We left picturesque Port Macquarie, and headed back towards the main highway North. With only 2 hours trip time to Coffs Harbour via the fastest route, our plan was to take a detour via Dorrigo National Park.

The Dorrigo Rainforest Discovery Centre is a compact but world class facility with a shop, theaterette, cafe and picnic tables. Oh and several fearless brush turkeys that will muscle in on your lunch if your attention wavers.

After paying your gold coin donations and wandering through the center, a short elevated walkway juts out over the rainforest canopy delivering spectacular panoramic views of the surrounding country, and down to the forest floor far below.

We decided to do the Wonga Walk, advertised as a 2.5 to 3 hour loop down into the rainforest past two waterfalls. We weren’t disappointed. Giant strangler figs, majestic red cedars,  tunnels of understory foliage, and the huge buttresses of the rainforest trees provide an ever changing backdrop as the trail works its way out and back across the steep terrain.

One of the trackside plaques warns you that some of the foliage should not be touched. With the length of these thorns you can see why.

There hadn’t been much rain recently (despite the area getting over 2 metres of rainfall a year, July is significantly drier than any other month at only 6cm) but nevertheless both the Crystal Shower falls and the Tristania falls were more than a little picturesque.

They’ve done a great job providing elevated viewing platforms across the gullies below both falls, and access around to the back of the Crystal Shower falls. The kids got a kick out of taking some photos through the veil of water.

Our experience was spoiled somewhat by a family that decided that National Park or not, their mission was to take as many large rocks as possible and launch then into the nearest body of water. I made a few pointed remarks but stopped short of telling the parents outright that the behavior of their three offspring was inappropriate.  We hurried on to the Tristania falls to get out of their tossing zone.

When a strangler fig has starved it’s host tree into permanent submission, the vacated space makes for a good posing space.

We were back from the loop walk about 2 hours after we started it.

After the rainforest we headed straight back to the highway and made our way up to Coffs Harbour.

After checking in at the motel just off the highway South of the city centre, we headed into town for dinner.

After our great experience just wandering out to find somewhere to eat in Port Macquarie, we thought to park in town and go from there, but it took us a couple of attempts to work out where the best dinner options were, since the centre of town seems to be an administrative and shopping hub.

We finally found a restaurant row – not in a picturesque location…just lined up on Harbour Drive. Our meal there at a pretty new looking and somewhat funky establishment wasn’t anything to write home about, but did the job. The kids got a kick out of the bathroom though.