek most of the way with about 6-8 shallow and 1 or 2 deeper creek crossing and was littered with old Gold Mines. The mines were mostly caved in and unaccessible but the one that could be ventured had been taken over by bats, so we left them be. Soon after the goldmine spotting stopped we came across an old hut known as "The Hilton". Not sure of its origins but it was a interesting sight and made for a few happy snaps and some shelter from the sun for some lunch.
We tried to continue around the rest of the loop but it was blocked by large fallen tree's so we turned around and did most of the loop backwards and then turned off to check out an old rock crushing setup that was used to cruch quarts and stones to extract gold way back when, which also made for some happy snaps. Continuing onto Clay Road and back to the main forestry road we spotted a few more collapsed mines and headed toward our next destination.
Half an hours drive back along the Oxley highway to the west was a short scenic drive that we had to do while in the area and were glad to see 6 bush turkeys and came across an old bridge that was made many year ago for the local logging industry. The bridge was made up of logs finely cut and notched to fit together with some logs over a meter in diameter stacked 5 or 6 tall.
We made a snap decision to stay our next night at the Apsley Falls, about an hours drive West of the scenic drive to a small campground run by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, so it was $10/night per vehicle which we didnt mind paying as the site featured free split firewood for use, swing away bbq plates and flushable toilets!
We checked out the Falls themselves in the morning and they made for a nice sight as theyre at one end of a massive gorge which id never seen such a thing before so i was a bit awe struck and enjoyed the view and again got some happy snaps.
Leaving the Apsley falls area we headed back east to the main forestry road of Cotton Bimbang NP and headed south into Bulga State Forest to check out some lookouts from 1000m above sea level, and from 100km or so in land we could see the beach.
After some lookouts and bush walking to lookouts we headed down off the mountains to check out Ellenborough Falls, which is a 200m single drop waterfall making it one of the longest single drop falls in the southern hemisphere. There is a small building setup for drinks and refreshments at the car park for the falls. The falls are viewable from a platform which gives a nice view of the falls and the gorge it flows into and theres also a viewing area from the bottom, down 641 steps, which wasnt on our list of "To-Do's" on a 30 degree day.
This stop marked the end of our sight seeing and we headed east through many small towns to the coast and headed home. Overall the trip was great and I'd definitely recommend going. It had rained alot the week before we went so dust wasn't too bad but it was dry enough that we only needed to engage 4x4 Low range on some very steep dirt hills and some of the creek crossings for stability. The tracks were all in good condition and the campsites were all tidy and well maintained, a rare sight around my local area.
Tried to attach is a link of the map i drew up to refer to when phone service was available and to plot out some interest points but i havent made enough posts as yet.
Ill round up photos from parents and partner and upload in the future, thanks.
I'd seen a few video's on TV shows and social media of the area and thought it'd be a good place to start up the touring season again. We kicked off early Saturday and headed through Wauchope westbound toward our first stop just outside of the small town of Long Flat to check out one of the longest suspension bridges still used in Australia at just over 60m long. It made for a nice view to start the trip and the creek below looked pretty great too with a few locals in kayaks having a fish. (Pics later, need resizing)
After long flat we decided to make a bee line for our first camp ground as the long drive up had us abit buggered. We were initially looking for a turnoff onto a fun (4x4 required) track, but it obviously had not been used in a long time as the entrance was grown right over so we kept heading west till we hit the main forestry road and followed it down to Maxwells Flat Camp Ground. This camp ground was a good size and had long drop toilet facilities and was nestled beside a small creek which was good for a cool off and a short nature walk.
Only after 5 minutes of arriving we seen out first bit of wildlife, a 5 foot Red Bellied Black Snake slithering through camp to the creek!
The next morning we were up bright and early and made tracks for the Cells Jeep Trail as I knew of it by. This track after the first few km followed a creek most of the way with about 6-8 shallow and 1 or 2 deeper creek crossing and was littered with old Gold Mines. The mines were mostly caved in and unaccessible but the one that could be ventured had been taken over by bats, so we left them be. Soon after the goldmine spotting stopped we came across an old hut known as "The Hilton". Not sure of its origins but it was a interesting sight and made for a few happy snaps and some shelter from the sun for some lunch.
We tried to continue around the rest of the loop but it was blocked by large fallen tree's so we turned around and did most of the loop backwards and then turned off to check out an old rock crushing setup that was used to cruch quarts and stones to extract gold way back when, which also made for some happy snaps. Continuing onto Clay Road and back to the main forestry road we spotted a few more collapsed mines and headed toward our next destination.
Half an hours drive back along the Oxley highway to the west was a short scenic drive that we had to do while in the area and were glad to see 6 bush turkeys and came across an old bridge that was made many year ago for the local logging industry. The bridge was made up of logs finely cut and notched to fit together with some logs over a meter in diameter stacked 5 or 6 tall.
We made a snap decision to stay our next night at the Apsley Falls, about an hours drive West of the scenic drive to a small campground run by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, so it was $10/night per vehicle which we didnt mind paying as the site featured free split firewood for use, swing away bbq plates and flushable toilets!
We checked out the Falls themselves in the morning and they made for a nice sight as theyre at one end of a massive gorge which id never seen such a thing before so i was a bit awe struck and enjoyed the view and again got some happy snaps.
Leaving the Apsley falls area we headed back east to the main forestry road of Cotton Bimbang NP and headed south into Bulga State Forest to check out some lookouts from 1000m above sea level, and from 100km or so in land we could see the beach.
After some lookouts and bush walking to lookouts we headed down off the mountains to check out Ellenborough Falls, which is a 200m single drop waterfall making it one of the longest single drop falls in the southern hemisphere. There is a small building setup for drinks and refreshments at the car park for the falls. The falls are viewable from a platform which gives a nice view of the falls and the gorge it flows into and theres also a viewing area from the bottom, down 641 steps, which wasnt on our list of "To-Do's" on a 30 degree day.
This stop marked the end of our sight seeing and we headed east through many small towns to the coast and headed home. Overall the trip was great and I'd definitely recommend going. It had rained alot the week before we went so dust wasn't too bad but it was dry enough that we only needed to engage 4x4 Low range on some very steep dirt hills and some of the creek crossings for stability. The tracks were all in good condition and the campsites were all tidy and well maintained, a rare sight around my local area.
Tried to attach is a link of the map i drew up to refer to when phone service was available and to plot out some interest points but i havent made enough posts as yet.
Ill round up photos from parents and partner and upload in the future, thanks.
