Arakoon National Park

Arakoon is closer to home than Crowdy Bay National Park, and we usually stop there on our way back. We have once again pre-booked site 13 beneath the Norfolk pine trees, with the bay behind our site. The couple camping next to us was here forty years ago when the Norfolk pines were planted, and camping was free of charge. They have camped here every year since then.

The campsite faces due west across the bay to South West Rocks, and the sunsets are truly spectacular. It's probably the only spot on the East Coast where you can photograph the sun setting over water. 

This site provides easy access to water, and more importantly, it supplies our solar panels with enough light until sunset. We have booked for seven nights and plan to relax with walks along the beach and enjoy plenty of swimming.

It was lovely to meet Karen and Ken, who follow our blog and recognised our 4WD and van. They were first-time visitors to Arakoon after reading one of our blog entries and have recently taken a tour of the Bushtracker factory. Their plan is to place an order in the not-too-distant future. We mentioned how we print our blog trips as hardcover coffee table books. They were interested in the address, so here it is: 
blogspot.sharedbook.com/blog2print/googleblogger/index.html
 
It’s the first time in many years of visiting that we have had seven beautiful, sunny days; the only downside is that the camp area has never looked so dry.
One day, returning to our campsite after shopping in South West Rocks, we followed a Bushtracker heading towards Arakoon. Nina and Greg, in their 20s, BT, were passing through on their way home to Newcastle and popped in for a chat.
Apart from the goal, another historic site is a German graves monument perched on a hill just over 1 km from the goal.

During our stay, we enjoyed breakfast and lunch at the restaurant within the park. The restaurant is also open for dinner on Friday and Saturday nights.

Crowdy Bay National Park

We have just spent seven days camping at Crowdy Bay National Park. The weather was excellent, with rain on two of the nights. This national park is one of our favourite camping spots and is just over two hours south of where we live. Once the remaining three sections of the Pacific Highway upgrade south of Coffs Harbour are finished, our travel time to this park will be significantly reduced.
The park has four campgrounds: Crowdy Gap in the south, and Kylies Beach, Indian Head, and Diamond Head in the northern section of the National Park.
Our preference is to camp at Kylies Beach, which has basic facilities including drop toilets, cold water showers, and very clear non-potable water. The campground is set back from the beach behind sand dunes and vegetation, providing protection if the weather turns nasty. The main campground is essentially a large grassy area without those dreaded koppers logs, and for those needing shade, there are other more secluded campsites around the main area.

Indian Head campground:

Diamond Head campground:

Laurieton, with a population of 2000 people, is just 5 km north of the National Park boundary and has all the facilities you could ever need. The park lies just over 45 km south of Port Macquarie and 35 km north-east of Taree. We access the park via Kew and then Laurieton, but you can also reach it through Moorland to the south-west. In the past,

we have found that the camping areas become very busy during weekends and school holidays, likely due to the proximity of larger towns. We try to avoid these times, but for this trip, a weekend was included in our stay, and as expected, it was busy. By Sunday night, however, only three other groups remained with us. 

The ranger station is at Diamond Head, where most visitors prefer to stay, thanks to its additional comforts such as flushing toilets and free gas BBQS. Since our last visit, the campground has been upgraded with kerb and guttering and new turf. 

During your stay, you can enjoy a variety of activities, including walking trails, fishing, swimming, whale watching, surfing, or strolling along the uncrowded beaches.

However, the highlight is the wildlife, including koalas, kangaroos, and goannas. With over 700 species of eucalyptus in Australia, koalas feed on only about 40 of them and sleep up to twenty hours a day, with the rest of their time spent eating.

Looking south down Dunbogan Beach towards Diamond Head. Diamond Head is thought to be named after the quartz crystals present in the cliffs, which sparkle when the sun's angle is in the right location and viewed from the sea.

Several photographs captured during the headland walk:

Looking south along Kylies Beach toward Crowdy Head. Captain Cook named it Crowded Head in 1770 after observing a group of Aboriginals on the headland.

During World War II, the Australian author Kylie Tennant moved to Laurieton. She met a local farmer who grazed cattle on Diamond Head, and he built her a timber hut to serve as a writing retreat. The hut has since been relocated to its current site and restored by National Parks. It can be accessed from Indian Head and Kylie's Beach campgrounds.

Several kilometres west of Laurieton is the steep access road that takes you 487 metres to the summit of North Brother Mountain. Laurieton is in the foreground with the small towns of Dunbogan and North Haven on the left-hand side of the Camden Haven River as it enters the sea.

Looking south from North Brother Mountain over Watson Taylors Lake with Crowdy Bay National Park on the left, and Crowdy Head in the distance.